Travel style · Himachal
Festivals in Himachal
Masked dances, fairs and harvest days
Tshechus in Bhutan, Hemis in Ladakh, Losar across the Buddhist Himalaya, Kullu Dussehra, Ziro's music festival and the Black-necked Crane festival. Planned around lunar dates that move every year.
Photo: Ms Sarah Welch · CC0 · CommonsMost Himalayan festivals follow lunar calendars, so their dates move by weeks from year to year. We confirm dates with monasteries and organisers before you book, and you should check current status before you travel.
Himachal is the easiest big mountain trip from Delhi: an overnight HRTC Volvo puts you in Shimla, Manali or Dharamshala for ₹900–1,900. Come March to June or late September to November. Budget ₹1,800–3,000 a day on hostels and buses, or far more for Oberoi rooms above Shimla.
Trips
Festivals trips in Himachal
No published festivals trip in Himachal yet
We plan them on request. Tell us your month and budget and a planner sends a route and an itemised price within one working day.
Plan a festivals trip3 places
Where to go
Photo: Ms Sarah Welch · CC0 · Commons
Chamba
A thousand-year-old hill capital of stone temples and fine embroidery
Photo: Rignam Wangkhang · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
McLeodganj (Dharamshala)
Tibetan temples and the Dhauladhar wall above Dharamshala
Photo: Akshat Sharma · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Naggar
The old Kullu capital, with a timber castle and Roerich's home
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Harvinder Chandigarh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Stone temples and the Chaugan at dawn
A morning walk from the Chaugan meadow to the Lakshmi Narayan group of stone temples, then through the old lanes to sma…
Photo: Artist/maker unknown, India – Artist/Maker (In… · Public domain · Commons
Chamba rumal embroidery and the museum
See historic Chamba rumals and Pahari paintings at the Bhuri Singh Museum, then visit an embroidery workshop where wome…
Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from New Delhi, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Day trip to Bharmour's Chaurasi temples
Drive 65 km up the Ravi and Budhil valleys to Bharmour at about 2,200 m, the old capital of Chamba and home of the Gadd…
Photo: (in search for a new country of residence) · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Tsuglagkhang temple and the monk debate
Walk the morning kora around the Dalai Lama's temple with Tibetan pilgrims, visit the main prayer hall and the Tibet Mu…
Photo: Ashish Gupta from Noida, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Day hike to Triund ridge
Climb about 900 m from Galu temple above Dharamkot to the open ridge of Triund at roughly 2,850 m, with the Dhauladhar …
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tibetan crafts at Norbulingka
Visit the Norbulingka Institute near Sidhpur, where Tibetan artists train in thangka painting, woodcarving, statue-maki…
Photo: Pratishkhedekar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Naggar Castle and the Jagatipatt shrine
Explore the timber-and-stone fort of the Kullu rajas, now an HPTDC hotel. See kath-kuni walls up close, the courtyard s…
Photo: Минеева Ю. (Julmin) · CC BY-SA 1.0 · Commons
Nicholas Roerich's house and paintings
Walk 1.5 km uphill from the castle to the hillside home where Nicholas Roerich lived from 1928 until 1947. See his Hima…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Pratishkhedekar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
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HPTDC Hotel Castle, Naggar
Stay inside the kath-kuni castle of the old Kullu rajas, traditionally dated to about 1460 and now run by HPTDC. S…
Photo: Wonderlane · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Chonor House
A small Tibetan-style hotel on Temple Road in McLeodganj, built and run by the Norbulingka Institute, with rooms d…