Kolkata Durga Puja 2026: five key dates for pandal visitors

Kolkata’s Durga Puja calendar reaches its public peak from October 17 to October 21, 2026. The official Incredible India listing describes the five-day celebration as a citywide combination of devotion, art, temporary pandals and community gatherings.

For a first-time visitor, the five dates are best treated as different phases rather than identical event days. Shashthi opens the main ritual period, Saptami and Ashtami bring heavy evening footfall, Navami continues the cultural programme and Dashami marks the closing rituals and immersion processions.

Pandal access, opening hours and crowd conditions are decided by individual committees. A practical route plan should group nearby venues, use public transport where possible and avoid trying to cover the whole city in one night.

The dates in this story are festival-level dates. They are not a promise that every pandal will open at the same time.