Plan your trip · Visakhapatnam
What's on in Visakhapatnam
Vizag's calendar mixes Telugu festivals, a great hill temple and a naval city's own events. The biggest temple day is Chandanotsavam at Simhachalam in April or May, and winter brings Navy Day and the city festival to the beach.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Visakhapatnam 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 Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam's calendar works around the monsoon — the big outdoor events sit either side of it, and the wettest weeks are the quietest ones for anything held in the open. 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.
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.
Sankranti (mid-January)
The harvest festival is the biggest family holiday in coastal Andhra. Homes put out colourful rangoli, called muggulu, at the door, and families travel home, so trains and buses around the date fill up early. It is a good time to see the city's residential streets at their brightest.
Chandanotsavam at Simhachalam (April or May)
On Akshaya Tritiya, the priests at Simhachalam remove the sandalwood paste that covers the deity all year, and devotees queue from the small hours for the Nijaroopa darshan, the one chance to see its true form. Crowds are enormous. In April 2025 a wall collapsed beside the queue during a storm and seven people died. If you go, arrive early, follow police directions and avoid temporary structures in bad weather.
Giri Pradakshina (July)
On the full moon of the month of Ashada, usually in July, thousands of devotees walk around the Simhachalam hill, a route of roughly 32 km that takes most of the night. Roads around the hill are closed or crowded, so avoid driving that way.
Vinayaka Chavithi, Dasara and Deepavali (August to November)
Ganesh idols go up in neighbourhoods in August or September and are later taken to the sea. Dasara and Deepavali follow, but they fall in the wettest and stormiest part of Vizag's year, so plans may need to bend around the weather.
Margasira Thursdays (November to December)
During the Telugu month of Margasira, the Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi temple in the old town draws huge crowds on each Thursday. Expect queues along the street from early morning.
Navy Day and the city festival (December and winter)
The Navy marks Navy Day on 4 December. In many years the Eastern Naval Command holds a demonstration off RK Beach, with ships, aircraft and marine commandos, and the whole seafront turns out to watch. The national event moves between cities, so check whether Vizag is hosting. Visakha Utsav, the city's cultural festival on the beach, is usually held in the winter months, but its dates vary from year to year.
Questions
Visakhapatnam — FAQ
When is Chandanotsavam at Simhachalam?
On Akshaya Tritiya, which falls in April or May. The date changes each year with the lunar calendar, so check the temple's announcement.
Can visitors watch the Navy Day demonstration at RK Beach?
Yes, when it is held in Vizag. The public watches from the beach and Beach Road. Arrive very early, expect security checks, and confirm the date, as the main national event moves between cities.
When is Visakha Utsav held?
Usually in winter, around December or January, on the beachfront. It is not held on a fixed date and has skipped years, so check local news before planning around it.
What is Giri Pradakshina at Simhachalam?
A night-long walk of about 32 km around the Simhachalam hill on the Ashada full moon, usually in July. Thousands take part, and roads around the hill are busy.