Chaitra (Spring) or Sharad (Autumn)? Choosing Your Navratri Sadhna Retreat
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"Which one should I come for?"
It's one of the most common questions we hear. If you're new to the why behind these nine nights, we unpacked that in Navratri and 9 nights of shakti. And if you've been circling the idea of October specifically, Why October Is the perfect window for your spiritual reset is worth a read too. Navratri actually falls four times a year, but Ekattva's retreat is built around the two Prakat, or public, editions: Sharad Navratri in autumn and Chaitra Navratri in spring, both falling at an equinox, both moving through the same nine forms of the Divine Feminine, the Navadurga. Neither is the "better" edition. But they are genuinely different experiences.
Same Nine Nights, Different Seasonal Turn
However you arrive, the structure is identical: nine nights, nine forms, from Shailputri's grounding through to Siddhidatri's fulfillment. (Full explainer here, including why Navratri happens four times a year in total.) What changes is which seasonal hinge you're meeting, and what that hinge asks of you.
What Autumn (Sharad) Offers
✶ Post-monsoon clarity, the Himalayan foothills at their greenest
✶ The Ganges at its calmest and clearest
✶ A reset at the summer-to-autumn hinge, culminating in Dussehra
✶ Mild days, cool evenings, widely considered the most comfortable season for international travellers
What Spring (Chaitra) Offers
✶ Fresh, awakening air as winter breaks across the foothills
✶ A more energised Ganges, carrying early snowmelt
✶ A reset at the winter-to-spring hinge, marking the start of the Hindu new year
✶ A gentler build of tapas, often easier for first-timers
If you're coming into this as a woman weighing a solo trip specifically, we've written about why solo, women-only wellness travel has been on the rise and what to look for.
Extend Your Stay: Cultural Immersion Beyond the Retreat
For international travellers making the journey to India, either edition offers a natural opportunity to extend your stay and experience more of the festival calendar firsthand. Join us for Sharad Navratri in autumn and stay for another one to two weeks. You will catch Dussehra too - Durga's triumph, marked on Vijayadashami i.e. the tenth day of victory over evil - followed weeks later by Diwali a.k.a festival of lights. Blend completely differently when you’re actually here for them vs watching from somewhere else as a passing visitor who missed the buildup.
Join us for Chaitra Navratri instead and staying on gets you Holi - festival of colour that closes out the spring cycle, one of the most joyful, communal celebrations anywhere on the Indian calendar.
Either way, your sadhna becomes quiet, inward half of something bigger. A fuller Indian festival experience with real celebration waiting right there on the other side of it! If you'd rather keep it women-only and closer to home, our 5-day women's retreat in Rishikesh is a gentler entry point into that same inward work.
Ekattva Yogshala's Take
We're often asked which edition to choose, and after hosting both, our honest answer tends to surprise people: choose both, eventually.
✶ Experience All Seasons. Autumn and spring meet you completely differently, not because the practice changes, but because you do, arriving at a different point in your own year each time. Practitioners who've done both consistently tell us each edition revealed something the other hadn't.
✶ If You've Loved One Edition, You'll Love the Other Too. The nine nights. The nine forms. The ghats, the fire, the silence - all of it carries over. No matter which season brings you here. What's different is simply the season holding it. And most participants find that difference adds rather than repeats. For a deeper look at why this practice centres feminine specifically, why the sacred feminine matters now is a good companion read.
✶ Come Back for Another Round of Sadhna. If you've already joined us once and are weighing the other season, we'd love to have you back. Returning participants receive 35% off their next Sadhna retreat with us, our way of encouraging you toward a second round.
A Few Questions to Ask Yourself
Does one set of dates simply suit your calendar or travel plans better? Are you drawn more to autumn's settling stillness or spring's forward momentum? Either way, you're meeting your body and mind at a genuine seasonal strain point. Giving them exactly the structured reset this window was built for in the first place.
Ready When You Are
Choosing a season is really just choosing a starting line. What actually carries you through nine nights is preparation - settling your diet, your sleep, your headspace, in the days before you arrive. That's a different kind of readiness than picking Chaitra or Sharad. And it matters just as much once you're here, fasting, chanting, and sitting through a fire ceremony night after night.
If that's the piece you're still figuring out, don't sit with it alone. Our 9-day Navratri Sadhna Retreat in Rishikesh gives you the full structure - guided practice, community, and a season built around exactly this reset. Spots for both Sharad and Chaitra fill early!
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This article is Part 4 of a 10-part series on Navratri and Ekattva's 9-Day Shakti Mantra Sadhna Retreat. Explore the full series: 1. Navratri and the 9 Nights of Shakti: What the Festival Is Really About ➳ 2. Why October is the Perfect Window for Your Spiritual Reset ➳ 3. Chaitra Navratri: A Spiritual Reset at the Turn of Spring ➳ 4. Chaitra or Sharad? Choosing Your Navratri Sadhna Retreat ➳ 5. The Shakti Awakening: A 9-Day Mantra Yoga Retreat in Rishikesh ➳ 6. Preparing Your Mind for Navratri: A Shakti Mantra Guide ➳ 7. Navratri Fasting and Sattvic Eating: What to Eat During the 9 Nights ➳ 8. After Navratri: How to Keep the Energy Alive in Daily Practice ➳ 9. Do You Have to Be Hindu to Practice Navratri Sadhna? ➳ 10. Respectful Participation: How to Honour the Tradition as a Guest
