Navratri 2026 in Delhi: Garba & Dandiya Nights, Dates and Tips

Navratri 2026 begins on Sunday, 11 October and the nine nights run until Monday, 19 October, with Dussehra on Tuesday, 20 October. In Delhi NCR the big garba and dandiya nights bunch up on the weekend of 16–18 October. As of early October, neighbourhood nights start under ₹500 and the big-ground festivals cost ₹700–₹1,000, while hotel and club-house events run up to about ₹3,000.

Navratri 2026 dates at a glance

The nine nights follow the lunar calendar, so they move every year. For 2026 most panchangs agree on these dates. The colour list is the widely followed weekday-based one, which helps if your group wants to coordinate outfits.

Night	Date	Popular colour	What’s happening
1	Sun, 11 Oct	Orange	Ghatasthapana; nine-night grounds open
2	Mon, 12 Oct	White	Weeknight club and brewery nights
3	Tue, 13 Oct	Red	Weeknight events
4	Wed, 14 Oct	Royal blue	Weeknight events
5	Thu, 15 Oct	Yellow	Some festivals start a day early
6	Fri, 16 Oct	Green	Peak weekend begins
7	Sat, 17 Oct	Grey	Biggest night; Durga Puja Shashthi
8	Sun, 18 Oct	Purple	Peak weekend ends
9	Mon, 19 Oct	Peacock green	Ashtami and Navami; kanya pujan
—	Tue, 20 Oct	—	Dussehra (gazetted holiday)

A quirk of 2026 is that the Saptami tithi covers sunrise on both 17 and 18 October. That shifts Ashtami to Monday 19 October, where it ends mid-morning and Navami begins right after, so many families will do kanya pujan that day. The Bengali Durga Puja runs alongside, from Maha Shashthi on 17 October to Bijoya Dashami on 21 October. Our Durga Puja pandal-hopping guide covers it.

When to go: the three peak nights

If you only do one garba night, pick Friday 16, Saturday 17 or Sunday 18 October. Almost every large ticketed festival in NCR is scheduled for these three nights. Weeknights from 11 to 15 October are quieter. You’ll mostly find club and brewery nights, mall events and the nine-night community grounds in Dwarka.

One thing to plan around: the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon is on the morning of Sunday, 18 October. It has traditionally started from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, so expect road closures in central Delhi that morning if you’re heading home late from a Saturday-night event or going out early.

For the live list of what’s on, check our Navratri garba and dandiya hub. It updates daily, and the this weekend page will be heaving with dandiya listings by 16 October.

The kinds of garba and dandiya nights in NCR

Not all dandiya nights feel the same. Choosing the right format matters more than choosing the “biggest” one.

Big-ground festivals

These are the stadium and convention-centre events with stages, DJ sets, Bollywood dandiya, food courts and shopping stalls. Expect thousands of people, security frisking and long entry queues around 7 pm. For 2026, District lists Shubharambh at Bharat Mandapam and Raatri Raaga at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, both from 16 to 18 October.

Nine-night community grounds

Dwarka has two of these on District this year (see the table below). These grounds run every night of Navratri with cheaper entry and a more family crowd. You’ll see more aunties who actually know the steps. They’re a good choice if you want to go more than once.

Club, brewery and rooftop dandiya

Noida’s breweries and rooftops, and Gurgaon’s bars, run themed nights such as neon dandiya and pink dandiya. These mix garba with a regular party set. Entry is cheap (some listings start at ₹99), but at bars the cover charge is often redeemable only against food and drinks. For more ideas, see our nightlife listings.

Hotel and club-house nights

Five-star hotels and members’ clubs host ticketed evenings with buffets. They’re more expensive, but calmer, seated and easier with older parents.

Traditional garba circles

If you want the real circle-dance experience rather than Bollywood remixes, look for events billed as “authentic garba” or run by Gujarati community groups and samajs. They often follow a stricter dress code, and the dancing goes on for hours.

Navratri 2026 events listed so far

These are a sample of what District showed for Delhi NCR on 4 October 2026, across formats and parts of the city. Organisers change prices and add slots, so treat the prices as “from” figures and check the event page before paying.

Event (as listed)	Dates	Venue	From	Nearest metro
Shubharambh 2026	16–18 Oct	Bharat Mandapam	₹800	Supreme Court (Blue)
Raatri Raaga – The Raas Affair	16–18 Oct	JLN Stadium	₹999	JLN Stadium (Violet)
The Great Indian Garba Fest 4.0	16–18 Oct	Worlds of Wonder, Noida	₹799	Noida Sector 18 (Blue)
Raksha Navratri Garba Dandiya Mahotsav 3.0	11–20 Oct	DDA Garba Dandiya Ground, Dwarka	₹350	Dwarka Sector 10 (Blue)
Dandiya Mahotsav 2026	11–19 Oct	DDA Park, Dwarka	₹100	Dwarka (Blue)
GarbaVerse 1.0	17–18 Oct	Dilli Haat Pitampura	₹499	Netaji Subhash Place (Red/Pink)
Garba Dazzle 3.0	17–18 Oct	Omaxe Chowk, Chandni Chowk	₹299	Chandni Chowk (Yellow)
Pacific Dandiya Nights	16–18 Oct	Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden	₹799	Tagore Garden (Blue)
Dandiya Raas – Under the Stars	17 Oct	Gymkhana Club, Gurugram	₹899	—
Dandiya Raas Utsav 2.0	16–18 Oct	The Grand, New Delhi	₹2,999	—
Meri Dilli Dandiya Utsav	23–25 Oct	Talkatora Indoor Stadium	₹700	RK Ashram Marg (Blue)

Noida’s Ministry of Sound brewery has also listed a run of themed dandiya nights from 11 to 14 October, starting at ₹99. Note that Meri Dilli Dandiya Utsav takes place the weekend after Navratri, which is handy if you miss the main dates.

What to wear

• Traditional nights: chaniya choli, lehenga or a flared anarkali for women, and kediyu, kurta-pyjama or a bandhgala-style kurta for men. Mirror work and bandhani are the classics.
• Club and brewery nights: a bright kurta, co-ord set or Indo-western outfit is perfectly fine. Nobody will check your mirror-work count.
• Footwear: many grounds are grass, dust or temporary flooring. Flat juttis, kolhapuris or sneakers beat heels. You’ll be on your feet for three hours.
• Pin it down: secure your dupatta with safety pins. Loose dupattas and spinning crowds don’t mix.
• Layers: mid-October evenings in Delhi are pleasant but cool off after 10 pm. A light stole helps on the ride home.

What to bring

• Your own pair of dandiya sticks (some events include them, but don’t count on it)
• Phone fully charged, plus a small power bank
• Some cash for food stalls, though most take UPI
• A government ID, which some venues and bars check at entry
• Tissues, hand sanitiser and a small water bottle where allowed
• Earplugs if you’re sensitive to noise, especially near the stage

Tickets: how to book smart

• Book the peak weekend early. The 16–18 October nights at the big grounds tend to move up a price tier as they fill.
• Read the entry rules. Some events don’t admit stag men, and some need everyone in a group to arrive together. Under-18 policies vary too.
• Check what the ticket includes. It might include dandiya sticks, a food coupon or re-entry. At bars, find out whether the cover charge is redeemable.
• Compare passes. Couple, group and season passes for the nine-night grounds often work out much cheaper per night.
• Buy only from the organiser or a known platform. Resale screenshots on social media are a common scam around Navratri.

If you’re watching your spend, our under ₹500 page filters out the pricier events, and the free events list sometimes includes RWA and temple garba evenings.

Learn the steps before you go

Garba and dandiya are easy to pick up, and a crash course makes the night far more fun. In the fortnight before Navratri, dance studios across Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon run short garba workshops. Look under dance events and workshops. At the event itself, stand at the outer edge of the circle for the first few rounds and copy whoever looks most confident.

Temples, fasting food and the daytime side of Navratri

Navratri in Delhi isn’t only about the nights. The big Devi temples draw huge crowds, especially on Ashtami:

• Jhandewalan Mandir: Jhandewalan metro (Blue Line)
• Kalkaji Mandir: Kalkaji Mandir metro (Violet/Magenta interchange)
• Chhatarpur Mandir: Chhatarpur metro (Yellow Line)

Go early in the morning on weekdays if you want darshan without a two-hour queue.

For food, plenty of restaurants run Navratri thalis with kuttu puri, singhara, sabudana khichdi and samak rice. Some are already on District, including a Navratri special thali running from 10 to 20 October. Our food events page tracks the special menus.

Safety and getting home

• Plan the ride back before you leave. Delhi Metro’s last trains leave their starting stations at around 11 pm, and most events end between 10 and 11 pm. If your venue is far from a station, book a cab while you’re still inside, or arrange a lift.
• Expect surge pricing at closing time. Walking ten minutes away from the main gate before booking usually gets you a cab faster.
• Stay with your group and agree on a meeting point near a landmark, because phone networks often jam in big crowds.
• Women travelling late: share your live location, and save 112 (emergency) and 1091 (women’s helpline).
• Don’t drink and drive. Delhi, Noida and Gurugram police run checks through the festive season.
• Noise curfews: open-air music usually has to stop by 10 pm. Authorities sometimes extend this to midnight on a few permitted festival nights, so don’t be surprised if the music cuts off abruptly.

As Navratri ends, Durga Puja peaks and Ravan Dahan follows. Our Ramlila and Dussehra guide covers where to watch the effigies burn on 20 October.

Frequently asked questions

When is Navratri 2026?

Sharad Navratri 2026 begins with Ghatasthapana on Sunday, 11 October and the nine nights end on Monday, 19 October. Dussehra (Vijayadashami) is on Tuesday, 20 October, which is a gazetted holiday in Delhi.

Which is the best weekend for garba and dandiya in Delhi NCR?

Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October. Most of the large ticketed festivals, including the ones at Bharat Mandapam and JLN Stadium, run only on those three nights.

How much do dandiya night tickets cost in Delhi?

As of early October 2026, listings start at about ₹99–₹500 for neighbourhood, mall and brewery nights, ₹700–₹1,000 for the big-ground festivals, and ₹1,000–₹3,000 for hotel and club events. Couple and group passes often work out cheaper per head.

Do I need to bring my own dandiya sticks?

Some organisers hand out sticks with the ticket and many grounds have stalls selling them, but it's safer to carry your own pair. Check the event page for rules on decorated or metal sticks.

What should I wear to a garba night in Delhi?

A chaniya choli, lehenga or kediyu works for traditional nights, and a kurta or bright co-ord is fine at club events. Pick footwear you can dance in on grass or dust, and carry a light stole for late October evenings.

Are there garba events after Navratri ends?

Yes. Meri Dilli Dandiya Utsav is listed for 23–25 October 2026 at Talkatora Indoor Stadium, after the festival itself has ended.