Fairs and Festival
With a rich cultural heritage, India has many fairs and festivals throughout the year. Some of these festivals are celebrated in many parts of the country, while some of them are region specific. Our tours are designed to take you to the heart of each festival, the place where it is celebrated most vividly and most elaborately, so that you truly get to experience what each festival is about.
Uttar Pradesh
Diwali
Known as the festival of lights, Diwali is a celebrated in honour of Lord Rama and his wife Sita’s return to their kingdom of Ayodhya. People light traditional clay lamps, burst firecrackers, draw Rangoli outside their homes, wear new clothes and exchange gifts with their loved ones. Most residents will leave the lights on for the entire night on Diwali as a symbolic gesture. It is quite a spectacle to see this kind of celebration and lamp-lighting across an entire city.
Maharashtra
Ganesh Visarjan
Ganesh-Utsav is a ten day festival celebrated mostly in western India. The eleventh day is Ganesh Visarjan, which is the ceremonial immersion of the statue of Lord Ganesh into a water body, preferably a river, lake or sea. The festival is celebrated with the most gusto in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Hundreds of thousands of people participate in the procession as the statue is taken across the city to the water body. The energy of the crowd is infectious and the experience is unforgettable.
Rajasthan
Pushkar Fair
The Pushkar Fair is an annual five-day camel and livestock fair held in the town of Pushkar in Rajasthan. It is one of the largest camel fairs in the world. Tourist attractions include the buying and selling of livestock along with unique events such as the longest moustache competition. The fair is an extremely colourful and vibrant event and is a great treat for those keen to see traditional Rajasthani culture.
Kerala
Nehru Trophy Boat Race
The water festival is celebrated in the Punnamada Lake near Alapuzzha in Kerala. It is held on the second Saturday of August every year. The most popular event at the festival is the competition of “Chundan Vallam” or snake boats. The most significant aspect of the boat race is the sheer number of people rowing in each boat, making it one of the largest team events in the world in terms of water sports.
Uttar Pradesh
Holi
The Festival of Colours is celebrated usually in the month of March or April, on the last full moon day of the lunar month, as per the Hindu calendar. Though the festival is celebrated across the country, the primary venue is Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. People rub a coloured powder called “gulal” on each other’s faces. Gulal can be of various colours. People also spray coloured water at each other. Holi is mostly celebrated in the streets. The festival bridges the social gap and brings people closer.
