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When it happens
December
Three days in mid-December organized by tourism board. Region: RK Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
A high-energy beach carnival showcasing coastal Andhra tourism, regional seafood stalls, and indigenous folk crafts.
The state government hosts the festival to give Andhra Pradesh's coastal culture, tribal arts of the Araku Valley, and seafood traditions a global platform.
Great stages rise on the sands of RK Beach, with Lambadi and Dhimsa tribal dances and classical Kuchipudi, alongside sand-art exhibitions, flower shows and air shows.
As a secular tourism festival there are no religious rites, but each edition opens with a traditional lamp-lighting and an invocation by traditional artists.
The festival is credited with nurturing the city's love of the arts and giving the region's tribal artists meaningful economic support.
The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation founded the festival in the 1990s to build Visakhapatnam into a tourism hub, and it has grown ever since.
A beach festival on RK Beach at Visakhapatnam: Dhimsa drumming from the Araku hill communities, sand sculpture, and a great deal of seafood. A city event rather than a traditional one, and the beach is the venue.
No - the main cultural programmes on RK Beach are free for all; only food and craft stalls charge separately.
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Across Mizoram, with the main celebrations held in Aizawl.
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The ancient Pattadakal Temple Complex (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), situated beautifully along the Malaprabha River, Bagalkot district, Karnataka.
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The open-air festival grounds at Weiking Field, Jaiaw, Shillong, East Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya.
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Naga Heritage Village in Kisama, located near Kohima, Nagaland.
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Udaipur, Mewar vistar, Rajasthan.
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Set in Dhordo and across the expansive Great Rann of Kutch salt desert in Gujarat.
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Villages of Mokokchung district, Nagaland - the heartland of the Ao Naga tribe.
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Shey Manla, situated beautifully on the rocky banks of the Indus River, approximately 8 km from Leh, Ladakh.
