Plan your trip · Patna

What's on in Patna

Patna's calendar peaks between October and January. Chhath, the Sikh Prakash Parv and the Sonepur Mela all fall in those months, and each one fills the city.

Nothing dated is confirmed for Patna 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 Patna

Patna 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 Bihar

Chhath Puja

🗓️ October–November

Four days of riverbank ritual at sunrise and sunset, the most important festival in the state.

Planning: Trains into Bihar are booked out weeks ahead — this is the largest annual migration in the region.

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.

Chhath Puja (October or November)

Chhath is a four-day festival to the sun god and Chhathi Maiya, six days after Diwali. Devotees, most of them women, fast without water and then stand in the river to offer arghya to the setting sun and, the next morning, to the rising sun. In 2026 the main evening offering falls on 15 November and the morning one on 16 November; check the dates each year. Gandhi Ghat, Collectorate Ghat and the other Patna ghats are packed. Go early, keep to the back, dress warmly for the dawn, and never stand between a devotee and the sun. Thekua, a crunchy jaggery biscuit, is the prasad.

Prakash Parv (December or January)

The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh is the biggest event at Takht Sri Patna Sahib. It runs over several days, with a nagar kirtan procession through Patna City, kirtan, langar for huge numbers of pilgrims and fireworks at midnight on the main day. The date follows the lunar calendar: it fell on 6 January in 2025 and on 27 December later that year.

Sonepur Mela (November)

About 25 km north, across the Ganga, Sonepur hosts one of Asia's largest animal and trade fairs. It usually begins on Kartik Purnima and runs for two to four weeks, with stalls, livestock, rides and cultural programmes. The 2025 fair ran from 20 November to 5 December. It makes an easy day trip from Patna.

Ram Navami (March or April)

Mahavir Mandir sees some of the largest crowds of any temple in North India on Ram Navami, with gates opening in the middle of the night. Avoid the station area that day unless you are going to the temple.

Ganga aarti (every weekend)

An evening aarti is held at Gandhi Ghat, usually on Saturday and Sunday evenings. It is small and calm compared with Varanasi, and a good way to see the river at dusk. It may be suspended when the river is in flood.

Also in the year

Holi in March, Durga Puja in September or October with pandals across the city, and Diwali in October or November.

Planning

Trains to Bihar sell out weeks ahead of Chhath.
Most dates move each year; confirm before you book.
Bihar is a dry state, and that applies during festivals too.

Questions

Patna — FAQ

Can tourists watch Chhath Puja in Patna?

Yes. Visitors are welcome at the ghats. Arrive early, stand back from the water, keep quiet during the offerings and ask before photographing anyone.

How do I get to the Sonepur Mela from Patna?

Sonepur is about 25 km north across the Ganga. A cab or bus crosses one of the river bridges; allow extra time, because traffic is heavy while the fair is on.

Is the Ganga aarti in Patna held every day?

No. At Gandhi Ghat it is usually held on weekend evenings. It can be suspended during floods, so check locally.

When is Prakash Parv at Patna Sahib?

Usually in late December or early January. The exact date is set by the lunar calendar each year, so confirm with the gurdwara before you travel.