10 Festivals That You Need To Travel To And Explore In 2022-23

India is a place of festivals where people of all faith coexist peacefully. You must personally experience the essence and taste of each event in India. All hatred disappears during Indian holidays, and people begin to appreciate the pleasant festivities. Additionally, every holiday in India brings joy and happiness with it. Indian holidays are celebrated with their own special extravaganzas, each with a fervour that is palpable throughout the nation.

The most fascinating Indian festivals and events, which are listed below, are those you should visit in 2022–2023. If you want to learn more about India’s rich culture, schedule your vacation time around these festivals and get a glimpse of these festivals and the best places to celebrate. Make your festival tour memorable by visiting these places.

1. Colour festival: Holi

The festival of Holi in India perfectly coincides with the easter weekend, making it one of the best times to visit the country. Holi tends to draw the most attention from abroad. Holi attracts a huge inflow of Vaishnavas to Vrindavan and Mathura. On the eve of Holi, Mathura and Vrindavan are the scenes of exquisite celebrations, and they end up being the most incredible locations to celebrate Holi in India. Holi hails the arrival of spring and says goodbye to the bitter winter chills. The Holi festivities in this ardently Krishna-obsessed village are centred around the Bankey Bihari Temple in Vrindavan. The city commemorates phoolon wali Holi, in which temple priests shower flowers on the worshippers, on the Ekadashi preceding Holi.

2. Holiday honouring fairness, justice, and equality: Onam

Kerala’s Onam festival is celebrated by all demographic groups with delight, excitement, and satisfaction. In Kerala, one can indulge in 26 traditional foods. Watch the thrilling snake boat race. Enjoy the distinctive body painting competition/procession. During the lavish Onam carnival, you may see the best Keralan dances.

3. Festivals of lights: Diwali

The Indians' homes and streets are not the only things that are made bright by the festival of lights; everyone who sees it has their life similarly enlightened. Following a protracted 14-year exile, the event celebrates the arrival of Lord Rama, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshmana. It is one of India’s most well-known Hindu festivals, and it is observed with a lot of fanfare. With gifts, lanterns, candles, and mouthwatering sweets, it is one of the “biggest festivities of the year” in practically every region of India. Every night, on the Ganges, the Hindu tradition of Ganga Aarti is performed. During the festival, you can see people burning little diyas and then setting them down on the river, which is also encircled by lanterns.

4. Seek the blessings of maa Durga: Durga pooja

The festival of Durga Puja honours the goddess Durga’s victory over the demon ruler Mahishasura. It Is the biggest festival in Hinduism and is customarily celebrated for 10 days in the month of Ashvina (September–October). One of the most anticipated occasions in Gujarat and West Bengal is Durga Puja. Intricate lighting is used to illuminate Kolkata’s streets at night, and lavish pandals and intricate idols are erected around the state. On the tenth day, also known as Dashami, the idol is immersed in water during a ceremony called visarjan. In Gujarat, the Durga Puja celebration is observed as Navratri, and inhabitants participate in nighttime festivities by dancing the well-known “Garba” dance.

5. Experience the victory of good over evil: Dusshera.

This celebration, also known as Dasara, is the most well-liked one in Mysore. It commemorates the day of victory when Goddess Chamundeswari slew the demonic Mahishasura and is observed at the end of the nine-day Navaratri celebration. At night, the Mysore Palace’s illuminations resemble a fairyland. The parade is beautiful to witness, and it features a variety of colourful paintings and pictures, dance groups, armed forces, music ensembles, legends, the royal traditional families, as well as painted elephants, camels, and horses. Numerous cultural events were held, and a military parade was also held to display the bravery and strength of the troops. Traditional dances and folk arts were once performed alongside.

6. 11 days of lavishing Lord Ganesha: Ganesh Chaturthi

A 10-day event filled with vibrant celebrations marks Ganesh Chaturthi, another significant Hindu holy festival in India. Huge handcrafted Ganesh statues are placed in pandals or outside in houses or other public places. This festival is a time to have fun, filled with celebration and laughter, dancing and music. It is the event that the people of Mumbai commemorate with tremendous fervour and excitement as the anniversary of the birth of Lord Ganesha. When thinking of Ganesh Chaturthi, one immediately thinks of Mumbai. The Ganesh Chaturthi event in this location is just worth checking out because of the vivid colours, enormous pandals, loud music, and a wide variety of modaks that are followed by an elaborate puja.

7. Festival of honouring Sun: Chath pooja

This Vedic celebration honours Chhathi Maiya and Lord Surya, the Sun God (another name for Goddess Usha and a known sister to Lord Surya). A severe and spiritual practice lasting four days is Chhath Puja. Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh in India are the states where Chhath is primarily observed. It includes practices like offering prayers to the sun at daybreak and dusk and fasting, not drinking water, bathing in rivers, and taking river baths. A feast of thekuas (a dessert consisting of wheat flour, sugar or jaggery, coconut, ghee, and dry fruits) is required after Chhat Puja.

8. Krishna's birth is commemorated: Krishna Janmashtami

Janmashtami is your best option if you want to experience Hindu culture, customs, and rituals at their peak. The Uttar Pradesh cities of Mathura and Vrindavan host lavish Janmashtami celebrations, and this town also has a close connection to Krishna’s life. Krishna Leela celebrations, which include dance and theater performances. It is thought that Lord Krishna conducted the Raas Leelas at the Madhuban. During Janmashtami, Madhuban hosts a number of folk performances, and both domestic and international travellers are drawn to the city by its aura. You can plan your trip to this place and make many memories. Radha and Krishna idols are anointed, embellished, and beautiful temples are seen across the city.

9. Celebration of honour: Independence day

Independence Day is one of the most important and widely observed national holidays, and it is a time to remember and honour India’s independence.The celebration of Independence Day awakens each person’s sense of patriotism. The nation celebrates Independence Day with a public holiday, flag-hoisting, patriotic music, trips to historical sites, and the consumption of the national dessert, jalebi. In addition, tricolour balloons and ribbons are placed around the markets, malls, and streets to further enhance the flawless appearance of everything. The daily flag-hosting ceremony that has taken place at the Wagah Border, near Amritsar, since 1959 has earned it considerable notoriety. Due to all of the events happening there, it ends up being a great place to go on Independence Day.

10. Sign of abundance: Pongal

The first harvest of the year is celebrated at this festival of thanksgiving to nature. One of India's most well-known celebrations is the South Indian harvest festival, which lasts four days. The main festival in Tamil Nadu is called Pongal. According to the seasonal agricultural cycle, the majority of the state's areas would have completed the harvest just before Pongal, thus the newly harvested paddy would be piled high in farmer residences and stockyards. Pongal is the opportunity to celebrate nature's gifts because they sustain and improve our existence. Three days are dedicated to this festival's celebration.

India is a nation in which each community and faith honours its own culture. India has festivals organised by state, religion, and by the community. It's interesting that in India, celebrations are required for practically all occasions, from big to small. There are always seasons to celebrate the festivals, whether it’s the start of spring, the harvest of crops, or anything else. The desire to go and take part in festivities has perhaps been awakened by this list of well-known Indian holidays. If you wish to learn about this nation, you must become familiar with the atmosphere created by the harmonious cohabitation of so many different cultures, customs, and beliefs.