Plan your trip · Kanchipuram
What's on in Kanchipuram
Upcoming festivals, fairs and events in Kanchipuram — plan your visit around them, then check the best time to visit.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Kanchipuram 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 Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram 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.
Signature to Kanchipuram
Temple car festivals
🗓️ March–MayThe Ekambareswarar and Varadaraja Perumal chariots are pulled through the streets, and the silk-weaving quarter works to the same calendar.
Planning: Streets close for hours around a procession; ask which temple is running before you plan the day.
Across Tamil Nadu
Pongal
🗓️ mid-JanuaryThe four-day harvest festival — the first rice of the season boiled over until it spills, which is the point.
Planning: Shops shut and intercity buses fill; plan travel around it.
Nationwide
Diwali
🗓️ October–NovemberThe biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.
Holi
🗓️ MarchColoured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.
Navratri and Dussehra
🗓️ September–OctoberNine 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 yearThe 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-JanuaryThe harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Kanchipuram's festivals are temple festivals. Each big temple has its own yearly festival, often lasting ten days or more, when the deity is carried through the streets on decorated vehicles and a huge wooden chariot is pulled by hundreds of devotees. The biggest are Panguni Uthiram at Ekambareswarar in March–April, the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam at Varadaraja Perumal in May–June, with its famous Garuda Sevai procession, and Navaratri at Kamakshi Amman in September–October.
Most dates follow the Tamil calendar and move from year to year, so check the dates for the year before you book. The town's rarest event, the Athi Varadar festival, when the fig-wood idol at Varadaraja Perumal is shown to the public, comes round only once every 40 years. It was last held in 2019.
Tips for Attending Events & Festivals in Kanchipuram
- Book your stay or transport from Chennai early for the big festival days.
- Arrive early for processions, as streets fill up and roads close for several hours.
- Expect long queues for darshan on festival days, and carry water.
- Wear light, modest clothes and sandals you can slip off easily.
- Keep your valuables secure in the crowds, and remember that phones are not allowed inside several major temples.
- Watch processions from the side of the street and give way to the chariot and the people pulling it.
Questions
Kanchipuram — FAQ
What are the main festivals in Kanchipuram?
The biggest are Panguni Uthiram at Ekambareswarar (March–April), the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam and Garuda Sevai at Varadaraja Perumal (May–June) and Navaratri at Kamakshi Amman (September–October). Pongal in January and Diwali are also celebrated across the town.
When is the Garuda Sevai in Kanchipuram?
The Garuda Sevai is part of the Vaikasi Brahmotsavam at the Varadaraja Perumal Temple, usually held in May or June. Vishnu is carried through the streets on Garuda, his eagle mount, and the crowds are huge, so check the date for the year and arrive early.
When is Panguni Uthiram at Ekambareswarar Temple?
Panguni Uthiram is celebrated over about 13 days in the Tamil month of Panguni, usually March to April. It is the most important festival of the Ekambareswarar Temple, with daily processions and a temple chariot.
How is Navaratri celebrated at Kamakshi Amman Temple?
For the nine nights of Navaratri, usually in September or October, the goddess Kamakshi is decorated in a different way each evening and the temple is busy with special prayers and music. Expect long queues, especially in the evenings.