04–14 SEP 2027
Ganesh Chaturthi
Maharashtra’s landmark Ganesh festival in Mumbai and Pune.
Ganesh Chaturthi is Maharashtra’s great public celebration of Lord Ganesha, marked by decorated pandals, processions, devotional music and immersion ceremonies. Mumbai and Pune are among the best-known places to experience the festival, with celebrations continuing for several days after the main observance.
The festival runs for ten days, from Ganesh Chaturthi to Anant Chaturdashi. In Pune, where Lokmanya Tilak turned the household festival into a public celebration in the 1890s, hundreds of mandals set up pandals across the old city peths, and dhol tasha troupes practise for weeks beforehand. The five Manache Ganpati, the honoured mandals that lead the immersion procession, are Kasba Ganpati, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibaug and Kesariwada. Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati draws the biggest crowds of all, and its pandal is lit up each night. On Anant Chaturdashi the procession moves along Laxmi Road toward the river and usually goes on through the night into the next day.
Expect road closures and heavy crowds in Pune's peths, especially in the evenings and over the final days. The metro to Budhwar Peth or Mandai, followed by a walk, is the easiest way in.
Ganesh Chaturthi is Maharashtra’s great public celebration of Lord Ganesha, marked by decorated pandals, processions, devotional music and immersion ceremonies. Mumbai and Pune are among the best-known places to experience the festival, with celebrations continuing for several days after the main observance.
The festival runs for ten days, from Ganesh Chaturthi to Anant Chaturdashi. In Pune, where Lokmanya Tilak turned the household festival into a public celebration in the 1890s, hundreds of mandals set up pandals across the old city peths, and dhol tasha troupes practise for weeks beforehand. The five Manache Ganpati, the honoured mandals that lead the immersion procession, are Kasba Ganpati, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibaug and Kesariwada. Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati draws the biggest crowds of all, and its pandal is lit up each night. On Anant Chaturdashi the procession moves along Laxmi Road toward the river and usually goes on through the night into the next day.
Expect road closures and heavy crowds in Pune's peths, especially in the evenings and over the final days. The metro to Budhwar Peth or Mandai, followed by a walk, is the easiest way in.
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