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Festivals of India

Twenty great celebrations, each with verified next-edition dates — what happens, and how to be there.

India does not have a festival season; it has a festival year. Somewhere in the country, on almost any week you choose, a city is lighting a million lamps, a desert is filling with camels, a goddess is processing through streets turned into galleries, or a whole state is dancing in a circle. This hub gathers the twenty celebrations most worth travelling for — one guide each, with the next edition's dates checked against official calendars, tourism departments and the panchang, and honest notes where a date is still to be announced.

Use it as a planning calendar first and a celebration second: festivals are the best reason to time a trip, and the worst time to leave bookings late. Every guide below links on to the destination's own page, with its where-to-stay and how-to-reach sections, so the festival and the trip around it plan together. For the culture of each state in depth, see also Festivals & Culture, state by state.

Coming Up Next

The next festivals on the calendar, in the order they arrive:

A Year of Festivals, Month by Month

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

July 2027

September 2027

October 2027

All Twenty Festival Guides

The white salt desert of the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat

Rann Utsav

1 Nov 2026 – 7 Mar 2027 · Dhordo, Kutch
A tent city on the edge of a glowing white salt desert, all winter long.

Patna on the Ganga, Bihar

Chhath Puja

13–16 Nov 2026 · Patna & the Ganga ghats, Bihar
Offerings to the setting and rising sun on Bihar's riverbanks.

Pushkar and its sacred lake, Rajasthan

Pushkar Camel Fair

17–24 Nov 2026 · Pushkar
The world's great camel fair meets a Kartik Purnima pilgrimage.

Imphal, Manipur

Sangai Festival

21–30 Nov 2026 · Imphal, Manipur
Manipur's culture, sport and crafts on one Imphal stage.

Varanasi ghats on the Ganga at dusk, Uttar Pradesh

Dev Deepawali

24 Nov 2026 · Varanasi
A million lamps on all 84 ghats — Diwali of the gods.

The Hornbill Festival grounds at Kisama Heritage Village, Nagaland

Hornbill Festival

1–10 Dec 2026 · Kisama, near Kohima
All of Nagaland's tribes in one hillside village of morungs.

Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Pongal

14–17 Jan 2027 · Tamil Nadu (Madurai)
Harvest thanksgiving, new rice — and Madurai's jallikattu.

Panaji, Goa

Goa Carnival

6–9 Feb 2027 (expected) · Panaji, Goa
King Momo, float parades and the Red & Black Dance before Lent.

Caparisoned elephants in procession at Thrissur Pooram, Kerala

Thrissur Pooram

17 Apr 2027 · Thrissur
Elephant lines, monster drums and the great parasol exchange.

Puri, Odisha

Rath Yatra

5–13 Jul 2027 · Puri
The Lord rides into the street so everyone can pull his chariot.

Kochi, Kerala

Onam

3–12 Sep 2027 · Kerala (Thrikkakara & Kochi)
Ten days of flower carpets, boat races and the great sadya.

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Ganesh Chaturthi

4–14 Sep 2027 · Mumbai
Eleven days when Mumbai belongs to Ganpati Bappa.

Ziro Valley, Arunachal Pradesh

Ziro Festival of Music

Late Sep 2027 (expected) · Ziro Valley
Indie music in a golden paddy valley in Arunachal Pradesh.

Mysuru, Karnataka

Mysuru Dasara

30 Sep – 10 Oct 2027 (expected) · Mysuru
A royal festival: the illuminated palace and the golden howdah.

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Navratri Garba

30 Sep – 8 Oct 2027 · Ahmedabad & across Gujarat
Nine nights of the world's biggest circle dance.

Kolkata, West Bengal

Durga Puja

5–10 Oct 2027 · Kolkata
A city turned into a gallery for the goddess's homecoming.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biggest festival in India?

By sheer reach, Diwali — celebrated in some form by most of the country, and in Ayodhya at record-breaking scale. By spectacle, travellers argue between Kolkata's Durga Puja (the world's largest open-air art festival), Puri's Rath Yatra and the Pushkar Fair. This hub's twenty are the annual festivals most worth planning a trip around; the once-in-twelve-years Kumbh Mela is larger than all of them but is a category of its own.

How far in advance should I book a festival trip?

Earlier than feels reasonable. Rooms in the festival city itself — Pushkar in fair week, Ayodhya at Deepotsav, Kohima during Hornbill — can sell out months ahead, and trains to festival cities fill on Indian Railways' advance-reservation window. A good rule: book the stay as soon as your dates are fixed, and treat the nearest big city as your fallback base.

Are India's festivals free to attend?

Mostly, yes — temple festivals, processions, ghats and street celebrations are public and free, including every pandal in Kolkata and every ghat in Varanasi. The exceptions on this page: Rann Utsav is experienced through booked stays at the Tent City, organised garba grounds in Gujarat sell tickets, and Ziro charges for festival passes and camping.

How reliable are the dates on these pages?

Most Indian festival dates are fixed a year or more ahead by the lunar or solar calendar, and each guide says how its dates were set — official tourism calendars, temple and Devaswom announcements, or the panchang. A few (Ziro, Goa Carnival, Mysuru Dasara's programme) are formally announced closer to the event; those pages say "expected" and tell you exactly what to recheck.

Which festival should a first-timer choose?

For beauty with manageable crowds: Dev Deepawali in Varanasi or the Hornbill Festival. For a fairground spectacle: Pushkar. For total immersion: Braj Holi or Kolkata's Durga Puja. For food: Onam. For music: Ziro. Every guide on this page includes a "best for" line to help you choose.