Durga Puja
Durga Puja takes place Mid Oct 2026 (main days approx Oct 16 - 21, Shashthi to Vijaya Dashami) in Kolkata, India. The dress code is Modest, comfortable clothing for crowds and long walking; traditional wear (saree or kurta) is common and welcome, with easy-off footwear for entering pandals. Typical cost ranges from 150 to 500 EUR per person.
A UNESCO-recognised festival in which Kolkata fills with thousands of elaborately themed pavilions (pandals) housing artistic idols of the goddess Durga. It functions as the world's largest public art exhibition as much as a religious celebration, with entire neighbourhoods competing on concept and craft. The city simply does not sleep for five nights.
- When
- Mid Oct 2026 (main days approx Oct 16 - 21, Shashthi to Vijaya Dashami)
- Where
- Kolkata, India
- Dress code
- Modest, comfortable clothing for crowds and long walking; traditional wear (saree or kurta) is common and welcome, with easy-off footwear for entering pandals.
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 150 to 500 EUR per person.
- Weather
- 26 - 32C, post-monsoon warm and humid, mostly dry with a chance of a late shower
- When to book
- No tickets needed; book Kolkata hotels 2 - 3 months out as the city fills for Puja week
- Getting there
- CCU (Kolkata), 45 min to the central pandal districts
- Where to stay
- The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata, Glenburn Penthouse (boutique), Taj Bengal
- Official site
- https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/durga-puja-in-kolkata-00703
How to attend
Completely free and open to all: walk, taxi or metro between neighbourhood pandals across North and South Kolkata. Guided pandal-hopping and art-focused walks (some paid) are worth it for context and queue navigation. Go earlier in the day or on the first days (Panchami, Shashthi) for a calmer experience, and book hotels months ahead.
Durga Puja is free and open to everyone - the pandals sit on public streets, so there is nothing to book.
Insider tip
Do North Kolkata's heritage house pujas by day and the big South Kolkata showstopper pandals after midnight, when the queues thin and the installations glow.
Get inside Durga Puja
Booking matters here: no tickets needed; book Kolkata hotels 2 - 3 months out as the city fills for Puja week. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
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