Editor's list · 12 entries10.0k reads
Festivals worth flying for
12 dates the calendar revolves around.
editorialupdated 20 Aug 2026
1
Holi (Mathura)
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
2
Diwali (Varanasi)
Varanasi is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities on earth and the spiritual centre of Hinduism. The ghats — 88 of them along the Ganges — are the city's spine. The two non-negotiable rituals are a sunrise boat ride (start at…
3
Pushkar Camel Fair
Pushkar is a sacred lake town with one of the world's two Brahma temples (the other is in Cambodia) and 52 ghats around a small holy lake. The town swells from 21,000 to 200,000 every November during the Pushkar Camel Fair — a five-day…
4
Rann Utsav
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
5
Kumbh Mela
Bansberia Kumbh Mela is the hidden‑in‑plain‑sight pilgrimage that survives on the fringe of the more famous Prayagraj circus, and it demands a hard‑won tolerance for crowds, humidity, and the occasional stray cow. The mela flares for a…
6
Onam (Kerala)
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
7
Durga Puja (Kolkata)
Kolkata is the most literary, most political, and most architecturally decaying of India's metros — a Bengali renaissance city stuck in a slow gentle fade. The Victoria Memorial is the headline; the Marble Palace, Park Street cafés…
8
Hornbill (Nagaland)
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
9
Hemis (Ladakh)
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
10
Bihu (Assam)
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
11
Goa Carnival
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
12
Surajkund Mela
A Funky India editor's pick for “Festivals worth flying for”.
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