Plan your trip · Guwahati

What's on in Guwahati

Guwahati's calendar follows the farming year and the temples. Plan around two dates in particular: Rongali Bihu in April and Ambubachi in June.

Nothing dated is confirmed for Guwahati right now, so here is the year instead — the fixtures that come round annually, and what each one means for a visit.

The year in Guwahati

Guwahati packs most of its outdoor calendar into the cooler months; the pre-monsoon peak is hot enough that daytime processions are genuinely hard going. Broadly, Oct – Mar is when visiting is most comfortable here, and that is when the calendar is busiest — which also means accommodation is most expensive and books furthest ahead.

Most of these follow lunar calendars and move by weeks from year to year, so treat the windows below as the season rather than the date, and confirm the year’s dates before you book around one.

Across Assam

Bihu

🗓️ mid-April, with smaller Bihus in January and October

The Assamese new year — Rongali Bihu in spring is the big one, with dance, feasting and a week off.

Planning: Combine it with tea-garden season, which is just starting.

Ambubachi Mela

🗓️ late June

Kamakhya's temple closes for three days while enormous numbers of pilgrims and ascetics gather on the hill.

Planning: No darshan at all during the closure — check the dates before planning a temple visit.

Nationwide

Diwali

🗓️ October–November

The biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.

Holi

🗓️ March

Coloured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.

Navratri and Dussehra

🗓️ September–October

Nine nights of fasting, music and dance, ending with Dussehra. What it looks like changes completely by region — garba in Gujarat, pandals in Bengal, processions in the south.

Eid al-Fitr

🗓️ shifts ~11 days earlier each year

The end of Ramadan. The old quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bhopal are at their best in the evenings through the preceding month, when food streets run past midnight.

Makar Sankranti and Pongal

🗓️ mid-January

The harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

The three Bihus

Assam marks the farming year with three Bihus. Rongali (Bohag) Bihu in mid-April is the Assamese new year and the big one: young people dance the Bihu to drums and buffalo-horn pipes, stages go up across the city, and people exchange gamosas. Magh (Bhogali) Bihu in mid-January is the harvest feast, with bonfires called meji and fresh pitha. Kati (Kongali) Bihu in October is a quiet evening of lamps lit in the paddy fields and at home.

Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya

In late June, Kamakhya closes for three days while the goddess is believed to menstruate. Pilgrims, sadhus and tantric practitioners fill Nilachal Hill, and the temple reopens on the fourth day to a queue that can last all day. In 2026 the Mela ran from 22 to 26 June. City traffic around the hill is diverted, and special darshan is usually suspended. Come for the atmosphere, not for a quick visit to the temple.

Durga Puja

In September or October, neighbourhoods build pandals, many of them elaborate, and families go pandal-hopping late into the night. Kamakhya also marks Durga Puja with its own rituals. Traffic is slow in the evenings, but the city is at its most festive.

Deodhani and Manasa Puja

In August, Kamakhya hosts the Deodhani festival, when devotees dance in a trance in honour of the serpent goddess Manasa. It is intense and not a tourist show; watch quietly and ask before taking photos. Dates follow the Assamese calendar, so check locally.

Shivaratri at Umananda

The Umananda Temple on Peacock Island is at its busiest on Maha Shivaratri, in February or March. Extra ferries run, but queues at Kachari Ghat can be long.

Planning tips

Most of these dates move each year with the lunar calendar. Confirm the year's dates before booking, and book rooms early for Bihu and Ambubachi. See the best time to visit page for weather through the year.

Questions

Guwahati — FAQ

Can tourists join in Bihu celebrations in Guwahati?

Yes. Public Bihu stages across the city in April are open to everyone, and visitors are welcome to watch and clap along. Offering or wearing a gamosa is a warm gesture.

Is it worth visiting Kamakhya during Ambubachi Mela?

Only if you want to see the Mela itself. The temple is closed for three days, the hill is packed with pilgrims, and the reopening queue is very long. For a regular visit, pick another week.

Which Bihu is best for visitors?

Rongali Bihu in mid-April has the dancing, music and public stages. Magh Bihu in January is better if you want food and bonfires, and the weather is cooler.