If you want to avoid crowds, head over post dinner between 9 to 11 pm. Here’s where we recommend you stop this year. But plan your pandal-hopping well as these Ganpatis head for visarjan to Girgaum Chowpatty on the fifth day of the festival. 

Bhandarkar Road

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The Bhandarkar Road Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samiti believes in giving back. This mandal conducts blood donation drives, cultural programmes and daily dinners that are open to all. It also returns the devotees any offerings of ornaments once the festival is over. While the road becomes a traffic nightmare, the pandal’s idol sits on a throne and is always 11  feet tall. The key attraction is the idol’s silver hand, which holds a silver modak. Priests are invited all the way from Coimbatore and prayers are carried right across the Asthika Samaj Kochu Guruvayoor Sree Ram Mandir, which is synonymous with Matunga. 
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WHERE: Bhandarkar road, opposite the Asthika Samaj Kochu Guruvayoor Sree Ram Mandir

Tejukaya Park

You might already know the beautiful red and green Art Deco building if you frequent Matunga East. But the society’s Ganesh pandal is equally opulent, and not to be confused with the Tejukaya Ganpati in Lalbaug. The main feature is a clock tower at the gate, and it leads up to the idol. In previous years, decoration has featured a trail of water fountains.  
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Tejukaya Park, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Rd, Kings Circle

GSB Seva Mandal

Perhaps the most popular pandal in the area, the GSB (Gowd Saraswat Brahmin) Seva Mandal Ganpati is considered the richest in Mumbai. Devotees offer their body weight in rice, flour, ghee, sugar, coconut... and, gold too. It’s one of the most OTT pandals in Mumbai as the idol itself is made with over 60 kg gold. So much so, that the mandal has secured a record-breaking insurance of R400.58 crore this year. The non-profit organisation will be celebrating the five-day festival for the 70th year this year. So expect it to be mammoth-sized. 
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WHERE: Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Rd, near SNDT Women’s College, Matunga East

Vidyarthyancha Raja

Bappa takes up space for a few days at the famous Ruia College naka, where students snack and while away time. It’s set up by the Ruia Naka Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal founded in 978 by students and former students of Ruia and Poddar College. They really love  their love naka! Every year, students past and present play host to Bappa, who is in charge of academic success! The decor is usually understated, elegant, eco-friendly, and carries a reflective theme or social message. Last year, the social message aimed at improving parent-child relationships. 
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WHERE: Footpath across Ramnarain Ruia College

Flower market

In the much-popular phool gully, a pandal is erected right where the market begins if you walk down from King’s Circle. As it’s a pandal cared for by the flower market vendors, naturally the decor is blooming. But what’s exciting is that late every night, once the crowd dwindles, the vendors change the decor. At times, you will find peacocks traced with flowers, or a floral outline of Balaji. No matter what day you visit, the decor is fresh and fragrant. 
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WHERE: Bhandarkar Road, near Matunga post office