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Celebrate India
India's calendar bursts with religious, regional, musical, cultural and culinary celebrations. Filter by month, type or state to plan around the right moment.
Happening soon
Indian festivals mostly follow lunar calendars, so the exact days shift each year. We name the month they fall in and leave the day to the panchang closer to the time.
Festival calendarFestival directory
Use the calendar when timing is the main decision, or browse the directory for context, location and meaning.
Pampa River, near the Sree Parthasarathy Temple, Aranmula, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala.
The oldest ritualistic snake boat race in Kerala, prioritizing traditional temple elegance over pure mechanical speed.
Jagdalpur, Bastar District, Chhattisgarh
The world's longest festival. Celebrates tribal solidarity and the supreme deity Goddess Danteshwari instead of burning Ravana.
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Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and surrounding districts of Telangana
A thanksgiving festival dedicated to Goddess Mahakali. Women carry decorated earthen pots with rice and jaggery to shrines.
Throughout Sikkim, with core monastic prayers at Deer Park in Gangtok, Muguthang in North Sikkim, and various major monasteries.
A sacred Buddhist holiday celebrating Buddha's first turning of the wheel of dharma and preaching at Sarnath.
Tripura, centered heavily inside the royal palace compound in Agartala and expanding across designated traditional tribal village blocks.
A strict, secretive royal-tribal security ritual where town borders are locked to ward off epidemic harms.
Mithila region, Bihar state (Darbhanga, Madhubani districts).
A localized monsoon festival for newly married women, who listen to serpent legends and craft leaf design offerings.
The historic, expansive Chaugan (town meadow) of Chamba town, Himachal Pradesh.
An ancient monsoon harvest fair where citizens float silk tassels into the Ravi River to pray for a prosperous crop.
Coastal Maharashtra, the Konkan belt, Mumbai, and Goa, heavily centered in historic fishing villages (Koliwadas).
The coconut festival of the Koli fishing community, offering coconuts to the sea god Varuna to restart safe sailing.
Punnamada Lake, Alappuzha district, Kerala.
High-adrenaline water regatta featuring the iconic snake boats (Chundan Vallams) powered by hundreds of synchronized oarsmen.
Celebrated throughout the state of Kerala, observed universally across all religious communities.
Kerala's harvest festival welcoming the mythical King Mahabali. Celebrated with flower carpets (pookalam), the grand Onasadya feast, Vallamkali snake-boat races and Pulikali tiger dances.
Pan-India as Raksha Bandhan; celebrated with distinct cattle-centric and temple traditions as Gamha Purnima in Odisha.
Celebrates siblings alongside the worship of domestic cattle and agricultural instruments, marking Lord Balarama's birthday.
Celebrated extensively across Northern, Western, and Central India, as well as by Hindu communities worldwide.
Celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters, when sisters tie a protective thread (rakhi) on their brothers' wrists in exchange for a vow of protection.
Predominantly celebrated in Northern and Western India, particularly across Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
A monsoon festival celebrating Goddess Parvati and marital bliss, observed by women with swings, henna, folk songs and fasting — especially in Rajasthan.
Across the state of Punjab, heavily observed in rural courtyards, village common grounds, and institutional cultural arenas.
The dedicated swing and dance festival of Punjabi women, welcoming rain showers with ethnic Giddha patterns.
Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and towns across Maharashtra
Athletic troupes called Govindas build multi-tiered human pyramids to break clay curd pots suspended high in the air.
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Celebrated with unparalleled grandeur in Maharashtra (especially Mumbai and Pune), Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
The birthday of Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Marked by grand clay idols, public pandals and immersion processions, especially in Maharashtra.
Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh, heavily observed by the Munda, Oraon, Santhal, and Ho tribes.
An indigenous nature festival where tribal youth establish and worship a Karam tree branch for family protection.
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Celebrated throughout India, with its most vibrant spiritual centers in Mathura and Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh), and energetic public displays (Dahi Handi) in Mumbai and across Maharashtra.
Celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Marked by midnight prayers, fasting, devotional singing, and the Dahi Handi human-pyramid tradition.
Western Odisha districts, primarily Sambalpur, Balangir, Bargarh, and Kalahandi.
An agricultural community harvest festival celebrating the consumption of the season's first freshly harvested rice crop.
Across Sikkim, with the absolute cultural and ritual centerpiece performed at the Tsuklakhang Royal Palace Monastery courtyard in Gangtok.
A grand historical festival honoring Mount Khangchendzonga as the active warrior guardian deity of Sikkim.
Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh, prominent across valleys like Sangla and Kalpa.
The festival of flowers where tribal youth trek to high ridges to cull wild blossoms to honor village spirits.
Throughout Maharashtra, particularly prominent in the Vidarbha region, as well as rural pockets of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
A deeply authentic agrarian festival dedicated completely to decorating, feeding, and worshipping working farm bulls.
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Across the Siang, East Siang, Upper Siang, and Lower Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, with major public events in Pasighat.
The principal harvest festival of the Adi tribe, celebrated with cattle sacrifices and Ponung folk dance loops.
Tarnetar village, near Thangadh, Surendranagar district, Gujarat.
A legendary matchmaking and folk dance fair centered around the Trinetreshwar Mahadev Temple, famous for embroidered umbrellas.
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Hosted in the breathtaking Ziro Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, the ancestral home of the indigenous Apatani tribe.
India's premier outdoor independent music festival, set in a scenic Himalayan valley among the Apatani tribal lands, blending indie music with eco-tourism.
Across Andhra Pradesh, especially the coastal districts.
A traditional festival where married women fast for their husbands' health, enjoying small rice crepes and evening swings.
Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh
A grand floral festival celebrated by women who arrange seasonal wildflowers into concentric pyramids to honor Goddess Gauri.
Preeminent in West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, and among the Bengali diaspora.
The grand worship of Goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura. Famous for elaborate themed pandals, artistic idols, and immersion processions, especially in Kolkata.
Celebrated pan-India; most famous in Mysore (Karnataka), Kullu Valley (Himachal Pradesh), Bastar (Chhattisgarh), West Bengal (as Durga Puja's end), and northern Ramlila venues.
Celebrates Lord Rama's victory over the demon king Ravana and Goddess Durga's slaying of Mahishasura. Marked by burning towering effigies of Ravana.
Bihar, Jharkhand and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh.
An exceptionally strict 36-hour waterless fast observed by mothers to pray for the survival and success of their children.
Predominantly celebrated across Northern and Western India, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
A day when married women observe a dawn-to-moonrise fast for the wellbeing and longevity of their husbands, ending after sighting the moon.
Centering entirely at the Dhalpur Maidan in the Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh.
A unique week-long festival where over 200 village deities are carried in palanquins to honour Lord Raghunath — a grand convergence of Himachali hill culture.
Jodhpur, Mandore vistar, Rajasthan.
Focuses on the classical folk music, heroic desert poetry, and traditional dances of the Marwar rulers at Mehrangarh Fort.
Centered in the historic royal city of Mysuru (Mysore) in the state of Karnataka.
Karnataka's 400-year-old royal state festival, famous for the illuminated Mysore Palace and the grand Jamboo Savari elephant procession on Vijayadashami.
Celebrated nationwide across India, with iconic Garba and Dandiya dances in Gujarat, and massive public celebrations across Mumbai and Delhi.
Nine nights of devotion, fasting and dance celebrating the divine feminine. Marked by Garba and Dandiya-Raas folk dances, especially in Gujarat.
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh
A grand cleansing festival initiated by Lord Brahma. Features daily morning and evening vehicle (vahanam) processions of Lord Venkateswara.
