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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.
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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.
Jagdalpur, Bastar District, Chhattisgarh
The world's longest festival. Celebrates tribal solidarity and the supreme deity Goddess Danteshwari instead of burning Ravana.
Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh
A grand floral festival celebrated by women who arrange seasonal wildflowers into concentric pyramids to honour 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.
Jhiri village, about 14 km from Jammu city.
One of the largest rural fairs in the Jammu region, and unusual in that its object of devotion is a cultivator who died over a question of agricultural justice rather than a deity or a king.
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.
Brings the classical folk music, heroic desert poetry, and traditional dances of the Marwar rulers to 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.
Smit village, Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya.
An elegant harvest thanksgiving dance of the indigenous Khasi tribe performed by the royal family in heavy gold attire.
North Malabar region (Kannur, Kasaragod districts) of Kerala
An ancient ritual dance-theatre where artists undergo divine transformation, becoming living gods to grant village blessings.
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.
Cuttack (Gadavada ghat on the Mahanadi River), Odisha
One of Asia's biggest open-air trade fairs, commemorating ancient Kalinga merchants who sailed to Bali, Sumatra, and Java.
Bundi town, chiefly around Taragarh Fort and Nawal Sagar Lake, Rajasthan.
A cultural carnival of Hadoti heritage, with classical arts, moustache pageants, and lamps floated on the river.
Leisure Valley, Sector 10, Chandigarh, on the lawns in front of the Government Museum and Art Gallery.
Explicitly a modern government tourism event rather than a tradition. Its interest is in what a city with no old fair invents for itself.
Kalagram, Manimajra, on the eastern edge of Chandigarh near the Panchkula border.
A contemporary state-backed crafts fair about fifteen editions old — the northern counterpart to Surajkund, and far less known.
Across Manipur's hill districts and in Imphal, with Churachandpur, also called Lamka, as the principal centre.
A genuine community tradition, though what a visitor attends today is its modern organised form rather than the village rite.
Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, and by migrant communities.
An ancient festival of thanksgiving to the Sun God (Surya) and Chhathi Maiya, observed with rigorous fasting and offerings (arghya) to the rising and setting sun at riverbanks.
Uttar Pradesh
Dev Diwali — the "Diwali of the Gods" — is celebrated 15 days after Diwali. Varanasi's ghats are lit with over a million earthen lamps as locals welcome the gods believed to descend to earth.
Nationwide across India, particularly iconic in Ayodhya, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
The festival of lights, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Marks Lord Rama's return to Ayodhya and the worship of Goddess Lakshmi for prosperity.
Varanasi (Kashi), chiefly Dashashwamedh Ghat and Rajendra Prasad Ghat, Uttar Pradesh.
Celebrates India's rich classical music, dance, and Vedic traditions against the beautifully lit historic steps of Varanasi.
Celebrated with immense devotion in Punjab (especially at the Golden Temple in Amritsar), Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and globally by the Sikh diaspora.
Celebrates the birth of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism. Marked by Akhand Path readings, Nagar Kirtan processions, and langar (community meals) at gurudwaras.
Hampi (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Ballari District, Karnataka
A state festival celebrating the golden age of the Vijayanagara Empire, with the monuments lit up for music and dance.
Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra, with events also at Sannihit Sarovar and the Theme Park.
Gita Jayanti itself is an old religious observance; the International Mahotsav built around it is a Haryana government production, scaled up considerably in the last decade.
The coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka, and Kasaragod in Kerala (collectively known as Tulu Nadu).
A mud-spattered sporting carnival in which farmers race pairs of buffaloes down waterlogged paddy tracks.
Tiruvannamalai (Arunachaleswarar Temple), Tamil Nadu
An ancient fire festival celebrating Shiva as infinite cosmic light, ending when a massive three-ton ghee cauldron is lit on Arunachala Hill.
Rampur Bushahr, Satluj nadi na kinare, Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh.
A historic international trade fair famous for bartering pashmina, dry fruits, and rare Himalayan mountain horses.
Alwar district, with key events staged at the City Palace (Vinay Vilas Mahal) and Siliserh Lake, Rajasthan.
Celebrates the history and folk traditions of Alwar with hot-air ballooning and musical recitals.
The sacred town of Pushkar, situated on the edge of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan.
One of the world's largest camel and livestock fairs, blending trading with folk music, camel races, cultural competitions and a sacred bathing pilgrimage at Pushkar Lake.
Set in Dhordo and across the expansive Great Rann of Kutch salt desert in Gujarat.
A celebration of Kutchi culture set on the surreal white salt desert — folk music and dance, handicrafts, camel rides, and tent-city stays under the full moon.
On the banks of the sacred Renuka Lake, Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh.
An ancient lakeside fair celebrating the mythical, emotional reunion of Lord Parashurama and his mother Renuka.
The Mithila region of Bihar and adjoining border areas of Nepal.
A sweet festival honouring the bond between brothers and sisters through clay bird figurines and traditional theatrical folk songs.
Imphal, Loktak Lake (Moirang) and various venues across Manipur.
A grand state showcase named after the endemic brow-antlered deer, celebrating Manipur's arts, food, and martial arts.
