Festivals of India State-wise List: Hornbill, Onam, Bihu, Rath Yatra and 36 Signature Festivals

Festivals of India: Quick Answer

Every state and union territory in India has at least one signature festival, and this list names all 36. The most asked in SSC, railway and bank exams are the Hornbill Festival (Nagaland), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), the Rath Yatra of Puri (Odisha), Chhath Puja (Bihar), Durga Puja (West Bengal) and Mysore Dasara (Karnataka). Two of them sit on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: Durga Puja in Kolkata (inscribed 2021) and Garba of Gujarat (inscribed 2023). The longest festival in the country is the Bastar Dussehra of Chhattisgarh, which runs for about 75 days — and it has nothing to do with Rama and Ravana.

Key takeaway for exams: Learn one festival per state from the table below, plus the festival behind each "first" and "longest" record. Questions are almost always "festival → state" matching, or they test the trap pairs: Hornbill is Nagaland, not Assam; Sarhul worships the Sal tree in Jharkhand; Dosmoche belongs to Ladakh, not Jammu and Kashmir.

Festivals are events. Dances are what people perform at them. This note lists the events; the dance forms that go with them — Bhangra, Garba, Bihu dance, Chhau and the rest — live in our companion notes on folk dances and classical dances, linked at the end. Where a state has two equally famous festivals, both are named, but the table keeps one row per state or union territory with the primary festival first.

How India's Festival Calendar Works

Almost every date in the table follows one of two calendar systems, and knowing which one explains why festival dates move from year to year. The lunisolar calendar fixes festivals by the moon's phases inside solar months: Gudi Padwa and Ugadi fall on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra; Chhath falls on Kartik Shukla Shashthi, the sixth day of the bright fortnight of Kartik; and the Rath Yatra falls on Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya, the second day of the bright fortnight of Ashadha. Because twelve lunar months are about 11 days shorter than a solar year, an extra month (adhik maas) is inserted roughly every three years, and dates can jump by two or three weeks — which is why the Pushkar Fair closed on 24 November in 2026 after closing in early November in 2025.

The solar calendar fixes festivals by the sun's entry into a zodiac sign. Vishu falls on Medam 1, the day the sun enters Aries in the Malayalam calendar; Puthandu falls on Chithirai 1 in the Tamil calendar; and Baisakhi falls on the sun's entry into Aries in the Punjabi calendar. These three almost always land between 13 and 15 April, and they do not move with the moon. That is why 2026 is such a good exam example: the lunar new year (Ugadi and Gudi Padwa) fell on 19 March, while the solar new year fell on 14–15 April, nearly a month later: Baisakhi and Puthandu on 14 April, Vishu and Poila Boishakh on 15 April.

Harvest festivals cluster in the same two windows. The January cluster — Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Magh Bihu, Bhogi and Thai Pongal — thanks the sun and closes the winter harvest. The April cluster — Baisakhi, Rongali Bihu, Vishu and Puthandu — opens the spring sowing and the new year. If a question asks for a "harvest festival" and the options mix January and April festivals, check which harvest the question means: the January cluster celebrates a harvest gathered, and the April cluster celebrates a harvest about to be sown and reaped.

Latest Festival News 2026 (with Dates)

These are the dated 2026 editions checked for this note, as of 7 November 2026. Editions after that date are shown as scheduled.

• Hornbill Festival 2026 — scheduled 1 to 10 December 2026 at Kisama Heritage Village, about 12 km from Kohima. It is the 27th edition of a festival launched in 2000. The 2025 edition drew 2,14,493 visitors, the highest in six years.
• Mysore Dasara 2026 — held 11 to 21 October 2026, an 11-day festival. The Jamboo Savari elephant procession closed the festival on 21 October, a day after the pan-India Dussehra date, because the Mysuru Palace follows its own panchanga.
• Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2026 — the 39th edition was held 31 January to 15 February 2026 at Faridabad, Haryana, with Egypt as the partner nation.
• Shigmo 2026 — Goa's spring festival was held 5 to 18 March 2026, with float parades across 19 centres, opening at Ponda and closing at Pernem.
• Chhath Puja 2026 — scheduled 13 to 16 November 2026: Nahay Khay on 13 November, Kharna on 14 November, Sandhya Arghya (offering to the setting sun) on 15 November and Usha Arghya (offering to the rising sun) on 16 November.
• Pushkar Fair 2026 — scheduled 17 to 24 November 2026 in Ajmer district, Rajasthan, closing on Kartik Purnima (24 November).
• Ladakh Festival 2026 — held 21 to 23 September 2026 in Leh. Ladakhi Losar (the Ladakhi New Year) follows on 9 December 2026, a different date from the Monpa Losar of Arunachal Pradesh.
• Hemis Tsechu 2026 — held 24 to 25 June 2026 at Hemis Monastery, Ladakh, for the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava.
• Gangaur 2026 — the main puja fell on 21 March 2026 (Chaitra Shukla Tritiya), after an 18-day observance that began the day after Holi.
• Gudi Padwa and Ugadi 2026 — both fell on 19 March 2026, the same lunar new-year day under different regional names. The solar new-year festivals — Vishu, Puthandu and Baisakhi — fell separately, on 14 April 2026. Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year) fell on 15 April 2026 in West Bengal (the day after the Mesha Sankranti moment, 09:39 IST on 14 April).
• Onam 2026 — Thiruvonam, the main day, fell on 26 August 2026, closing a 10-day celebration that began with Atham on 17 August.
• Rath Yatra 2026 — held on 16 July 2026 at Puri, with the return journey (Bahuda Yatra) on 24 July.

Festivals of India State-wise List (All 36 States and UTs)

Festivals Shared by More Than One State

State borders do not fence festivals in, and exams love the shared ones because they punish one-state memorisation. Losar, the Tibetan Buddhist New Year, is celebrated in three states and one union territory under different local calendars: by the Monpa of Arunachal Pradesh in February–March, in Sikkim alongside Losoong, and as Ladakhi Losar in Ladakh in December. Baisakhi belongs to Punjab first, but it is equally a Haryana and Chandigarh festival, and the same April harvest is marked as Bohag Bihu in Assam and Vishu in Kerala. Chhath Puja is Bihar's signature, but it is observed with the same four-day discipline in Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Nepal's Terai, and by the Bihari diaspora in Delhi, Mumbai and abroad. Bhagoria is Madhya Pradesh's Bhil festival, but the Bhil belt runs on into Maharashtra and Gujarat, where the same haat markets gather before Holi. Durga Puja is West Bengal's, yet it is a public holiday and a street festival across Assam, Tripura, Odisha, Bihar and Delhi too — which is why UNESCO listed the element as "Durga Puja in Kolkata" rather than as a festival of one state. When a question asks "which state" for a shared festival, answer the state the question's phrasing points to — usually the one where the festival is the signature entry in lists like this one — and be ready for the follow-up question that asks which other state shares it.

Records, Firsts and Superlatives

• Longest festival in India: the Bastar Dussehra, about 75 days. It is also the only major Dussehra that does not retell the Ramayana — its centre is the goddess Danteshwari of Dantewada.
• UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: "Durga Puja in Kolkata" (15 December 2021) and "Garba of Gujarat" (December 2023). Both sit on the Representative List of intangible heritage, not on the World Heritage List of sites — a distinction exams test.
• Most festivals in a year: Odisha's own saying is "Bara Masare Tera Parba" — thirteen festivals in twelve months.
• Largest camel fair: the Pushkar Fair, one of the world's largest camel and livestock fairs, drawing traders, pilgrims and tourists to one small town in the same week.
• Largest tulip garden in Asia: the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar, with about 1.8 million bulbs in over 70 varieties, is the setting of the Tulip Festival.
• Heaviest processional howdah: the golden howdah of the Mysore Dasara weighs about 750 kg and is carried by the lead elephant over a route of about 5 km.
• Longest fast: Chhath Puja's 36-hour nirjala fast, observed without food or water between the Kharna meal and the breaking of the fast after the sunrise offering.
• Longest gap: the Nanda Devi Raj Jat comes once in 12 years and covers roughly 280 km on foot over 19 to 22 days.
• Most tribes on one stage: the Hornbill Festival gathers 16 officially recognised Naga tribes at a single venue, Kisama Heritage Village.
• Most deities in one Dussehra: the Kullu Dussehra brings 200 to 300 local deities in palanquins to pay homage to Lord Raghunath.
• One new year, two dates: in 2026 the lunar new year (Ugadi and Gudi Padwa) fell on 19 March, while the solar new year fell on 14 April (Baisakhi, Puthandu) and 15 April (Vishu, Poila Boishakh) — nearly a month apart.

Common Mistakes in Festival Questions

1. Hornbill is Nagaland, not Assam. Several popular lists place it in Assam. The festival is Nagaland's, held at Kisama near Kohima.
2. Ugadi and Gudi Padwa fall on the same day; Vishu does not. Ugadi (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka) and Gudi Padwa (Maharashtra) share the lunar date Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. Vishu, Puthandu and Baisakhi follow solar calendars and usually fall in mid-April instead.
3. Bastar Dussehra has no Rama–Ravana story. It honours the goddess Danteshwari. Do not answer it with the Mysore or Kullu Dussehra's storyline.
4. Durga Puja's UNESCO listing is intangible heritage, not a World Heritage Site. The listed element is named "Durga Puja in Kolkata" and was inscribed in 2021.
5. Mysore Dasara's Vijayadashami is not always the pan-India date. In 2026 the palace calendar placed the Jamboo Savari on 21 October, a day after Dussehra elsewhere.
6. Losar is not one date. The Monpa Losar of Arunachal Pradesh falls in February–March; Ladakhi Losar falls in December; Sikkim's Losar and Losoong follow their own local calendar.
7. Bihu is three festivals. Rongali (Bohag) is the New Year, Bhogali (Magh) is the harvest feast and Kati (Kongali) is the solemn one. "Bihu" alone in an option usually means Rongali.
8. Sarhul worships a tree, not a dance. Sarhul is the Sal-tree festival of Jharkhand. The Karma or Karam festival, also of Jharkhand, worships the Karam tree and deity in Bhadra.
9. Pongal's day order matters. Bhogi first, then Thai Pongal, then Mattu Pongal, then Kaanum Pongal. Bhogi is the day of discarding the old, not the main feast day.
10. Dosmoche belongs to Ladakh. After the 2019 reorganisation, the Leh and Likir Dosmoche is a Ladakh festival. Jammu and Kashmir's signature festivals in this list are the Tulip Festival and the Shikara Festival.
11. Nanda Devi Raj Jat is not annual. It is held once in 12 years; the last yatra was in 2014. Do not pick "every year" for it.
12. Chhath is not a Diwali ritual. It falls on Kartik Shukla Shashthi, after Diwali, and is a four-day festival of its own, also observed in Nepal's Terai and by the Bihari diaspora worldwide.
13. Garba and Dandiya are not the same dance. Garba is the circular dance around the garbo lamp; Dandiya Raas is danced with pairs of sticks. Both belong to Navratri in Gujarat.
14. Kullu Dussehra begins on Vijayadashami; Mysore Dasara ends on it. Kullu's seven days start on Dussehra day; Mysore's eleven days build up to the Jamboo Savari on Vijayadashami.

Memory Tricks

• New-year pair and solar four: "Ugadi and Gudi Padwa share one lunar day; Vishu, Puthandu, Baisakhi and Poila Boishakh share the solar mid-April." In 2026 the gap was 19 March versus 14–15 April.
• Three Bihus: "Rongali rejoices, Bhogali feasts, Kati keeps lamps." Spring joy, harvest feast, lean-season lamps.
• Pongal's four days: "Bhogi burns the old, Thai thanks the Sun, Mattu honours cattle, Kaanum meets kin."
• Sal is Sarhul: the Sal tree gives Sarhul its name and its ritual. Karam keeps the Karam tree for Bhadra.
• Hornbill in December: the bird that gives Nagaland its festival is on the state's imagination all year, but the festival itself is the first ten days of December.
• 75 days, no Rama: whenever a question says "longest festival" and "Dussehra" together, think Bastar and the goddess Danteshwari.
• 14 deities, 7 days: Kharchi Puja of Tripura — fourteen gods, one week.
• 100 drums: Wangala of the Garos is the festival of a hundred drums for Saljong.
• Cham means Hemis: masked Cham dances at a monastery in June–July point to Hemis in Ladakh.
• Thirteen in twelve: "Bara Masare Tera Parba" is Odisha's own count of its festivals.

Festivals of India Questions with Answers (Practice Set)

Q1. The Hornbill Festival, called the "Festival of Festivals", is the signature festival of which state? (a) Assam (b) Arunachal Pradesh (c) Nagaland (d) Mizoram Answer: (c) Nagaland. It is held every December at Kisama Heritage Village near Kohima, gathering the major Naga tribes. Several low-quality lists wrongly place it in Assam.

Q2. Which festival of Chhattisgarh runs for about 75 days and is dedicated to the goddess Danteshwari? (a) Madai (b) Bastar Dussehra (c) Hareli (d) Pola Answer: (b) Bastar Dussehra. It begins on Hareli Amavasya and ends on Vijayadashami, and unlike other Dussehra celebrations it does not retell the Rama–Ravana story.

Q3. Which of the following pairs of festivals always fall on the same day, because they share the lunar date Chaitra Shukla Pratipada? (a) Ugadi and Vishu (b) Gudi Padwa and Baisakhi (c) Ugadi and Gudi Padwa (d) Puthandu and Poila Boishakh Answer: (c) Ugadi and Gudi Padwa. In 2026 both fell on 19 March. Vishu, Puthandu and Baisakhi follow solar reckoning: Puthandu and Baisakhi fell on 14 April 2026, Vishu on 15 April 2026.

Q4. Sarhul, the spring festival of the Munda, Oraon and Ho peoples, is centred on the worship of which tree? (a) Peepal (b) Banyan (c) Sal (d) Mango Answer: (c) Sal. Sarhul literally means the worship of the Sal tree, believed to be the abode of the goddess Sarna. It is the best-known festival of Jharkhand.

Q5. "Durga Puja in Kolkata" was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in which year? (a) 2017 (b) 2019 (c) 2021 (d) 2023 Answer: (c) 2021. It was the 14th element from India on the list at the time of inscription. Garba of Gujarat followed in 2023.

Q6. In which state is the Kharchi Puja, a seven-day festival honouring fourteen deities, celebrated? (a) Manipur (b) Tripura (c) Assam (d) Mizoram Answer: (b) Tripura. The deities are bathed in the Saidra river at Old Agartala during the festival, which falls in July.

Q7. The Rath Yatra of Puri takes Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra in chariots to which temple? (a) Lingaraj Temple (b) Konark Sun Temple (c) Gundicha Temple (d) Taratarini Temple Answer: (c) Gundicha Temple. The deities stay there for about a week before the return journey, the Bahuda Yatra.

Q8. Which festival marks both the rabi harvest and the founding of the Khalsa in 1699? (a) Lohri (b) Maghi (c) Baisakhi (d) Teej Answer: (c) Baisakhi. It is Punjab's signature festival, falling on 13–14 April. Lohri is the winter bonfire festival of January.

Q9. Dosmoche, the "Festival of the Scapegoat" held at Leh, Likir and Diskit, belongs to which union territory? (a) Jammu and Kashmir (b) Ladakh (c) Chandigarh (d) Delhi Answer: (b) Ladakh. It falls on the 28th and 29th days of the twelfth Tibetan month, in February, and marks the turn of the Tibetan year.

Q10. Which of the following is the correct order of the four days of Pongal? (a) Thai, Bhogi, Mattu, Kaanum (b) Bhogi, Thai, Mattu, Kaanum (c) Mattu, Bhogi, Thai, Kaanum (d) Bhogi, Mattu, Thai, Kaanum Answer: (b) Bhogi, Thai, Mattu, Kaanum. Bhogi discards the old, Thai Pongal thanks the Sun, Mattu Pongal honours cattle and Kaanum Pongal is the family day.

Q11. The Kullu Dussehra differs from the Mysore Dasara in that it: (a) ends on Vijayadashami (b) begins on Vijayadashami and runs for seven days after it (c) honours the goddess Chamundeshwari (d) is held in Karnataka Answer: (b) begins on Vijayadashami and runs for seven days after it. Mysore's eleven days build up to the Jamboo Savari on Vijayadashami; Kullu's week starts on that day, with deities gathering at Dhalpur Maidan.

Q12. Which festival is described as the "Festival of 100 Drums"? (a) Chapchar Kut (b) Wangala (c) Moatsu (d) Sekrenyi Answer: (b) Wangala. It is the Garo harvest festival of Meghalaya, honouring Saljong, the sun god. Chapchar Kut is Mizoram's, Moatsu is the Ao festival of Nagaland and Sekrenyi is the Angami festival.

Festivals of India FAQs

How many festivals are covered in this list?

All 36 states and union territories — 28 states and 8 union territories — with one primary festival each, plus the second festival where a state has two equally famous ones.

Which is the longest festival in India?

The Bastar Dussehra of Chhattisgarh, about 75 days from Hareli Amavasya in July to Vijayadashami in October. It honours the goddess Danteshwari.

Which Indian festivals are on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list?

Two are named in this note: "Durga Puja in Kolkata" (2021) and "Garba of Gujarat" (2023). Both are on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is separate from the World Heritage List of sites.

Are Ugadi and Gudi Padwa the same festival?

They fall on the same day — Chaitra Shukla Pratipada — but carry different regional names and customs: Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, and Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra. In 2026 both fell on 19 March.

Which states have no single signature festival?

Arunachal Pradesh, whose festivals are tribe-wise (Losar for the Monpa, Solung for the Adi, Mopin for the Galo), and Lakshadweep, where Eid-ul-Fitr and the Minicoy Festival share the calendar. This note names the leading festival for each community rather than forcing one.

When is the Hornbill Festival held?

From 1 to 10 December every year at Kisama Heritage Village near Kohima, Nagaland. The 2026 edition, the 27th, runs 1–10 December 2026.

What is the difference between this note and the folk dance and classical dance notes?

Festivals are events with dates, places and rituals; dances are the art forms performed at them. Garba is danced at Navratri, Bihu dance at Bihu, and Chhau at harvest and spring festivals — the dance forms, their states and their exponents are covered in the companion notes linked below.

Practice Next

• Dances at these festivals: Folk Dances of India State Wise and Classical Dances of India and Their States
• Craft and art traditions: Folk Paintings and Crafts of India State-wise and Martial Arts of India State-wise
• Heritage lists: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India 2026 and GI Tags in India 2026
• Neighbouring lists: States and Capitals of India 2026, National Symbols of India and Ramsar Sites in India 2026
• Dates through the year: Important Days List 2026
• Test yourself: SSC CGL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01, SSC CGL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 02 and SSC CGL Tier-2 General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01
• More GA practice: SSC CHSL General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01 and RRB NTPC General Awareness Sectional Mock Test 01
• More free notes: All Study Notes

Sources: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage listings for "Durga Puja in Kolkata" (2021) and "Garba of Gujarat" (2023); Government of Nagaland Hornbill Festival announcements (27th edition, 1–10 December 2026, Kisama Heritage Village); Goa Tourism Department Shigmo 2026 announcement (5–18 March 2026, 19 centres); Haryana Tourism / Surajkund Mela Authority (39th edition, 31 January–15 February 2026); Mysuru Dasara Committee programme via mysoredasara.gov.in (11–21 October 2026); Government of Jharkhand festivals page (Sarhul, Karam); Drik Panchang calendars for Chhath Puja 2026 (13–16 November), Gudi Padwa and Ganesh Chaturthi 2026 (19 March; 14–25 September); Rajasthan Tourism festival calendar 2026 (Pushkar Fair 17–24 November); Ladakh monastery festival calendars 2026 (Hemis 24–25 June, Dosmochey 15–16 February, Losar 9 December); Telangana Tourism (Bathukamma and Bonalu as state festivals); and state tourism and panchang sources for the remaining state-wise pairings; Nanda Devi Badi Jat 2026 dates (5–23 September): Wikipedia, Nanda Devi Raj Jat infobox, and visituttarakhand.org, Maa Nanda Devi Badi Jaat Yatra 2026 day-by-day itinerary. As of 7 November 2026.