Plan your trip · Pune
What's on in Pune
Ganeshotsav is the event that defines Pune, but the city's year also includes the palkhi pilgrimage, a classical music festival in December and big Navratri crowds at Chaturshringi. Most dates follow the Hindu calendar, so check the year's dates before you book.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Pune right now, so here is the year instead — the fixtures that come round annually, and what each one means for a visit.
The year in Pune
Pune packs most of its outdoor calendar into the cooler months; the pre-monsoon peak is hot enough that daytime processions are genuinely hard going. Broadly, Oct – Feb is when visiting is most comfortable here, and that is when the calendar is busiest — which also means accommodation is most expensive and books furthest ahead.
Most of these follow lunar calendars and move by weeks from year to year, so treat the windows below as the season rather than the date, and confirm the year’s dates before you book around one.
Signature to Pune
Ganesh Chaturthi
🗓️ August–SeptemberTen days of pandals in every neighbourhood and dhol-tasha troupes in the streets. On the last day the five manache Ganpati, led by Kasba Ganpati, head the immersion procession through the old city.
Planning: Immersion day closes the central roads and the procession runs late into the night; book rooms early.
Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav
🗓️ DecemberOne of the most serious Hindustani classical music festivals in the country, over several evenings.
Planning: Tickets go early, and the evenings are cool by Pune standards — take a layer.
Nationwide
Diwali
🗓️ October–NovemberThe biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.
Holi
🗓️ MarchColoured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.
Navratri and Dussehra
🗓️ September–OctoberNine nights of fasting, music and dance, ending with Dussehra. What it looks like changes completely by region — garba in Gujarat, pandals in Bengal, processions in the south.
Eid al-Fitr
🗓️ shifts ~11 days earlier each yearThe end of Ramadan. The old quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bhopal are at their best in the evenings through the preceding month, when food streets run past midnight.
Makar Sankranti and Pongal
🗓️ mid-JanuaryThe harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Ganeshotsav (August or September)
Pune is where Bal Gangadhar Tilak helped turn Ganesh Chaturthi into a public festival in the 1890s, and it still feels like the city's own. For ten days, pandals fill the old town, and Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati builds a new decorated setting each year. Dhol-tasha groups, with hundreds of drummers in pheta and nauvari, rehearse for weeks. On the last day, Anant Chaturdashi, the five manache Ganpati lead the immersion procession, starting with Kasba Ganpati. On immersion day, central roads close and processions go on late into the night.
The palkhi (June or July)
Every year, the palkhis of the saints Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram set out from Alandi and Dehu on the walk to Pandharpur for Ashadhi Ekadashi. They pass through Pune with hundreds of thousands of warkaris singing along the way, and usually halt in the city before going on. Traffic is diverted on the route, so check the year's schedule.
Navratri and Dussehra (September or October)
The Chaturshringi temple holds a fair through the nine nights of Navratri, and the hillside is crowded every evening. Dandiya and garba events take place across the city.
Diwali (October or November)
Old-town shops stay open late, and sweet shops such as Chitale Bandhu are at their busiest. Many Pune families make a faral platter of chakli, karanji and ladoo at home.
Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav (December)
This Hindustani classical music festival was started in 1953 by the singer Bhimsen Joshi in memory of his guru. It usually runs for several days in the second week of December at the Maharashtriya Mandal grounds in Mukund Nagar. It used to go on all night, but it now ends by 10 pm under city rules. Passes sell early.
Gudi Padwa and Shivaji Jayanti
Gudi Padwa, the Marathi new year in March or April, brings gudis (decorated poles) on balconies and processions in nauvari and pheta. Shivaji Jayanti on 19 February is marked with processions across the city.
Questions
Pune — FAQ
When is the Ganesh immersion in Pune?
On Anant Chaturdashi, the last day of the festival, usually in September. The processions start in the morning and often carry on into the night.
What are dhol-tasha pathaks?
They are large drumming groups, often of students and young professionals, who play big dhol drums and small tasha drums. They perform in front of the Ganpati processions during Ganeshotsav.
Does Sawai Gandharva still run all night?
No. It used to, but under city rules the concerts now finish by 10 pm. Check the year's schedule and pass details before you go.
Can visitors walk with the palkhi?
Yes. Many people join the warkaris for a stretch through or near Pune. Wear comfortable shoes, carry water and follow the flow of the crowd.