Matsya Festival

Celebrates the history and folk traditions of Alwar with hot-air ballooning and musical recitals.

Instituted by the state tourism board to revive interest in Alwar's historic stepwells, palaces, and folk traditions, with rural artists with economic avenues.

The grand courtyards of the City Palace are decorated with lamps and floral arrays. Local folk musicians perform energetic Bhapang and Mewati recitals. The festival features lively competitions like hot-air ballooning, traditional sports, and mustache exhibitions, alongside paddle-boat parades on the lake.

A secular administrative tourism festival, it opens with a grand heritage procession (Maha Aarti) from the historic city center, followed by a formal lighting of lamps by district administrators and royal descendants.

Operates with the modern civic orientation that celebrating regional historical milestones preserves community pride and helps safeguard fragile medieval monuments from neglect.

Launched by the Rajasthan Tourism Department, the festival makes good use of Alwar's closeness to Delhi and Jaipur, and has grown steadily into a fixture for independent heritage travellers.

The massive, crenellated stone walls of Alwar's City Palace glow under gold spotlights, throwing dramatic shadows over the ancient courtyards. The air is alive with the sharp, rhythmic twang of the traditional Bhapang instrument as folk singers narrate old mountain legends. From hot-air balloons drifting over the fort to paddle-boat processions on the calm waters of Siliserh Lake, it is a celebration of desert heritage.