Ganga ghats and authorised Chhath ghats across Patna, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India
A four-day Sun-worship festival centred on Patna’s river ghats, with fasting, ritual offerings, folk traditions, and prayers to the setting and rising sun.
Connect with photographers who understand the festival timing, crowd flow, rituals, and documentary angles.
Festival dates
2026 edition
2026 edition: 13 November 2026 – 16 November 2026
The most important photographic periods are the evening Sandhya Arghya and the following morning Usha Arghya. Reach the selected ghat several hours early because access routes may close and crowds build rapidly. Preparation on the preceding days, including markets, basket arrangements, household rituals, and ghat cleaning, also provides strong documentary material.
Date status
Festival dates may change. Please verify locally before planning travel.
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Festival overview
Chhath Puja is one of Bihar’s most important festivals and is dedicated to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya. The observance extends over four days: Nahay Khay, Kharna, Sandhya Arghya, and Usha Arghya. In Patna, large numbers of devotees gather along the Ganges and at prepared water bodies to offer prayers to the setting sun and return before dawn to worship the rising sun. The visual language of the festival includes bamboo baskets of offerings, sugarcane canopies, earthen lamps, fasting devotees standing in water, family groups, folk songs, riverfront preparation, and the changing light of dusk and dawn.
Planning notes
Use a wide or normal lens for families, offerings, river context, and the scale of the ghats. A short telephoto helps photograph rituals without entering the water or crowding devotees. Work quietly and avoid flash during prayer. Ask before close portraits, particularly of fasting women and family rituals. Dawn exposure can change rapidly, so prepare for low light followed by strong backlight and reflections.
Patna authorities designate and prepare multiple ghats and temporary water bodies each year. Access plans, traffic restrictions, parking, and safe-entry routes change annually. Use official district or police updates to select a ghat. Gandhi Ghat and other major riverfront areas can become very crowded, while smaller authorised ghats may provide more manageable access.
Riverbanks, temporary steps, and wet surfaces can be slippery. Follow barricades and use only officially opened ghats. Do not enter deep water or obstruct devotees carrying offerings. Keep equipment protected from water, mud, smoke, and crowd pressure. Arrive and leave through designated routes, and follow police instructions during both evening and pre-dawn gatherings.
Photography guide
Chhath Puja is one of Bihar’s most important festivals and is dedicated to the Sun God and Chhathi Maiya. The observance extends over four days: Nahay Khay, Kharna, Sandhya Arghya, and Usha Arghya. In Patna, large numbers of devotees gather along the Ganges and at prepared water bodies to offer prayers to the setting sun and return before dawn to worship the rising sun. The visual language of the festival includes bamboo baskets of offerings, sugarcane canopies, earthen lamps, fasting devotees standing in water, family groups, folk songs, riverfront preparation, and the changing light of dusk and dawn.
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