Plan your trip · Nainital
What's on in Nainital
Nainital's own calendar centres on the Naina Devi Temple and the Flats beside it. The biggest local festival, the Nanda Devi Mahotsav, has been held there for more than a century.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Nainital 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 Nainital
Nainital's calendar runs through most of the year, with the busiest weeks in the clear, comfortable months and a quieter stretch in the heaviest rain. Broadly, Oct – Mar and Apr – Jun 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.
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.
Nanda Devi Mahotsav
This is Nainital's great festival, held at the Naina Devi Temple around Nanda Ashtami, which falls in late August or September. Craftsmen make new images of the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda from plantain stems, and they are installed in the temple for several days of worship. The festival ends with a procession of the images through the town to the lake. It is run by the Shri Ram Sewak Sabha, and 2025 was its 124th year. The dates follow the lunar calendar, so check them each year.
Winter carnival
After a gap of several years, the Nainital Winter Carnival returned in December 2025, running for about five days before Christmas. It had a parade from Tallital along the Mall to the Flats, Kumaoni folk dances such as chholiya, food stalls and treks. Whether it becomes a yearly fixture is not yet certain.
Sailing on the lake
The Nainital Boat Club holds sailing races on the lake, with a regatta usually in June. Watching the white sails from the Mall is free.
Kumaoni Holi
Holi in Kumaon starts weeks before the day itself, with baithaki holi, evenings of classical songs sung sitting down, followed by khadi holi sung standing, in procession. Ask locally where gatherings are open to visitors.
Festivals that affect travel
Diwali, Dussehra, Christmas and New Year all bring crowded roads and full hotels. Mid-June brings heavy traffic towards Kainchi Dham on the Almora road.
A note on the site's festival list
Nainital is not on the Char Dham route. The temple season in the high Himalaya affects its roads only indirectly, through traffic heading further north.
Questions
Nainital — FAQ
When is the Nanda Devi Mahotsav in Nainital?
It is held around Nanda Ashtami, which falls in late August or September. The dates move each year with the lunar calendar.
What happens on the last day of the Nanda Devi Mahotsav?
The images of Nanda and Sunanda are carried through the town in a procession and immersed. Crowds are large along the route.
Is the Nainital Winter Carnival held every year?
It was revived in December 2025 after several years off. Check the district website before planning a trip around it.