🎉

India festival calendar

Time your trip with India's wildest festivals — from desert fairs to tribal celebrations to snake-boat races.

🎯

Happening this month (Sep)

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Ziro Music Festival

music

4-day independent music festival in Ziro Valley. Apatani tribal culture meets indie rock + folk from India and abroad. ILP required for Arunachal Pradesh.

📅 Late September — dates announced around April · 📍 Arunachal Pradesh

🌼

Onam

seasonal

Kerala's biggest cultural festival — pookalams (flower rangolis), massive sadhya feast (26+ dishes on banana leaf), Vallam Kali (snake boat races in Alleppey).

📅 Chingam month in Malayalam calendar — late Aug or early Sep · 📍 Kerala

💃

Navratri / Durga Puja

religious

In Kolkata: week-long pandal-hopping with giant Durga installations. In Ahmedabad/Vadodara: all-night Garba dances. Mysore Dasara sees a royal procession through the city.

📅 Lunar — September/October · 📍 Kolkata / Gujarat / All India

All year

Jan

🏜

Rann Utsav

3-month desert festival on the white salt flats of Kutch

📅 November to February (3 months)· 📍 Gujarat

🙏

Kumbh Mela

World's largest gathering of humanity — once in 12 years at each site

📅 Specific year — next Maha Kumbh 2031 Haridwar· 📍 UP / Uttarakhand / MP / Maharashtra (rotates)/varanasi /rishikesh

Feb

🏜

Rann Utsav

3-month desert festival on the white salt flats of Kutch

📅 November to February (3 months)· 📍 Gujarat

🙏

Kumbh Mela

World's largest gathering of humanity — once in 12 years at each site

📅 Specific year — next Maha Kumbh 2031 Haridwar· 📍 UP / Uttarakhand / MP / Maharashtra (rotates)/varanasi /rishikesh

🎊

Losar (Tibetan New Year)

New Year celebrations across Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas

📅 Usually February; follows lunar Tibetan calendar· 📍 Ladakh / Sikkim / Himachal/leh-ladakh /spiti /dharamshala

🎭

Goa Carnival

Portuguese-legacy pre-Lent street parade with floats and costumes

📅 Week before Lent — usually February or early March· 📍 Goa/goa

Mar

🎨

Holi

Festival of colors — join a rooftop gulal party

📅 Phalguna Purnima — usually March· 📍 All India, peak north/varanasi /jaipur /udaipur /pushkar

🙏

Kumbh Mela

World's largest gathering of humanity — once in 12 years at each site

📅 Specific year — next Maha Kumbh 2031 Haridwar· 📍 UP / Uttarakhand / MP / Maharashtra (rotates)/varanasi /rishikesh

🎊

Losar (Tibetan New Year)

New Year celebrations across Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayas

📅 Usually February; follows lunar Tibetan calendar· 📍 Ladakh / Sikkim / Himachal/leh-ladakh /spiti /dharamshala

🎭

Goa Carnival

Portuguese-legacy pre-Lent street parade with floats and costumes

📅 Week before Lent — usually February or early March· 📍 Goa/goa

Apr

🙏

Kumbh Mela

World's largest gathering of humanity — once in 12 years at each site

📅 Specific year — next Maha Kumbh 2031 Haridwar· 📍 UP / Uttarakhand / MP / Maharashtra (rotates)/varanasi /rishikesh

Jun

🕉

Hemis Festival

Ladakh's largest Buddhist monastery festival with masked dances

📅 10th day of the Tibetan lunar month — usually late June or early July· 📍 Ladakh/leh-ladakh

🧘

International Yoga Day

Mass yoga sessions on the Ganga ghats every June 21

📅 June 21 every year (fixed)· 📍 Rishikesh / Mysore/rishikesh

Jul

🕉

Hemis Festival

Ladakh's largest Buddhist monastery festival with masked dances

📅 10th day of the Tibetan lunar month — usually late June or early July· 📍 Ladakh/leh-ladakh

🌳

Teej

Monsoon festival with swings, green saris, and folk music

📅 Shravan month — July or August· 📍 Rajasthan / UP / Bihar/jaipur /udaipur

Aug

🌳

Teej

Monsoon festival with swings, green saris, and folk music

📅 Shravan month — July or August· 📍 Rajasthan / UP / Bihar/jaipur /udaipur

🌼

Onam

Kerala's 10-day harvest festival — flower carpets and snake boats

📅 Chingam month in Malayalam calendar — late Aug or early Sep· 📍 Kerala/kerala /munnar /alleppey

Sep· now

🎸

Ziro Music Festival

Indie music in an Apatani valley — India's Coachella

📅 Late September — dates announced around April· 📍 Arunachal Pradesh

🌼

Onam

Kerala's 10-day harvest festival — flower carpets and snake boats

📅 Chingam month in Malayalam calendar — late Aug or early Sep· 📍 Kerala/kerala /munnar /alleppey

💃

Navratri / Durga Puja

9 nights of goddess worship — Bengal's pandals and Gujarat's garba

📅 Lunar — September/October· 📍 Kolkata / Gujarat / All India

Oct

🐪

Pushkar Camel Fair

Week-long livestock fair meets spiritual gathering in the desert

📅 Typically late October or early-to-mid November (Kartik Purnima)· 📍 Rajasthan/pushkar

🪔

Diwali

India's festival of lights — 5 days of lamps, fireworks and family

📅 Lunar — mid-October to early November· 📍 All India/varanasi /jaipur /udaipur

🎸

Ziro Music Festival

Indie music in an Apatani valley — India's Coachella

📅 Late September — dates announced around April· 📍 Arunachal Pradesh

💃

Navratri / Durga Puja

9 nights of goddess worship — Bengal's pandals and Gujarat's garba

📅 Lunar — September/October· 📍 Kolkata / Gujarat / All India

Nov

🐪

Pushkar Camel Fair

Week-long livestock fair meets spiritual gathering in the desert

📅 Typically late October or early-to-mid November (Kartik Purnima)· 📍 Rajasthan/pushkar

🪔

Diwali

India's festival of lights — 5 days of lamps, fireworks and family

📅 Lunar — mid-October to early November· 📍 All India/varanasi /jaipur /udaipur

🏜

Rann Utsav

3-month desert festival on the white salt flats of Kutch

📅 November to February (3 months)· 📍 Gujarat

Dec

🪶

Hornbill Festival

Nagaland's 10-day tribal celebration — all 17 tribes under one roof

📅 December 1-10 every year (fixed)· 📍 Nagaland

🏜

Rann Utsav

3-month desert festival on the white salt flats of Kutch

📅 November to February (3 months)· 📍 Gujarat