Fairs and festivals of Himachal by month — Kullu Dussehra, Minjar, Lavi, Phulaich and more

How this list is dated

Many of Himachal's fairs follow the lunar calendar or the harvest, so their dates change each year. This page gives a date only where Himachal Tourism, the state's official site, states one, and says "date varies" for the rest. Always check the district administration's notice for the year you plan to go.

January and February

• Manali Winter Carnival. Held in the first week of January, with folk dance from several states, a

skiing contest at Solang and a Winter Queen pageant. See Manali in January and February.

• Lohri and Makar Sankranti. Lohri is on 13 January, with bonfires and folk songs. On 14

January devotees bathe at the Tattapani hot springs near Shimla; see the hot springs of Himachal.

• Halda in Lahaul. In deep winter around the new year, villagers walk with burning cedar torches to

drive out evil. The date varies.

• Losar. The Buddhist new year, kept with mask dances at monasteries in Lahaul and Spiti. The date

varies. Read Spiti in winter.

• Mandi Shivratri. At Shivratri, whose date the lunar calendar sets, there is a week of festival in

Mandi. More than two hundred local deities ride into town in palanquins, led by Kamru Nag of Gohar. The date varies.

March to May

• Holi fairs. Fairs are held at Palampur and at Sujanpur; see

Narbadeshwar temple at Sujanpur Tira. At Paonta Sahib, Hindus and Sikhs celebrate together at the gurdwara.

• Nalwari fair. A cattle fair in March at Bilaspur that is now known for its

wrestling.

• Navratri. The spring Navratri, in Chaitra in March or April, fills all five Shakti Peeth temples; see the

five Shakti Peeths in three days. The autumn Navratri, in Ashvin, comes in September or October. The date varies.

• Baisakhi. Falls on 13 April, with village fairs of wrestling, dance and archery.
• Sui Mata fair, Chamba. In spring, a women's and children's fair at the temple for the queen who ended

the town's water shortage. See the fairs of Chamba.

• Dhoongri, Manali. In May, the fair for the goddess Hadimba; see the

Hadimba temple.

June to August

• Shimla Summer Festival. Early June, with flower shows and cultural evenings.
• Shoolini fair, Solan. On the third Sunday of June, for the goddess Shoolini, with wrestling and the

archery game of Thoda.

• Ghantal festival, Lahaul. On a full-moon night in June at the

Guru Ghantal monastery.

• Minjar fair, Chamba. July or August, for a week. See the fairs of Chamba.
• Ladarcha fair, Kaza. July or August, Spiti's old trade fair; see

when to visit Kaza.

• Shravan fair, Naina Devi. August at Shri Naina Devi Ji.
• Manimahesh Yatra. After Janmashtami, in August or September, from Bharmour; see

Manimahesh lake.

• Dal fair, Dharamshala. August or September at Dal Lake.

September to December

• Phulaich, Kinnaur. September, when wild flowers cover the meadows, villagers gather them for the

deities. Kalpa keeps it with some of the liveliest celebrations, and a special festival is held there every twelve years. See when to visit Kalpa.

• Kullu Dussehra. Begins on Vijayadashami and runs a week at Dhalpur Maidan,

where Raghunath is brought out in a wooden chariot. The date varies; read the Kullu Dussehra guide.

• Shakti Devi fair, Chhatrari. A dance-led fair at the Shakti Devi temple

in Chamba. The date varies.

• Lavi fair, Rampur Bushahr. Starts on 11 November and runs three days, the heir of a 1681 trade treaty

with Tibet. See Rampur Bushahr.

• Renuka fair. A week in November at Renuka Lake, for the reunion of Parshuram

with his mother Renuka.

• New Year. The hill stations of Shimla, Manali, Chail, Dharamshala and Dalhousie fill for December and

early January.

Plan the rest

Best time to visit Himachal, month by month says which roads and passes are open in each of these months.

Places to visit

All destinations →

Apharwat Peak — the mountain above Gulmarg and its ski slopes

Gulmarg

Stok Palace — the royal summer home across the Indus

Leh

Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary — the forest and meadows around the resort

Gulmarg

Gomukh — the snout of the Gangotri Glacier, 18 km on foot from Gangotri

Gangotri

Happy Valley Tea Estate, Darjeeling — the town's second oldest tea garden

Darjeeling

Gulaba

Manali

Neuli

Sainj

Kheer Bhawani Temple — the spring shrine at Tulmulla near Srinagar

Srinagar

More stories to read

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Snow in Himachal in November: almost none in Shimla, the first falls at Narkanda and Dalhousie, the high valleys already white, and Rohtang closing.

Chenab Rail Bridge — take away a pier and the train still runs

The Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir stands 359 m above the river. Railways says it stays open at 30 km/h even if one pier or trestle is removed.

Best time to visit Kashmir and Ladakh — month by month, with India Meteorological Department weather for five stations

Kashmir and Ladakh month by month: IMD highs, nights and precipitation for Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Leh and Katra, with snow, the Leh roads and festivals.

Khardung La's sign says 18,380 ft — the pass is 17,582 ft

The famous sign at Khardung La in Ladakh says 18,380 ft and the world's highest road. GPS surveys give 5,359 m (17,582 ft); higher roads now cross Ladakh.

How to reach Tabo — distances and drive times

How to reach Tabo in Spiti by road from Kaza, Reckong Peo, Kalpa, Shimla and Chandigarh, with measured distances and drive times and the nearest airport.

Best time to visit Chail — the sanctuary months and the rest

When to visit Chail: March to October is named as the best time for the sanctuary, and no monthly weather table is published for the hill station itself.

Destinations to explore

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Palampur

3 itineraries · 3 places

Katra

3 itineraries · 3 places

Dharamshala

7 itineraries · 15 places

Ranikhet

2 itineraries · 3 places

Pahalgam

3 itineraries · 4 places

Chamba

4 itineraries · 5 places