How the festival year works
Lunar months: the Hindu year runs through twelve months named for stars, from Chaitra in spring to Phalgun at the end of winter. Each festival falls on a fixed day of a fixed lunar month.
Why dates move: twelve lunar months are shorter than a solar year, so an extra month is added every few years. That is why Diwali can fall in October one year and November the next.
- Purnima
- The full moon, the night of most fairs
- Amavasya
- The new moon, the night of Diwali
- Shukla paksha
- The bright fortnight, as the moon waxes
- Krishna paksha
- The dark fortnight, as it wanes
- Drift
- Lunar festivals move by up to three weeks a year
- Solar exceptions: Makar Sankranti follows the sun and falls on 14 January almost every year. Christmas, New Year and modern events such as the literature festival keep the Western calendar.
- Islamic dates: the Urs at Ajmer follows the Islamic lunar calendar, which moves about eleven days earlier every year.
- Tourism festivals: fairs such as the Desert Festival, the Camel Festival and the Winter Festival are organised by the state, and their programmes and dates are announced each year.
- Our promise: we confirm every festival date for your year before we plan around it.
January: kites, camels and books
Makar Sankranti, 14 January: the whole walled city of Jaipur climbs onto its roofs to fly kites, shouting woh kata when a line is cut, and paper lanterns float up at night.
Bikaner Camel Festival: decorated camels, parades, camel dances and races, with Junagarh as a backdrop to some events.
- Jaipur Literature Festival, late January: writers and readers from around the world. It books out the city's best rooms well ahead.
- The Jaipur polo season: in full swing on the grounds by Rambagh Palace.
- Nagaur Cattle Fair: often falls in late January or February, a great gathering of livestock traders and herders in Marwar.
- Also: in some years the Urs at Ajmer Sharif falls around the turn of the year, and Rann Utsav is at its height in Kutch.
February: the desert's month
Jaisalmer Desert Festival, full moon of Magh: turban-tying and moustache contests, camel races and camel polo, and evening stages of folk music below the golden fort.
Baneshwar Fair, around the full moon of Magh: the great gathering of the Bhil communities of the south, at the meeting of the Som and Mahi rivers near Dungarpur.
- Shekhawati Festival, February or March: folk music and village events in the painted towns, with the mustard fields turning the land yellow.
- Polo finals: some of the biggest finals of the Jaipur season.
- Beyond Rajasthan: the Khajuraho dance festival brings classical dancers to the temples of Khajuraho.
March: Holi and the first warmth
Holi, full moon of Phalgun: the Holika fire is lit on the eve, and the next morning every lane throws colour. In Udaipur the royal family lights its Holika fire in the City Palace courtyard.
- Holi with care: we plan Holi with safety and consent in mind, with private celebrations for guests who want colour without the street crowds.
- Gangaur begins: the morning after Holi, women begin eighteen days of worship of the goddess Gauri.
- Spring Navratri: in some years Chaitra Navratri and the larger Karni Mata Fair at Deshnoke begin at the end of the month.
April: Gangaur and the goddess
Gangaur ends: in Jaipur the procession leaves the Zenani Deorhi of the City Palace, women walking behind the goddess. In Jodhpur, the festival ends with Dhinga Gavar, a wild night in the old lanes.
- Mewar Festival: Udaipur's spring festival coincides with Gangaur, with processions to Gangaur Ghat and boats and music on Lake Pichola.
- Chaitra Navratri: the spring nine nights of the goddess, ending with Ram Navami, and the larger of the two Karni Mata fairs.
- For wildlife: this is when Ranthambore's tigers come to the last waterholes and sightings are at their best.
May and June: the quiet, hot months
The season: palace hotels offer their best rates, and we plan early safaris, afternoons in pools and evenings on rooftops.
Mount Abu: Rajasthan's only hill station stays green and mild, and is full of families escaping the plains.
- Ganga Dussehra, May or June: in Varanasi, pilgrims crowd the ghats to celebrate the descent of the river from heaven.
- Tigers: Ranthambore's core zones close at the end of June for the monsoon.
- Who it suits: seasoned travellers who love empty forts and the smell of the first rain on dry earth, mitti ki khushboo.
July and August: Teej and the monsoon
Teej: Jaipur's procession carries the goddess out of Tripolia Gate in a palanquin, with camels and brass bands. Women wear green and pink leheriya and swing from trees.
Kajli Teej in Bundi: a second Teej, a little later in the monsoon, in the town of stepwells and murals.
- Teej
- Shravan, July or August
- Janmashtami
- Bhadrapada, August or early September
- Sweet of the season
- Ghevar, made only in the monsoon
- Best region
- Mewar and Hadoti, green and full of water
- Raksha Bandhan, August: sisters tie threads on their brothers' wrists, and the bazaars fill with rakhis and sweets.
- Janmashtami in Nathdwara: Krishna's birthday in Shrinathji's haveli, with a midnight salute and the curd and turmeric of Nandotsav.
- The landscape: Udaipur's lakes fill, the Monsoon Palace sits in cloud and the stepwells hold water again. Our Monsoon in Mewar journey is built for it.
September: the land at its greenest
Janmashtami: in some years Krishna's birthday falls in early September.
Paryushan: Jain families observe eight days of fasting and reflection in August or September, bringing pilgrims to the temples of Dilwara and Ranakpur.
- The Ramdevra fair: pilgrims from across western India walk to the shrine of Baba Ramdev near Pokaran in Bhadrapada, one of the largest gatherings of the desert year.
- Navratri may begin: in some years autumn Navratri starts at the end of the month, and the Ramlila stages go up in the parks.
- Rates: gentle, and the palaces empty. A fine month for crafts, food and long lunches in havelis.
October: the season opens
Navratri: nine nights of the goddess. Lamps at the Chamunda temple in Mehrangarh, garba in Udaipur and the walk to Deshnoke for the Karni Mata Fair.
Dussehra: Ravana burns across the state, and the Rajput houses worship their swords, horses and the shami tree.
- Navratri
- Ashvin, late September or October
- Dussehra
- The tenth day, usually October
- Sharad Purnima
- Full moon five days after Dussehra
- Ranthambore
- Core zones reopen on 1 October
- Kota Dussehra: about three weeks of fair, with effigies taller than houses on the final night.
- Rajasthan International Folk Festival: musicians from across the state at Mehrangarh, around the Sharad Purnima full moon.
- Marwar Festival: Jodhpur's own celebration of the autumn full moon, in the same season.
- Abhaneri Festival: in some years a small festival of folk performance is held at the great stepwell of Chand Baori, near Jaipur.
November: Diwali lamps and the camel fair
Diwali, the new moon of Kartik: Jaipur's bazaars are lit end to end, and Johari Bazaar glows like a jewellery box. It falls in October in some years. Our Diwali in Jaipur journey is built around it.
Annakut, the day after: at Nathdwara, a mountain of food is offered to Shrinathji.
- Pushkar Camel Fair, around the Kartik full moon: tens of thousands of camels and herders gather on the sands. Our Pushkar Camel Fair journey plans it in calm.
- Bundi Utsav, in Kartik: processions, music and fireworks in the town of blue lanes and stepwells.
- Kartik Purnima fairs: the same full moon brings bathing fairs at Kolayat near Bikaner and the Chandrabhaga fair at Jhalrapatan, and Dev Deepawali lights the ghats of Varanasi.
- Rann Utsav opens: the White Rann of Kutch is dry, and the tent city rises at Dhordo.
December: peak season, polo and fireside dinners
Kumbhalgarh Festival, early December: dancers and musicians against the walls of the great Mewar fort.
The Jaipur polo season: under way at the Rambagh grounds.
- The Shilpgram fair: Udaipur's crafts village holds its ten-day fair, usually from around 21 December.
- Mount Abu Winter Festival, traditionally 29 to 31 December: folk dance, a boat race and floating lamps on Nakki Lake.
- Christmas and New Year: palace galas, desert camps under the stars and the busiest fortnight of the year.
- Also: in the mid-2020s the Urs at Ajmer has fallen in December or the turn of the year.
How to choose your festival
For colour and joy
- Choose: Holi, Diwali or Makar Sankranti. All three are celebrated in homes and lanes, and all are best with a local family.
For royal processions
- Choose: Gangaur or Teej in Jaipur, the Mewar Festival in Udaipur, or the royal rites of Dussehra.
For the desert and its people
- Choose: the Pushkar Camel Fair, the Desert Festival, the Nagaur Cattle Fair or Rann Utsav in Kutch.
For faith and pilgrimage
- Choose: Navratri, the Karni Mata Fair, Janmashtami in Nathdwara, the Urs at Ajmer or the Baneshwar Fair.
For music and ideas
- Choose: the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, the Jaipur Literature Festival or the Kumbhalgarh Festival.
For something gentle
- Choose: the Bundi Utsav, the Shekhawati Festival, the Abhaneri Festival, the Mount Abu Winter Festival or a polo afternoon in Jaipur.
How we plan a journey around a festival
Dates first: we check the lunar calendar and the official announcements for your year before we hold a single room.
One festival, not five: we build each journey around one or two festivals and keep the other days calm.
- Big fairs
- Book nine to twelve months ahead
- Smaller festivals
- Three to four months is usually enough
- Nights on site
- Two, with calm days either side
- Dates
- Confirmed by us each year
- The right base: for the busiest fairs we choose a hotel a short drive away, so you can come back to quiet.
- The right hours: festivals are best at dawn and dusk. We plan the rest around rest, long lunches and the sights.
- Local hosts: a family roof for kite day, a friend's courtyard for Holi, a guide who grew up in the lanes for Gangaur.
- Ready-made journeys: our Holi in Rajasthan, Desert Festival and Pushkar Camel Fair journeys show the shape. See all our journeys.
Festival etiquette, in brief
Dress modestly at temples and fairs, with shoulders and knees covered. Our etiquette and dress guide has more.
Ask before photographing people, especially women and anyone at prayer, and accept a no gracefully.
- Remove your shoes before any shrine, and follow the queue rather than pushing forward.
- At Holi, consent comes first: colour only those who want it, and keep children and the elderly out of the street crowds.
- Animals: we don't book elephant rides or captive-animal shows at any festival. Our ethical animal encounters page explains why.
- Accept hospitality: tea, sweets or prasad offered at a festival are a welcome. Take them with your right hand.