Festivals of Himachal Pradesh: Kullu Dussehra, Minjar, Losar and the fairs

Himachal's calendar is full of melas (fairs) and festivals, most tied to a temple or a local deity. Dates for the lunar-calendar ones move each year, so check locally before planning around them.

Kullu Dussehra

Held in October at Dhalpur in Kullu, this is the state's biggest festival. It begins on Vijayadashami, when Dussehra ends elsewhere, and runs for a week. More than a hundred village deities are carried to Kullu to pay respects to Raghunath, the presiding deity of the valley. It is a fair as much as a religious event, with a large market and cultural performances.

Mandi Shivratri

A week-long fair in Mandi town in February or March. Deities from temples across Mandi district converge, led by Madho Rai and the deity of Baba Bhootnath. Mandi's many old temples make it a striking setting.

Minjar, Chamba

A week in late July or early August marking the start of the maize-flowering season. People wear a minjar — a silk tassel representing a maize shoot — and on the last day offer it to the Ravi river. A procession and fair fill the Chowgan ground in Chamba.

Losar

The Tibetan new year, celebrated in Lahaul, Spiti and Kinnaur in February. Monasteries hold cham masked dances; families clean their homes, make offerings and visit elders. It is a quieter, colder festival than the valley fairs.

Halda

A Lahauli festival in mid-winter (around January) when villages light cedar-wood torches in honour of the goddess Shashkin. It is specific to the Lahaul valley.

Temple fairs

Most pilgrimage temples hold their biggest fairs at Navratri (spring and autumn) — the Chintpurni, Jwalamukhi and Naina Devi temples all draw very large crowds then. The Renuka fair around Kartik Purnima in November is one of the larger lake fairs.

Planning around a festival

Festivals mean full hotels and busy roads in that district. If you want to attend one, book well ahead; if you want to avoid the crush, plan your route around the dates.