Skip to content
Naksh.iq

FESTIVALS · KERALA · DECEMBER

Kerala festivals in December.

5 festivals this month — dates, locations, and travel tips.

Cochin Carnival

Kochi (Fort Kochi)

Fort Kochi's Christmas-New Year festival. Beach sports, music, food stalls, art exhibitions, and the famous burning of Pappanji (old year effigy) on New Year's Eve. Colonial-era tradition.

December 25 - January 1 (week-long)

Kochi-Muziris Biennale

Kochi (Fort Kochi)

Asia's largest contemporary art exhibition. Fort Kochi transforms into an open-air gallery — warehouses, heritage buildings, and public spaces become art venues. International and Indian artists.

December to March (3 months)

Kovalam Literary Festival

Kovalam

Beach-side literary festival featuring Indian and international authors, discussions, music, and culture. Held at the beachfront hotels. Intimate compared to Jaipur Lit Fest.

December (3 days)

Varkala Sivagiri Pilgrimage

Varkala

Pilgrimage to the Sivagiri Mutt of Sree Narayana Guru, Kerala's greatest social reformer. Thousands of followers march to the hilltop in white. Discussions on social reform, education, and equality.

December 30 - January 1

Wayanad Food Festival

Wayanad

Celebration of Malabar and tribal cuisine. Bamboo rice dishes, wild honey tastings, tribal cooking demonstrations, spice garden tours, and cook-offs.

December (3 days)

ALSO ON NAKSHIQ

Eight more rooms in the magazine.

Guides

Visa, scams, food, packing.

Everything the guidebook won't tell you — written for India in 2026.

Blog

Field notes from the road.

Long-form reads on regions, festivals, and the offbeat circuit.

Road trips

Curated multi-day routes.

Driving itineraries with day-by-day stops, distance, and difficulty.

Collections

Themed reading lists.

Wettest places. Sacred lakes. Solo-female-safe. Curated cuts.

NakshIQ 100

The 100 best destination-months.

India's highest-scoring places, ranked across all 12 months.

The Window

Our weekly newsletter, archived.

One honest spread, every Sunday. The full back catalogue.

Skip list

What we'd skip — and what we'd do instead.

Overhyped places with honest alternatives.

First trip

Planning your first time in India.

Safety, scams, what to wear, food survival, solo female travel.