Plan your trip · Vellore
What's on in Vellore
Upcoming festivals, fairs and events in Vellore — plan your visit around them, then check the best time to visit.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Vellore 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 Vellore
Vellore 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 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.
Temple car festivals
🗓️ March–June, by templeVast wooden temple chariots pulled through the streets by hand at Madurai, Thanjavur, Kanchipuram and elsewhere.
Planning: Dates differ per temple and the streets close for hours.
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.
Vellore's festival year follows the Tamil calendar. Pongal fills the city with kolams and sugarcane in mid-January. On Chithra Pournami, the full moon of the Tamil month of Chithirai (April–May), temple deities are carried through the streets at night on lit, flower-covered palanquins in the Pushpa Pallakku festival. In May, the nearby town of Gudiyatham holds its large Gangai Amman festival. On 10 July each year, the district remembers the 1806 Vellore Mutiny with a ceremony at the memorial pillar near the fort.
The Sripuram Golden Temple holds special pujas during Navratri and Deepavali, when thousands of devotees visit. Most festival dates follow the lunar calendar and change each year, so check the dates before you plan your trip.
Tips for Attending Events & Festivals in Vellore
- Check festival dates for the year, as most follow the lunar calendar.
- Expect long queues at Sripuram during Navratri, Deepavali and on holidays.
- Night processions start late and move slowly, so be ready to wait.
- Wear modest clothing and shoes that are easy to remove.
- Carry water, as April and May festivals fall in the hottest part of the year.
- Keep your belongings secure in crowds.
Questions
Vellore — FAQ
What are the main festivals in Vellore?
The main festivals are Pongal in January, the Pushpa Pallakku procession on Chithra Pournami in April or May, the Gangai Amman festival in nearby Gudiyatham in May, and Navratri and Deepavali at the Sripuram Golden Temple.
What is the Pushpa Pallakku festival?
Pushpa Pallakku is a night procession in Vellore on Chithra Pournami, the full moon in April or May, when idols from the city's main temples are carried through the streets on lit, flower-covered palanquins.
Is there an event for the Vellore Mutiny?
Yes. Every year on 10 July, the district administration marks Vellore Mutiny Day by laying wreaths at the memorial pillar at Hazrat Makkan junction. It is a small official ceremony rather than a public festival.
When is the Gangai Amman festival in Gudiyatham?
It begins on the first day of the Tamil month of Vaikasi, usually in mid-May, and draws very large crowds to Gudiyatham, a town in Vellore district. Check the dates for the year before you go.