Fairs & Festivals in Odisha
Visit soul of India and enjoy some of the most popular festivals in Odisha that soothes your soul. Festivals of Odisha have traditionally been preservers of the art and culture of Kerala.
Odisha is the land of fiestas and festivals. Numerous art and culture festivals are hosted throughout the year, which gives one glimpses about Odisha tradition. From the world famous Puri Rath Yatra to the Dalkhai in western odisha, every place across the state has its own festival. Having a history as long as many ancient civilizations and being a multicultural society, Odisha celebrates a wide variety of festivals, ceremonies and events.
Ratha Yatra
Rath Yatra festival is celebrated annually in Puri, Odisha. During this world renowned festival, lord Jagannatha is worshipped along with his brother lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra. Rath Yatra (chariot festival) marks the annual journey of the three deities from the 12th century Jagannath temple in the chari ... Read more
June/ July
Dhauli Kalinga Mahotsav
Dhauli Kalinga Mahotsav is celebrated on foot hills of Dhauli Shanti Stupa in association with Odisha Dance Academy. The festival is celebrated to keep odia ancient culture alive. A major part of Orrisa was earlier known as Kalinga, the land which is seen brutal murders and death of martyrs during the reign of Ashoka. ... Read more
February
Chandan Yatra
Chandan Yatra takes place in the month of Vaisaksha for 6 weeks.. This is the longest festival celebrated in odisha also known as Gandhalepana yatra. The festival is celebrated during peak of summer. So To keep the Deities cool during the time, devotees apply sandalwood paste (chandana) over Radha Madhava and other De ... Read more
May/ June
Rajarani Music Festival
Rajarani music festival is one of the famous festivals of Orissa which is organized annually by Odisha Tourism Department in collaboration with other organizations like Orissa Sangeet Natak Academy, OTDC and the Union Ministry of Tourism. The purpose of the festival is to popularize the glorious tradition of Indian cl ... Read more
January
Dhanu Yatra
Dhanu Jatra is unique open air theatrical drama based performance in Bargarh. The place sets World's biggest open air theatre for this festival spreading across a 6km radius area around the Bargarh municipality. Dhanu Yatra takes place in the months of December or January. The festival continues for 11 days after ‘P ... Read more
December/ January
Durga Puja
The ceremonial worship of the mother goddess, is one of the most important festivals of Odisha. This is celebrated all parts of the state. Apart from being a religious festival for the Hindus, it is also an occasion for reunion and rejuvenation, and a celebration of traditional culture and customs.It is celebrated in ... Read more
October
Musteswari Dance Festival
Musteswar Temple, one of the oldest temple was built in 10th century. Due to the location and architechture it attacts many tourists to its premise. The temple is one of the smallest and most compact temples in Bhubaneshwar. However, it's famous for its distinctive stone archway and ceiling with eight petal lotus.This ... Read more
January
Ekamra Utsav
Ekamra Utsav is one of the major festival of Bhubaneswar, held to promote the rich cultural heritage of Orissa. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Ekamra Utsav which lasts for 10 days is actually a multi disciplinary event comprising of National Handloom Exhibition (consisting of fabrics gathered from the famous textile centers ... Read more
January
Gajalakhmi Puja
Gajalakhmi puja is observed for 11 days starting from Kumarpurnima or ashwin purnima (Full moon day in Ashwin month). This is also pronounced as Gajalaxmi puja. Goddess Gajalakshmi is one of the eight aspects of Goddess Lakshmi). She is believed as the most powerful goddess among the others who helps for getting abund ... Read more
October
Nua Khai
Nuakhai is an agriculture festival celebrated primarily in western Odisha by farmers to thank ‘Mother Earth’ for being so bountiful. The festival is often compared to Onam in Tamil Nadu.CelebrationNuakhai is observed to welcome the new rice of the season on the day after Ganesh Chaturthi. According to the Kosali c ... Read more
August/ September
Raja Parba
Raja Parba is one of the most celebrated festival of Odisha. The three day long is also called as Mithuna Sankranti. Raja is generally associated with the farmers and is celebrated during the onset of monsoons on the fist day of Asadha masa(June/July Month). This is an agricultural festival of Odisha thus it is celebr ... Read more
June
Maha Bisubha Sankranti
This is popularly known as Pana Sankranti or Mesha Sankranti in Odisha. The fist day of of the traditional solar month of Mesha is celebrated as Odia new year. The festival is celebrated with visits to Shiva, Shakti, or Hanuman temples, as the day is also considered to be the birthday of Hanuman. People take baths in ... Read more
April
Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti is one of the few ancient Hindu festivals that has been observed according to solar cycles, while most festivals are set by the lunar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu calendar. The festival is very popular among Odias. devotees prepare makar chaula (uncooked newly harvested rice), banana, coconut, jaggery, ... Read more
January
Magha Saptami
This festival is celebrated on the seventh day of the new moon of Magha at the world famous Konark Sun Temple dedicated to Sun God. This is the most popular and colourful festival of the place when pilgrims from different parts of India and enthusiastic visitors from abroad visit Konark to observe the festival.Rituals ... Read more
January/ February
Chaitra Parva
Chaitra Parva Chhau Festival is celebrated every year before the Maha Visubha Sankranti Day which generally falls on the 13th or 14th of April. The festival is observed by the descendants of Bhuiyan tribe in different parts of Orissa. This is the main festival of Baripada, headquarter of Mayurbhanj district. It is als ... Read more
March/ April
Lanka podi Yatra
Lanka podi Yatra(festival) is celebrated across different places of the state, but Daspallah in Nayagarh district is the most popular and the oldest which continues to attract the admires of mythology and folk culture since 1802.HistoryLankapodi Festival of Daspalla is centuries old and is considered as the 3rd oldest ... Read more
July
Konark Dance Festival
Konark temple is one among the only 36 world heritage sites of india. To pay tribute to the ancient architectural beauty , the festival is celebrated. The festival is beyond religions and customs. The international festival recalls the ancient era with the music and dance infront of the sun temple. Konark Dance Festiv ... Read more
December