Festivals in Nagaland and Meghalaya by month — the Hornbill Festival, Sekrenyi, Wangala, Behdienkhlam and the 2026 Cherry Blossom Festival
Nagaland and Meghalaya festivals by month from the state tourism sites: Hornbill, Sekrenyi, Tuluni, Wangala, Behdienkhlam and the 2026 Cherry Blossom Festival.
Nagaland has one of the longest festival calendars in India, because each tribe keeps its own, and the state tourism department publishes it with dates. Meghalaya's traditional festivals follow the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo calendars, and its tourism department lists the modern music and culture festivals with dates. This guide sorts both by month, as we read them on 24 October 2026. The Nagaland calendar gives days without a year, and village councils can move a day, so check with the tourism office or the village before you plan. Visitors from outside Nagaland need an Inner Line Permit; read how to reach Kohima, which quotes the state's own page, before you plan.
13 January: Poanglum, the Chang, at Tuensang; and Aai-Sagi, the Kachari, at Dimapur.
15 January: Sukrunye, the Chakhesang.
17 January: Mimkut, the Kuki, at Athibung in Peren.
18 January: Kuhlang-Nyi, the Tikhir, at Kiphire.
20 January: Khaozaosie-Hok-Ah, the Khiamniungan, at Noklak.
27 January: Bishu, the Kachari, at Dimapur.
Last week of January: the Orange Festival at Rusoma village.
February and March
25 February: Sekrenyi, the Angami, at Kohima. Wikipedia calls it a ten-day purification festival that starts about 25 February, held to cleanse the village, and a mark of a young person's entry into adulthood. The Chengu Festival is on the same day at the Tizu Biodiversity Area in Zunheboto.
10 and 11 March: Mileinyi, the Zeliang, at Jalukie.
14 March: the Chumerie Garlic Festival at Khonoma.
April and May
1 and 2 April: Aoleang, the Konyak, at Mon; and Monyu, the Phom, at Longleng.
24 April: Tsükhenyie, the Chakhesang, at Thetsumi. The Snail and Trout Festival is in April at Poilwa.
2 May: Moatsu, the Ao, at Mokokchung. The Potato Festival is in the second week of May at Jakhama, and the Cucumber Festival at Aliba.
July to September
8 July: Tuluni, the Sumi, at Zunheboto.
1 and 2 August: Tsungremong, the Ao, at Mokokchung. 8 August: Metumniu, the Yimkhiung.
3 September: Mungmung, the Sangtam. The Apple Festival at Thanamir and the Kholar Festival at Tuensang fall in the first week of September.
October and November
5 October: Yemshe, the Pochury, at Meluri; and Tsokum, the Khiamniungan. In the first week, the Cosmos Festival at Pfutsero and the Kiwi and Persimmon Festival at Thipuzu.
30 and 31 October: Chega Gadi, the Zeliang, at Peren.
6 and 7 November: Tokhu Emong, the Lotha, at Wokha.
14 and 15 November: Ahuna, the Sumi, at Zunheboto.
21 November: Wangala, the Garo, at Dimapur.
27 and 28 November: Ngada, the Rengma, at Tseminyu. The Cherry Blossom Festival at Longkhum is in the first week of November.
December: the Hornbill Festival
The Hornbill Festival runs from 1 to 10 December at Kisama, in Kohima. Wikipedia calls it the Festival of Festivals, and says that every ethnic group of the state takes part and that the festival began in December 2000. The People's Festival runs from 2 to 10 December at Khezhakeno. Read our Hornbill Festival guide and the Kohima guide.
Meghalaya
Traditional festivals. Wikipedia names the festivals of the Khasi, including Shad Suk Mynsiem and Pom-Blang Nongkrem, and gives no days. Behdienkhlam, the dance festival of the Pnar of the Jaintia hills, is held in July after the sowing, and its biggest events are at Jowai; men beat the roofs with bamboo poles to drive away evil spirits and disease. Wangala, the festival of the Garo, runs between September and December with village-set dates.
Modern festivals in 2026. The Meghalaya Tourism site lists these.
The three-day Shillong Literary Festival from 12 November, at Ward's Lake.
The two-day Cherry Blossom Festival on 20 November, during the cherry blossom season in Shillong.
The two-day Me•Gong Festival at Tura in the Garo Hills, from 4 December.
Winter Tales, the annual winter festival at Shillong, on 17 December.
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Questions people ask
When is the Hornbill Festival?
The Nagaland Department of Tourism lists it from 1 to 10 December at Kisama, the heritage village near Kohima. Wikipedia says the state government stages it annually in early December, and that all of the state's ethnic groups take part. It began in December 2000. Book rooms early for that week.
Which festival is held in Meghalaya in November 2026?
The Meghalaya Tourism site lists the two-day Cherry Blossom Festival on 20 November 2026, during the cherry blossom season in Shillong, and the three-day Shillong Literary Festival from 12 November at Ward's Lake. In December it lists the Me•Gong Festival at Tura on 4 December and Winter Tales on 17 December.
What is Wangala?
The festival of the Hundred Drums, a post-harvest festival of the Garo in which they thank Misi Saljong, the sun god. Wikipedia says villages set their own dates between September and December. The Hundred Drums Festival at Asanang, 18 km from Tura, began on 6 and 7 December 1976. Nagaland's calendar lists a Wangala on 21 November.
