Festival Calendar
Festivals in May
18 festivals happening across India in May
Badri-Kedar Festival
Festivities marking the annual opening of both Badrinath and Kedarnath temple doors, with the doli (palanquin) procession departing Joshimath for Badrinath.
Badrinath Temple Opening (Kapaat Kholna)
The sacred temple doors open for the season after winter closure, marked by elaborate Vedic rituals and the arrival of the deity's idol from Joshimath.
Bangus Spring Bloom Festival
Celebration of the meadow wildflower bloom in the Bangus Valley with camping, folk music, and guided treks through what locals call Mini-Switzerland.
Buddha Purnima
The holiest day in Buddhism — celebrating Buddha birth, enlightenment, and death. Thousands gather at Mahabodhi Temple.
Buddha Purnima (Vesak)
Commemorates Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana at the very site where he gave his first sermon. Monks from across the world gather for prayers and meditation.
Chail Cricket Festival
Cricket matches and cultural events at the Chail Cricket Ground — the world's highest cricket pitch at 2,444m, built in 1893 by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
Chaukori Tea Festival
Festival at the Chaukori tea gardens — among India's highest at 2,010m — with tea-tasting sessions, plantation tours, and Kumaoni cultural performances against Panchachuli peaks.
Gangotri Temple Opening (Akshaya Tritiya)
The temple doors open for the pilgrimage season on Akshaya Tritiya with chanting, pujas, and the return of the sacred idol from Mukhba village.
Guptkashi Vishwanath Temple Festival
Celebrations at the ancient Vishwanath Temple when the Kedarnath pilgrimage season opens, with the deity's winter-seat rituals and devotional gatherings.
Kedarnath Opening
Temple doors open after 6 months of winter. First darshan of the season. Deity carried back from Ukhimath.
Moatsu
Ao Naga post-sowing festival — warriors in full ceremonial dress, folk songs around bonfires, community bonding, and prayers for a good harvest. Mokokchung comes alive.
Ooty Flower Show
Annual flower show at the Botanical Gardens featuring rare Nilgiri species, orchid displays, and competitive arrangements. 100,000+ visitors. Coincides with the Ooty summer festival.
Saga Dawa
The holiest month in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar. Monastery pujas, sacred Cham dances, circumambulation of sacred peaks, and the dramatic unfurling of the Thangka at Rumtek.
Summer Festival
Celebrity performances, flower shows on the Ridge. Hot air balloons. Evening cultural shows.
Tosamaidan Wildflower Season
Opening of the Tosamaidan meadow — once an army firing range, now a reclaimed paradise — with wildflower walks, camping, and Gujjar pastoral culture displays.
Tungnath Temple Opening
The kapaat (doors) of the world's highest Shiva temple at 3,680m open with Vedic rituals,ثم the deity is carried in a palanquin procession from Makkumath winter seat.
Tungnath Temple Opening
The world's highest Shiva temple opens after winter with ritثals and the return of the deity's idol from Makkumath village.
Yamunotri Temple Opening (Akshaya Tritiya)
The temple doors open for the Char Dham season with rituals at the hot springs and the sacred Divya Shila; pilgrims cook rice in the thermal water as prasad.