Aura of India: West Bengal Before Durga Puja: Kolkata, Bishnupur and the Delta

Sunset over newly planted paddy fields and palm trees in Bengal

Photo: Abhijit Kar Gupta from Kolkata, India, CC BY 2.0 (cropped), via Wikimedia Commons

West Bengal, two weeks before Durga Puja.

A whole state getting ready for five days in October.

From the mountains to the mangroves

West Bengal runs from the Himalayas to the sea. In the north is Darjeeling, with its tea gardens and its toy train. In the middle are the flat green plains of the Ganges delta: rice fields, ponds, palms and slow rivers. In the south, where the delta meets the Bay of Bengal, are the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. Kolkata, the capital, sits on the Hooghly, a branch of the Ganges.

A state getting ready

In early October Bengal is preparing for Durga Puja, its biggest festival, when the goddess Durga is welcomed home for five days. In Kumartuli, Kolkata’s old potters’ quarter, clay images are being finished and painted. In every neighbourhood and village, pandals, temporary temples of bamboo and cloth, are going up, some built as full art installations. Tailors work late. In 2026 the main days fall between 16 and 21 October, though local calendars can shift by a day.

Why people come

Durga Puja in Kolkata is on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and people travel from across India and abroad to walk the pandals at night. But Bengal is more than one week. It gave India much of its modern literature, music and film, from Rabindranath Tagore, Asia’s first Nobel laureate, to the director Satyajit Ray. Visitors come for the terracotta temples, the sweets, the river, and a pace that feels unlike the rest of India.

How to get around

Kolkata’s airport has flights across India and to Bangkok, Dhaka, Singapore and the Gulf. From Kolkata, trains run north towards Darjeeling via New Jalpaiguri, west to Bishnupur and Santiniketan, and south towards the Sundarbans. Bagdogra airport serves the hills. In Kolkata itself, the metro, the yellow taxis and the river ferries are all worth a ride.

Kumartuli, where the goddess is made

Kumartuli is the potters' quarter on the river in north Kolkata. Its narrow lanes are workshops open to the street, roofed with bamboo and plastic sheet. The images begin as straw tied onto bamboo frames, and are then covered in unfired clay taken from the Ganges, smoothed, dried and painted. The eyes are painted last, traditionally on Mahalaya, which fell on 10 October this year.

In early October the lanes are full: faces drying in rows, hands and weapons waiting to be fitted, artists working late under bare bulbs. By Shashthi, 16 October, most images have left on lorries for the pandals. Go in the morning, keep out of the way of the porters, and ask before you photograph anyone at work.

UNESCO added Durga Puja in Kolkata to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021, and much of what it describes starts here: the clay from the river, the artisans, and the return of the clay to the river on the last day.

Ten days across the state

Give Kolkata the first three days: a dawn walk on the Hooghly ghats, a morning at Kumartuli, the Victoria Memorial, and the sweet shops of the north. See Kolkata at dawn. Then take an early train west for a night among the terracotta temples of Bishnupur.

Next, go north-west to Santiniketan, where Rabindranath Tagore founded his school in 1901; it became a World Heritage Site in 2023. Back in Kolkata, spend two days on a boat in the Sundarbans, leaving from the jetty at Godkhali.

Finish in the hills. An overnight train runs from Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri, and from there it is a few hours by road or toy train up to Darjeeling, with Kalimpong and the tea gardens of the Dooars close by.

Before you go

October is warm and humid, with the last of the rain. The hills are clearest from November.
For Durga Puja, book rooms early and expect crowds all night.
Visit Kumartuli now, in early October, to see the images being made. Ask before photographing the artists.
Learn one word, shubho, meaning auspicious. After the festival you will hear Shubho Bijoya everywhere.

By mid-October the clay figures will leave Kumartuli on trucks. For now they are still drying in the lanes.

Plan your visit

When to come	Early October to watch the images being finished in Kumartuli; 16 to 21 October for the puja itself. Expect warm, humid days and a late shower. The hills clear from late October.
Arriving	Fly into Kolkata, or come by train to Howrah or Sealdah. For the Darjeeling leg, Bagdogra airport near Siliguri is closest. Full transport details are in the West Bengal guide.
Puja-week travel	On the puja nights the Metro is the easiest way between neighbourhoods, since many roads close to cars from mid-afternoon. Take the early trains out to Bishnupur and Santiniketan before the crowds build.
Where to stay	Central Kolkata (Park Street, Esplanade), Ballygunge or Salt Lake, close to a Metro line for the puja nights. Rooms for 16 to 21 October go early.
How long to spend	Ten days for the route below: Kolkata, a night in Bishnupur, Santiniketan, two days on a Sundarbans boat, then the hills.
Sundarbans	No permit is needed for the rest of this route. In the delta, a registered boat operator takes you into the tiger reserve and handles the daily entry fee.

Open Kumartuli, Kolkata, West Bengal in Google Maps

Questions people ask

Which are the main Durga Puja days in 2026?

Shashthi, the first of the main days, is 16 October, and Bijoya Dashami, the immersion day, is 21 October. Ashtami, 19 October, is usually the most crowded night. The season opened with Mahalaya on 10 October.

Is it worth coming before the puja rather than during it?

Yes, if you want to see how it is made. In the first half of October Kumartuli's workshops are full and the pandals are still being built; by Shashthi the images have gone and the city is packed. Come for both if you can.

Can visitors walk around Kumartuli?

Yes. The lanes are public and open every day. Visit in the morning, stay out of the workshops unless invited, and ask before photographing the artists.

Do I need a permit to travel in West Bengal?

Not for Kolkata, Darjeeling or most of the state. For the Sundarbans, the boat operator arranges entry to the tiger reserve. Permits come in only beyond the state: foreign visitors need one for Sikkim, and everyone needs one for its border areas.

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West Bengal Before Durga Puja: Kolkata, Bishnupur and the Delta