Indian Festivals List: The Full Calendar by Season
India celebrates something almost every month, and most festivals follow lunar calendars, so dates shift year to year. This list groups the major ones by season and says where each is strongest.
Spring: February to April
- Holi - the colour festival marking the end of winter. Biggest in Mathura, Vrindavan and across north India.
- Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Baisakhi, Bihu, Puthandu - regional new years celebrated within days of each other in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Assam and Tamil Nadu.
Summer: May to July
- Rath Yatra - the chariot procession at Puri in Odisha, drawing enormous crowds.
- Eid al-Adha - observed nationwide; Old Delhi and Hyderabad are the food highlights.
Monsoon and autumn: August to November
- Janmashtami - marks the birth of Krishna, with human pyramids in Mumbai.
- Ganesh Chaturthi - ten days of processions, strongest in Maharashtra.
- Onam - the Kerala harvest festival, with boat races and the sadya feast.
- Navratri and Durga Puja - nine nights of garba in Gujarat and elaborate pandals in Kolkata.
- Diwali - the festival of lights, and the busiest travel week of the Indian year.
Winter: December to January
- Christmas - large celebrations in Goa, Kerala and the northeast.
- Makar Sankranti, Pongal and Lohri - mid-January harvest festivals, with kite flying in Gujarat.
What festivals change for visitors
Government offices and banks close on gazetted holidays. Intercity trains fill weeks ahead. Many family-run shops shut for two or three days around Diwali. Book transport before you book anything else.
Check exact dates each year against the official holiday calendar, since most of these move with the lunar cycle.