Kolkata · Durga Puja 2026
Guides
124 guides
How the festival works, how to plan it, and what is on in every neighbourhood.
Culture & tradition
16
What Durga Puja actually is
The festival in one page: what is being celebrated, why it takes the form it does in Kolkata, and what a visitor is actually walking into.
12 pujas listed
The days of Durga Puja, Shashthi to Dashami
What actually happens on each of the five days, what it means for crowds, and why the days before Shashthi matter more than most visitors expect.
12 pujas listed
Mahalaya and the start of Devi Paksha
The morning a week before Shashthi when Kolkata wakes at four to a radio programme, and the festival begins in earnest.
10 pujas listed
Kumartuli, and how a Durga idol is made
The lanes where most of the city's idols are built — what the process is, and why the weeks before Pujo are the time to see it.
8 pujas listed
Bodhon, Kalparambho and the opening of Shashthi
The first of the five days: waking the goddess, unveiling the face, and the calmest good evening of the festival.
8 pujas listed
Saptami morning and the Kola Bou
Before dawn on Saptami a bundle of nine plants is carried to the river, bathed, dressed in a sari and installed beside Ganesh. It is the oldest thing in the festival.
10 pujas listed
Ashtami and the pushpanjali
The biggest day of the festival — flowers offered in the morning, and the heaviest crowds in the city at night.
12 pujas listed
Sandhi Puja, the 48 minutes at the hinge
The most intense rite of the festival, performed at the exact junction of Ashtami and Navami, and over in less than an hour.
8 pujas listed
Navami, the last full day
The ninth day — still enormous, but with everyone in the city quietly aware it is the last night.
12 pujas listed
Dashami, sindoor khela and bisarjan
The tenth day: the farewell, the vermilion, and the long procession to the river that ends the festival.
12 pujas listed
Dhunuchi naach
A clay censer of burning coconut husk, held in the hands or the teeth, danced to the dhak. The most physical thing in the festival.
12 pujas listed
The dhak, and the sound of Pujo
A barrel drum slung from the shoulder, played standing, with feathers on it. Close your eyes anywhere in Kolkata in October and this is what you hear.
12 pujas listed
Bhog, prasad and the community kitchen
Khichuri, labra, five fried things and a sweet, cooked in vats and served to whoever is standing there. The most underrated part of Pujo.
12 pujas listed
Bonedi bari pujas: the family pujas of old Kolkata
Household pujas in the courtyards of old Kolkata families — older than the public pandal by more than a century, and a completely different experience.
8 pujas listed
How sarbojanin pujas became art installations
A hundred years from subscription boxes to commissioned installations — how the public puja became the largest public art event in the world.
12 pujas listed
Durga Puja on the UNESCO heritage list
In December 2021 Durga Puja in Kolkata joined UNESCO's Representative List. What the citation actually praises is worth knowing.
12 pujas listed
Planning your Pujo
19
A first-timer's guide to pandal hopping
Everything nobody tells you before your first evening — and the three decisions that make the difference between a good night and four hours in traffic.
12 pujas listed
How many pandals you can actually do in a day
The honest arithmetic, by day and by hour — and why the answer on Panchami morning is four times the answer on Ashtami night.
292 pujas listed
The best time of day to go pandal hopping
The city has four completely different Pujos in one day. Knowing which one you want is most of the planning.
12 pujas listed
Pandal hopping after midnight
From about one in the morning the queues collapse and the lights stay on. The only hard problem is getting home.
12 pujas listed
The six-in-the-morning shift
No queues, good light, and the rituals actually happening. If you only take one piece of advice about Pujo, take this one.
12 pujas listed
Which days are busiest
A day-by-day picture of how heavy it gets, and the two strategies that work when it does.
24 pujas listed
Pandal hopping with young children
Entirely doable, on the right day at the right hour. Here is the version that works, and the version that ends in tears at nine at night.
20 pujas listed
Pandal hopping with elderly parents
Short walks, early hours, and a car that can actually reach the door. The constraints are real and the day is very doable inside them.
20 pujas listed
Accessibility and wheelchair access
An honest account, including the honest admission: nobody publishes accessibility data for Kolkata's pujas, and this site does not have any.
292 pujas listed
What to wear
October in Kolkata is warm and humid, you will walk ten kilometres, and you will take your shoes off eleven times. Plan for that first.
12 pujas listed
What to carry
A short list. Everything on it earns its place across a ten-hour day on foot.
12 pujas listed
Crowds, safety and getting separated
Millions of people on foot, managed rather well. Here is how the system works and how to stay comfortable inside it.
292 pujas listed
Eating your way through Pujo
Half the reason to be on the street at all. What to eat, where it turns up, and how not to spend Navami in bed.
12 pujas listed
Staying well over five days
Heat, humidity, ten kilometres a day and four hours of sleep. A small amount of care makes the difference between five good days and three.
12 pujas listed
Rain during Pujo
It rains, most years, at least once. It empties the streets in twenty minutes and refills them in an hour — which, handled right, is an opportunity.
12 pujas listed
Phone, battery and signal
The network will fail you at the exact moment you need it. Plan the evening so that does not matter.
12 pujas listed
What a Pujo day costs
The pandals are free. Everything else is transport and food, and one of those two is where the money goes.
12 pujas listed
Where to stay during Pujo
The right question is not which hotel — it is which side of the city you want to wake up in.
12 pujas listed
Coming to Kolkata for Pujo
For anyone coming from outside the city: when to arrive, how long you need, and what to do on your first evening.
20 pujas listed
Getting around
7
The Metro during Pujo
The one form of transport the festival cannot jam. Which lines get you where, and how to use it on a night when everybody else has had the same idea.
12 pujas listed
Buses and trams
Buses run late and get diverted; trams are now barely a network at all. Both need a word of explanation.
12 pujas listed
Cabs and app taxis
Expensive, slow, and frequently unavailable at exactly the moment you want one. Here is when it still makes sense.
12 pujas listed
Driving and parking
Mostly a bad idea, with two specific exceptions. If you are driving anyway, park once and walk.
24 pujas listed
Walking the city
The correct way to do Pujo, and the only one that scales. Ten kilometres a day, and worth every one of them.
70 pujas listed
Traffic restrictions and one-way plans
For five days the city's road network is rewritten. Understanding the shape of the plan matters more than memorising any part of it.
292 pujas listed
The river, the ferries and Howrah
The river is the reason the city is here, the ferries are the nicest way to cross it, and Howrah on the far bank has a festival of its own.
12 pujas listed
Photography
5
Photographing pandals
The pandals are architecture, they are lit for the eye rather than the sensor, and there are four thousand people in front of them. Here is how to work with that.
12 pujas listed
Photographing the idol
A brightly lit figure in a dark frame, with a rite happening in front of it. The technical problem and the etiquette problem are the same problem.
8 pujas listed
Night photography
No tripod, mixed colour temperatures, moving crowds and very little light. All four of those are solvable and one of them is an opportunity.
12 pujas listed
Phone photography
Most of the good photographs taken at Pujo this year will be taken on phones. Four habits make an enormous difference.
12 pujas listed
Photography etiquette
A short list, and following it will get you better photographs as well as fewer arguments.
8 pujas listed
Itineraries
4
One evening in north Kolkata
The classic Kolkata Pujo evening: get off the Metro at Shyambazar and walk south until your legs give out.
70 pujas listed
One evening in south Kolkata
The south is four walkable clusters with roads between them you should not walk. Pick two, use the Metro, and eat at Gariahat.
70 pujas listed
One evening in Salt Lake
Dozens of block pujas, wide roads, real pavements and a fraction of the crush. The most underrated evening in the city.
44 pujas listed
A two-day plan
Forty-eight hours, done properly: two evenings, two mornings, one afternoon asleep. This is the trip most visitors should actually take.
24 pujas listed
Walking route
25
A Baghbazar pandal hopping walk
Five pujas in Baghbazar have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
5 pujas listed
A Ballygunge–Gariahat pandal hopping walk
Seven pujas in Ballygunge–Gariahat have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
7 pujas listed
A Barisha pandal hopping walk
Nine pujas in Barisha have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
9 pujas listed
A Behala pandal hopping walk
Ten pujas in Behala have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
10 pujas listed
A Beliaghata pandal hopping walk
Three pujas in Beliaghata have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
3 pujas listed
A Bhowanipore pandal hopping walk
14 pujas in Bhowanipore have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
14 pujas listed
A Chetla–New Alipore pandal hopping walk
Four pujas in Chetla–New Alipore have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
4 pujas listed
A Deshapriya Park–Kalighat pandal hopping walk
Five pujas in Deshapriya Park–Kalighat have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
5 pujas listed
A Dum Dum and North Fringe pandal hopping walk
Three pujas in Dum Dum and North Fringe have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
3 pujas listed
A Dum Dum Park pandal hopping walk
Four pujas in Dum Dum Park have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
4 pujas listed
A Garia–Patuli pandal hopping walk
Five pujas in Garia–Patuli have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
5 pujas listed
A Golf Green–Netaji Nagar pandal hopping walk
Four pujas in Golf Green–Netaji Nagar have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
4 pujas listed
A Haridevpur–Putiary pandal hopping walk
Four pujas in Haridevpur–Putiary have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
4 pujas listed
A Hatibagan–Hedua–Beadon pandal hopping walk
13 pujas in Hatibagan–Hedua–Beadon have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
13 pujas listed
A Jodhpur Park–Selimpur pandal hopping walk
Five pujas in Jodhpur Park–Selimpur have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
5 pujas listed
A Kankurgachi–Ultadanga pandal hopping walk
Four pujas in Kankurgachi–Ultadanga have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
4 pujas listed
A Kasba–Bosepukur–Rajdanga pandal hopping walk
Three pujas in Kasba–Bosepukur–Rajdanga have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
3 pujas listed
A Kumartuli pandal hopping walk
Three pujas in Kumartuli have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
3 pujas listed
A Lake Town pandal hopping walk
Five pujas in Lake Town have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
5 pujas listed
A Maniktala–Goabagan pandal hopping walk
Four pujas in Maniktala–Goabagan have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
4 pujas listed
A Pathuriaghata–Jorabagan and Bonedi pandal hopping walk
Twelve pujas in Pathuriaghata–Jorabagan and Bonedi have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
12 pujas listed
A Salt Lake pandal hopping walk
44 pujas in Salt Lake have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
44 pujas listed
A Santoshpur pandal hopping walk
Five pujas in Santoshpur have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
5 pujas listed
A Sovabazar–Beniatola pandal hopping walk
Three pujas in Sovabazar–Beniatola have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
3 pujas listed
A Tala–Belgachia pandal hopping walk
Eleven pujas in Tala–Belgachia have confirmed positions — enough to walk between in one evening. Add them all and let the planner order the walk.
11 pujas listed
Neighbourhood
34
Durga Puja in Ahiritola
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Ahiritola — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Baghbazar
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Baghbazar — five in all, five of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
5 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Ballygunge–Gariahat
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Ballygunge–Gariahat — seven in all, seven of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
7 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Bangur–Sreebhumi
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Bangur–Sreebhumi — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Barisha
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Barisha — nine in all, nine of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
9 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Behala
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Behala — eleven in all, ten of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
11 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Beliaghata
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Beliaghata — three in all, three of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
3 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Bhowanipore
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Bhowanipore — 14 in all, 14 of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
14 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Chetla–New Alipore
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Chetla–New Alipore — four in all, four of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
4 pujas listed
Durga Puja in College Street–Central
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in College Street–Central — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Deshapriya Park–Kalighat
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Deshapriya Park–Kalighat — five in all, five of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
5 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Dum Dum and North Fringe
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Dum Dum and North Fringe — three in all, three of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
3 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Dum Dum Park
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Dum Dum Park — four in all, four of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
4 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Garia–Patuli
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Garia–Patuli — five in all, five of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
5 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Golf Green–Netaji Nagar
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Golf Green–Netaji Nagar — four in all, four of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
4 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Haridevpur–Putiary
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Haridevpur–Putiary — four in all, four of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
4 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Hatibagan–Hedua–Beadon
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Hatibagan–Hedua–Beadon — 13 in all, 13 of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
13 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Howrah
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Howrah — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Jadavpur
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Jadavpur — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Jodhpur Park–Selimpur
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Jodhpur Park–Selimpur — five in all, five of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
5 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Kankurgachi–Ultadanga
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Kankurgachi–Ultadanga — five in all, four of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
5 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Kasba–Bosepukur–Rajdanga
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Kasba–Bosepukur–Rajdanga — three in all, three of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
3 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Kumartuli
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Kumartuli — three in all, three of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
3 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Lake Town
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Lake Town — five in all, five of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
5 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Maniktala–Goabagan
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Maniktala–Goabagan — four in all, four of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
4 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Mudiali–Tollygunge
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Mudiali–Tollygunge — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Park Circus
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Park Circus — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Pathuriaghata–Jorabagan and Bonedi
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Pathuriaghata–Jorabagan and Bonedi — twelve in all, twelve of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
12 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Salt Lake
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Salt Lake — 44 in all, 44 of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
44 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Santoshpur
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Santoshpur — five in all, five of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
5 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Sealdah–Bowbazar
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Sealdah–Bowbazar — two in all, two of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Sovabazar–Beniatola
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Sovabazar–Beniatola — three in all, three of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
3 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Tala–Belgachia
Every Durga Puja pandal this site lists in Tala–Belgachia — eleven in all, eleven of them with a confirmed position you can route to — with notes on what the neighbourhood is like on foot.
11 pujas listed
Pujas whose area is still being confirmed
65 pujas in this dataset carry a name but not yet a neighbourhood. They are real, they have their own pages, and this is where they are while that is sorted out.
65 pujas listed
Zone
5
Durga Puja in East / North-East Kolkata
The East / North-East zone holds 58 of the 296 pujas this site lists, across five neighbourhoods. What the zone is like, and the complete list.
58 pujas listed
Durga Puja in Howrah Kolkata
The Howrah zone holds two of the 296 pujas this site lists, across one neighbourhoods. What the zone is like, and the complete list.
2 pujas listed
Durga Puja in North & Central Kolkata
The North & Central zone holds 71 of the 296 pujas this site lists, across twelve neighbourhoods. What the zone is like, and the complete list.
71 pujas listed
Durga Puja in South Kolkata
The South zone holds 70 of the 296 pujas this site lists, across twelve neighbourhoods. What the zone is like, and the complete list.
70 pujas listed
Durga Puja in South-West Kolkata
The South-West zone holds 30 of the 296 pujas this site lists, across three neighbourhoods. What the zone is like, and the complete list.
30 pujas listed
Zone & kind
6
Block and Community Puja pujas in East / North-East Kolkata
44 of the East / North-East zone's pujas are recorded as block / community puja. Where they are, and what that classification means.
44 pujas listed
Community Puja pujas in East / North-East Kolkata
14 of the East / North-East zone's pujas are recorded as community puja. Where they are, and what that classification means.
14 pujas listed
Bonedi Bari pujas in North & Central Kolkata
Eight of the North & Central zone's pujas are recorded as bonedi bari. Where they are, and what that classification means.
8 pujas listed
Community Puja pujas in North & Central Kolkata
63 of the North & Central zone's pujas are recorded as community puja. Where they are, and what that classification means.
63 pujas listed
Community Puja pujas in South Kolkata
70 of the South zone's pujas are recorded as community puja. Where they are, and what that classification means.
70 pujas listed
Community Puja pujas in South-West Kolkata
30 of the South-West zone's pujas are recorded as community puja. Where they are, and what that classification means.
30 pujas listed
Kind of puja
3
Block and Community Puja pujas in Kolkata
44 pujas in this dataset are recorded as block / community puja. What the classification means, and the full list.
44 pujas listed
Bonedi Bari pujas in Kolkata
Eight pujas in this dataset are recorded as bonedi bari. What the classification means, and the full list.
8 pujas listed
Community Puja pujas in Kolkata
244 pujas in this dataset are recorded as community puja. What the classification means, and the full list.
60 pujas listed