India public holidays and festivals: dates and closures

India's holiday calendar has three layers. The first is the gazetted national list: Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti are fixed by date and observed everywhere. The second is the major religious festivals — Diwali, Holi, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Christmas, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Buddha Purnima — which are gazetted nationally but fall on different dates each year because they follow lunar calendars. The third layer is regional: Onam and Vishu in Kerala, Pongal and Tamil New Year in Tamil Nadu, Durga Puja and Poila Boishakh in West Bengal, Gudi Padwa and Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra, Baisakhi in Punjab, Bihu in Assam. A state holiday in Kerala is an ordinary working day in Delhi.

Expect the biggest crowds and the highest transport prices around Diwali (usually late October or early November) and the Republic Day long weekend in late January. Smaller festivals are often the better trip: you see the celebration without competing for every train berth.

On a gazetted holiday, government offices, banks, schools and the stock market close. Many independent shops, especially in smaller towns, also shut — sometimes for several days around a major festival. In big cities, malls, chain stores, restaurants and hotels generally stay open, and tourist sights vary: monuments run by the Archaeological Survey of India usually remain open, while some museums and smaller sites close.

Transport is the bigger issue. Long-distance trains and domestic flights around Diwali and the Republic Day weekend fill weeks in advance, and fares rise. Intercity buses run, but on festival days they are packed and slow. Taxis and ride-hailing work, though surge pricing is common on Diwali night and during processions.

Alcohol sales are restricted on declared dry days in many states — typically Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti and some religious holidays. Rules differ by state, so check locally if it matters to you.

Holi, in March, is the most photogenic and the most chaotic. The north — Mathura, Vrindavan, Jaipur, Delhi — celebrates hardest. Expect colour, crowds and closed shops for two or three days. Book accommodation early and wear clothes you can throw away.

Durga Puja turns Kolkata into an open-air gallery of temporary pandals for about a week in September or October. It is a genuine reason to time a trip to the east, but hotels in Kolkata sell out months ahead and prices jump.

Diwali, the festival of lights, is best in Jaipur or Varanasi, where the old city is lit and the ghats hold ceremonies. It is also the single busiest week for domestic travel in India, so lock in trains and flights as soon as your dates are fixed.

In the south, Onam in Kerala (August or September) brings boat races and feasts, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu (mid-January) is a four-day harvest festival. Both are lower-key for foreign visitors and easier to slot into a normal itinerary.

If you want a festival without the crush, pick a regional one in a smaller city — Ganesh Chaturthi in Pune, Bihu in Assam, or a temple festival in Tamil Nadu. You get the celebration with far less competition for beds and seats.

Two rules cover most trips. First, avoid arriving in a major city on the day of a big festival unless you have a confirmed bed — walk-in rooms vanish and prices double. Second, build a buffer day around any national holiday if you are moving between cities, because trains and roads run full.

For a first trip on the Golden Triangle — Delhi, Agra, Jaipur — the calendar matters less than the season; October to March is the comfortable window, and Diwali falls inside it. If your dates are flexible, aim for a week either side of Diwali rather than the week itself.

Festival dates shift every year, so confirm the exact 2026 dates against the official government holiday list before you book anything non-refundable. State holidays add another layer: a Kerala or Tamil Nadu festival will not close a shop in Rajasthan.