Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 in Nashik: Events, Puja & Where to Celebrate

TL;DR

• 🪔 Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 falls on September 14 in Nashik — the city's largest festival of the year begins a ten-day celebration ending with visarjan on September 23
• 🏛️ Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple in Pushpanjali Colony and Ganpati Mandir at Sharayu Park NH3 are the two primary Ganesh-specific temples in the city's directory
• 📅 A full month of lead-up festivals — Nag Panchami, Raksha Bandhan, Krishna Janmashtami — marks the weeks before Chaturthi arrives
• 🙏 Saibaba Temple on College Road and Shree Tulja Bhavani Mandir Devasthan on Jai Bhavani Road serve continuous daily worship throughout the festival season
• 🎉 Navratri begins October 11, extending the festive calendar well past Ganesh visarjan

The Festival Timeline: August Through October

To understand Ganesh Chaturthi in Nashik, it helps to see it within the broader festival arc that runs from mid-August through October. The period is a continuous progression of observances, each with its own character, culminating in a ten-day public festival that transforms the city.

Nag Panchami on August 17 opens the sequence. This observance honoring serpent deities is marked by milk offerings at temples and Naga images drawn at doorways, and it functions as a kind of ritual opening of the festive season before the more prominent festivals arrive.

Ekadashi on August 23 and Pradosh Vrat on August 26 maintain the devotional rhythm of the lunar calendar through the latter part of August. Pradosh Vrat — the twilight Shiva observance on the thirteenth lunar day — is the last major Shiva-centered observance before the Ganesha season takes over.

Raksha Bandhan 2026 falls on August 28, coinciding with Purnima, the full moon. This double significance makes it one of the larger household occasions of the late-August period. The full-moon timing intensifies the observance for families that also mark Purnima with prayers and offerings.

Then the sequence accelerates. Krishna Janmashtami 2026 lands on September 4 — just ten days before Ganesh Chaturthi itself. For households that celebrate both, the first two weeks of September carry an essentially continuous festive charge: preparations for Janmashtami, then an immediate pivot to Chaturthi preparations once it concludes.

Amavasya on September 11 falls three days before Chaturthi on September 14. In some households the new moon functions as the final day of preparation — completing obligations, cleaning the home, beginning the rituals that lead into the festival proper.

The Chaturthi celebrations run from September 14 through September 23, when Anant Chaturdashi marks the visarjan (immersion of idols). And then, without a long pause, Navratri begins on October 11, with Durga Ashtami 2026 arriving on October 19.

Ganesh Temples in Nashik

Nashik has an established network of Ganesh shrines that see concentrated attention during Chaturthi season. Two stand out in the city's community directories.

Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple in Pushpanjali Colony is associated with the Mayureshwar form of Ganesha — the same name as the primary shrine in Morgaon, which is the first of Maharashtra's Ashtavinayaka (eight sacred Ganesh temples). Devotees who maintain a specific connection to this form of Ganesha visit Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple throughout the year, but the weeks surrounding Chaturthi draw larger numbers who want to make offerings at a shrine dedicated to this particular manifestation.

Ganpati Mandir at Sharayu Park on NH3 (National Highway 3) occupies a different functional position. Its location along the Pune-Nashik highway makes it a natural stop for devotees arriving from surrounding areas, and during Chaturthi the footfall here increases substantially as visitors from outside the city make their way to Nashik for the festival. Families traveling the NH3 corridor often stop at Ganpati Mandir before continuing to their final destination.

Together, these two temples represent complementary entry points into the city's Ganesh worship: one neighborhood-rooted, one highway-accessible.

The Broader Sacred Network

Beyond the two primary Ganesh temples, Nashik's devotional geography during the Chaturthi period includes several other significant sites.

Radha Nikunj on Pune Nashik Road is a Krishna-oriented space that becomes particularly relevant in the days surrounding Krishna Janmashtami on September 4. For households celebrating both Janmashtami and Chaturthi in close succession, a visit to Radha Nikunj in early September followed by the Ganesh temples later in the month traces the natural devotional arc of the season.

Saibaba Temple on College Road maintains its own distinct congregation throughout the festival season. Thursdays draw steady visitors regardless of where the festival calendar sits, and the temple operates on a schedule independent of the Ganesh celebrations. For regular Sai devotees, the Chaturthi period does not displace the Thursday practice — it runs alongside it.

Shree Tulja Bhavani Mandir Devasthan on Jai Bhavani Road represents the Devi tradition in Nashik's sacred geography. This temple comes most fully into season when Navratri begins on October 11, and it provides continuity for devotees whose practice extends beyond the Chaturthi period into the Devi observances that follow.

The Public Dimension of Chaturthi in Nashik

Beyond individual temple visits, Ganesh Chaturthi in Nashik is a public event of significant scale. The city's neighborhood committees — known as mandals — each install their own Ganesh idol, construct decorated pandals, and organize cultural programming across the ten days. The quality of decoration, the size of the idol, and the range of programs a mandal offers become a source of genuine community investment and, in some areas, competitive pride.

The atmosphere in Nashik changes visibly from September 14 onward. Major roads near prominent pandals become pedestrian corridors by evening. The sound of devotional music and the percussion of arti drums carries through the night. Vendors selling modak — the sweet associated with Ganesha — marigold garlands, and coconuts set up along every major route toward the temples and pandals.

Crowds peak on September 14 (installation day) and September 23 (visarjan day). Planning visits to Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple and Ganpati Mandir at Sharayu Park on the intervening days — between the 15th and the 22nd — offers a more meditative experience than the bookends provide.

The visarjan procession itself is worth witnessing if you position yourself well. Routes fill from mid-afternoon, and the hours before sunset are the most concentrated in terms of color, sound, and communal energy.

Insider Tip

Visit Ganpati Mandir at Sharayu Park NH3 during the middle days of the festival — September 17 to 19 — rather than on the first or last day. These days attract the regular devotees rather than the general public crowds. Queues are shorter, the environment inside the temple is calmer, and the act of puja feels more focused. For visarjan day on September 23, find your position along the procession route by early afternoon rather than arriving in the evening.

FAQ

When is Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 in Nashik? Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 falls on September 14. The festival runs for ten days, concluding with visarjan on Anant Chaturdashi, September 23.

Where is Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple? Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple is located in Pushpanjali Colony, Nashik.

Where is Ganpati Mandir at Sharayu Park? Ganpati Mandir is located at Sharayu Park on NH3 (National Highway 3), along the Pune-Nashik highway corridor.

When is Raksha Bandhan 2026 in Nashik? Raksha Bandhan 2026 falls on August 28, coinciding with Purnima this year.

When does Navratri begin after Ganesh Chaturthi? Navratri 2026 begins on October 11, approximately two and a half weeks after Anant Chaturdashi. Shree Tulja Bhavani Mandir Devasthan on Jai Bhavani Road is a key Devi temple for this period.

Is Saibaba Temple active during the Chaturthi season? Saibaba Temple on College Road maintains its regular schedule throughout the festival season. Thursdays remain the primary congregation day regardless of what else is on the calendar.

What is Anant Chaturdashi? Anant Chaturdashi is the fourteenth day of the Bhadra Shukla Paksha — the waxing fortnight of the lunar month. In 2026 it falls on September 23 and marks the conclusion of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival with the visarjan of idols.

Bottom Line

Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 anchors Nashik's most significant festival season of the year. The ten-day celebration from September 14 to September 23 is the public peak, but the season runs from Nag Panchami in mid-August through Navratri in mid-October — a full two months in which the city's devotional life operates at elevated intensity. Mayureshwar Ganpati Temple in Pushpanjali Colony and Ganpati Mandir at Sharayu Park NH3 are the temple anchors for personal puja. Saibaba Temple on College Road and Shree Tulja Bhavani Mandir Devasthan on Jai Bhavani Road carry the devotional calendar into the weeks that follow. For those visiting Nashik specifically for Chaturthi, the middle days of the festival offer the best combination of atmosphere and accessibility.