Ladakh Festivals

Every region, every religion always has something to celebrate. Below you will find a selection of the best festivals, but there are many more. Write to us for more details.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY

Sankranti / Pongal: Sankranti / Pongal: Mainly in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
3 days of very colorful festivals, it is the Tamil harvest festival.

Republic Day: Day of establishment of the republic on January 26, 1950; Grand military parade, procession of Dancers, etc.…

Vasant Panchami: National holiday (But more specifically originating from eastern India). Hindu festival, dedicated to Sarawati (the goddess of learning). Women all wear yellow saris.

Flotting Festival: In Madurai, Birthday of the 17th century ruler. You will see elaborate and illuminated floating barges, carrying reproductions of the temple decorations, dedicated to Mariamman Teppakulam. All in an atmosphere of songs and hymns.

FEBRUARY / MARCH

Shivaratri: National holiday, solemn prayer for the Hindu deity Shiva. Day of stories and songs specially dedicated to Chidambaram, Kalahasti, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Bombay.

Holi: Mainly in the North. Popularly called the festival of colours heralding the beginning of spring. A very lively festival where people throw water and coloured powders at each other. (Tourist show in Jaipur)

Mardi Gras: Goa. Three days of non-stop carnival, the only place for this celebration in India.

Ramnavami: National holiday. Birth anniversary of Rama, Incarnation of Vishnu. Street games and theatre. Mahavir Jayanti: National holiday: Jain festival, birth of Mahvra, the 24th and last Thirthankara.

Easter: Good Friday / Easter Sunday

MARCH / APRIL

Kumbh Mela: The oldest and most important Hindu festival. It is held every three years, in one of the four wonderful holy cities; Nasik in Maharashtra, Ujjain in Madya Pradesh, Prayag and Hardwar both in Uttar Pradesh. This pilgrimage is respected and followed by millions of pilgrims who come to take the traditional bath in the sacred river Ganges.

APRIL / MAY

Baisakhi: In North India, Punjab, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, New Year of the Hindu calendar. Lots of Folk Dances. Women wear yellow saris.

Pooram: At Trichur, During the new moon, Spectacular gathering of elephants carrying ceremonial umbrellas and circling the temple. Fireworks after midnight.

Id-Ul-Zuha National Muslim holiday, The most celebrated Islamic festival in India, commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham.

Id-Ul-Fitr National Muslim holiday, celebrating the end of the month of Ramadan.

Kalyanam: Commemoration of the Marriage of Meenakshi with Lord Shiva. Ten days of festival, very colorful around the temples. Processions of colossal chariots.

Fair: Fair in Rajasthan, Urs Ajmer Sharif. In Ajmer, 6 Days of religious, cultural and commercial festivals. Large fair dedicated to Sufism. Lots of music, no procession.

JUNE / JULY

Rath Yatra: Mainly in Orissa. The biggest temple festival, in honour of Lord Jagannath (God of the Universe). Three colossal Chariots pulled by thousands of pilgrims from the temple at Puri. The same festival on a smaller scale takes place at Ramnagar (near Varanasi), Serampore (near Kolkata) and Jagannathpur (near Ranchi).

JULY / AUGUST

Teej: In Rajasthan and especially in Jaipur: Procession in honor of the goddess Parvati, to celebrate the monsoon. Procession with elephants, camels and dancers. Very colorful festival, women wear green saris and Henna

Raksha Bandhan: In the North and West of India, ancestral tradition which consists of symbolically tying cords or ｫRAKHISｻin a feeling of fraternity. This symbolic act is the confirmation of a decision of mutual protection (Between brothers and sisters, but also between friends). These Rakhis or Talismen are colored cords that tie each other around the wrist, the people making these vows of mutual fraternity.

Naag Panchami Mainly Jodhpur but also throughout Rajasthan and Maharastra. Dedicated to the green thousand-legged serpent Sesha. This day is a public holiday in several other parts of western and eastern India.

Amarnath Yatra: Hindu, in the valley of northern Cashmere during the full moon. Pilgrims visit the place where Lord Shiva explained the secret of the Salvation of the soul to his sister Parvati.

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER

Independence Day: August 15: National holiday, the anniversary of India’s independence. The Prime Minister traditionally delivers his speech from the Red Fort in Delhi.

Janmashtami: National holiday, very present in Agra, Bombay and Mathura. Birthday of God Krishna.

Onam: Harvest festival in Kerala, snake boat race in the lagoons of this state on the coast of southern India.

Ganesh Chaturthi: Mainly Pune and Bombay in Maharashtra but also in Orissa and Madras. Dedicated to the Elephant God Ganesh. Giant representation of this deity with procession ending with the immersion of the latter. Very colorful festival, especially on the day of the Bombay immersion.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

Dussehra: National holiday, one of the most popular Indian festivals, celebrated in different ways depending on the region. In the North and especially in Delhi (where this festival is known as Ram Lila) games and songs commemorate the life of the god Ram. In Kulu it is also very colorful and famous and also in Mysore. In Bengal and the eastern regions, it is known as Durga Pudja, in the south as Navarati.

Fair, Himachal Pradesh: Fair in Himachal Pradesh, Kulu Valley, coincides with Dussehra festival.
Gandhi Jayanti: National holiday celebrating the birth anniversary of Gandhi, no procession.

Diwali: National holiday, one of the most vibrant and colorful Indian festivals. In some parts of India it represents the beginning of the year of the Hindu calendar. In the eastern states, the goddess Kali is particularly celebrated. In other parts, it is the goddess Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity who is worshipped. Throughout India it is a festival of fireworks and firecrackers.

Gurpurab: Specially in North India (Amritsar and entire Indian Punjab) anniversary of the ten Gurus, preceptors and spiritual instructors of the Sikh religion. No procession

NOVEMBER

Muharram: Muslim holiday. Commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein: Dancers dressed as tigers lead a procession featuring colorful replicas of the martyr’s tomb.

Cattle Fair, Bihar: The world’s largest cattle fair. It lasts for a month in Sonepur in Bihar, on the banks of the Ganges.

Pushkar Mela: In Pushkar, near Ajmer in Rajasthan. Important cattle and camel fair, very colorful festival, given by the Rajputs (nomads from western India) coming from all over the region. Camel races and various street shows. Pushkar fair travel with Travel in India is very pretty and exotic.

DECEMBER

Christmas Day National holiday. Celebration of Christmas Day, a very exuberant and colourful festival, especially in Bombay, Goa and Tamil Nadu.

Note: In addition to all these festivals, there are hundreds of festivals and fairs with strong regional significance, celebrated with equal pomp, brilliance and colours. The most authentic are the following:

• The temple festival in South India (a list is often available from the tourist offices of each Indian state).
• There are many festivals also in Ladakh and Kashmir. Indian.
• There are so many festivals dedicated to kings or princes in Rajasthan, that there is always one about to end and another about to start.