Kolkata · Durga Puja 2026
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.
Written for Durga Puja 2026 · Last updated 14 August 2026
When to come and how long
Arrive by Panchami if you can. The two days before Shashthi give you finished pandals without the peak crowds, and they are the days that make a short trip worth it.
Four nights is the minimum that feels like enough: Panchami through Navami. Six — Chaturthi to Dashami — is the full arc, including the immersions, and is what you want if you are travelling a long way.
Book flights and rooms months ahead. Trains into Howrah and Sealdah are booked out for these dates further ahead than that.
Getting in
The airport is at Dum Dum in the north-east, and the road in runs down the V.I.P. Road corridor — which during Pujo carries some of the heaviest pandal traffic in the city. A transfer that takes forty minutes in June can take two hours on Ashtami evening. Land in the morning if you have the choice.
Howrah and Sealdah stations put you either side of the centre; both are chaotic and both have prepaid taxi counters, which are worth using during the festival.
A first three days
Day one, evening: one north Kolkata neighbourhood on foot. Shyambazar down through Hatibagan is the classic, and it will tell you more about what Pujo is than any list of famous names.
Day two, early morning: Kumartuli and the riverside, then a bonedi bari courtyard in the late morning. Rest through the afternoon. Evening: a southern cluster — Bhowanipore or Gariahat.
Day three: the big names, on the understanding that you are queueing. Or, better, a block-organised area like Salt Lake or Lake Town in the evening, where you will see more and fight less.
Two things worth knowing
English is widely spoken and Bengali is very warmly received; 'Shubho Bijoya' on Dashami will get you a hug from somebody's grandmother.
You will be invited into things — a bhog sitting, a dhunuchi dance, somebody's family courtyard. Say yes. That is the festival, rather than the pandals.
The 20 pujas on this guide
Twenty pujas with confirmed coordinates, prominent ones first — enough to build several days of routes from, across the whole city.
Every one of these has a confirmed position, so the Route Planner can order them and draw the walk between them.
- 66 PalliKali Temple Road, Kalighat
- AhiritolaB K Paul Avenue, Ahiritola
- Ajeya SanghatiMahatma Gandhi Road, Haridevpur
- Babubagan ClubBabu Bagan, Dhakuria
- Badamtala Ashar SanghaRashbehari Avenue, Kalighat
- Baghbazar Sarbojonin Durgotsab & ExhibitionBagbazar Street, Bagbazar
- Bakul Bagan SarbojaninBakul Bagan Road, Bhowanipore
- Ballygunge Cultural AssociationLake View Road, Ballygunge
- Barisha ClubDiamond Harbour Road, Barisha
- Barisha SarbojaninBarisha
- Behala 11 Pally Youth AssociationSatyen Roy Road, Behala
- Behala ClubDiamond Harbour Road, Behala
- Behala Nutan DalBehala
- Beliaghata 33 No PalliBeliaghata Main Road, Beliaghata
- Bhawanipur 75 Palli Durga PujaS N Pandit Street, Bhowanipore
- Bosepukur Sitala MandirBosepukur Road, Kasba
- Chetla Agrani ClubPeary Mohan Roy Road, Chetla
- Chorbagan Sarbojanin DurgotsavMuktaram Babu Street, Chorbagan
- College SquareCollege Square, College Street
- Deshapriya ParkDeshapriya Park, Kalighat
Read next
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.
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.
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.
Written by Pujo Kolkata. Pandal listings come from the PujoKolkata master dataset, with coordinates from the IndianOil–Kolkata Police Puja Guide and from community-curated puja maps of the city. Nothing here publishes a 2026 theme, a timing or a crowd level for any puja, because none has been announced. Browse every pandal.