Holi Festival in India: A Colorful Celebration for Your Bucket List
If you're looking for bucket list celebrations around the world, then you won't want to miss out on the vibrant Holi Festival in India.
A cherished Indian holiday, Holi is an incredibly special experience full of music, dancing, and an explosion of color.
Holi Festival in India was on our bucket list for a long time, and we finally got to celebrate this year. Now we're here to help you do the same, with all of info you need to know before booking your tickets.
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An Intro to Holi Festival in India
First thing's first - let's go over some of the important things you should know about Holi Festival in India, like what makes it special, when it happens, and how long it lasts.
🌈 What is Holi Festival in India?
Holi Festival in India is a vibrant and joyous Hindu festival celebrated primarily in India (but also in Nepal). It marks the beginning of spring and the victory of good over evil.
Also referred to as the "Festival of Colors," Holi is known for its lively atmosphere where people throw colored powders at each other, dance, sing, and enjoy festive foods.
People of all ages participate, making it a unifying and inclusive celebration. It’s not just about the colored powders, but it’s also a time for communities to come together.
📖 What is the Story Behind Holi?
Holi Festival is not just a fun celebration, but it also has deep cultural and religious significance, with various legends associated with it.
One popular story is that of Prahlad and Holika, which symbolizes the triumph of devotion and righteousness over evil. Because of this, the festivities of Holi Festival in India typically include a bonfire the night before the big celebration, to signify the burning of evil.
📆 When is Holi Festival in India?
Holi typically takes place in March, and is dependent on the Hindu lunar calendar.
📅 What Days are Holi in India?
The official day of Holi in 2025 is March 14th. However, some places celebrate more than just the one day, and it is actually a bit different depending on where exactly you decide to celebrate.
For example, in Udaipur (where we celebrated the day of) only celebrates Holi on the day of Holi. However, Mathura celebrates the entire week before as well, having a different celebration in each village of the area each day.
Holi is just one day, but you can celebrate in different places.
Holi Festival in India: Where to Celebrate
Now that you know a bit about Holi Festival in India, and when it's celebrated, let's go over all of the top places to celebrate!
❣️ What is the Best Place to Celebrate Holi Festival in India?
Holi Festival is primarily celebrated in the North of India, so you'll most likely want to fly into Delhi, which is India's capital, and the hub for where all of the Holi festivals occur.
There are a lot of places to celebrate Holi Festival in India, and each one has its own reasons for visiting. It can be quite overwhelming to choose, so we're going to break down the top places to go as a tourist, and the differences between them, so that you can choose which place is right for you.
Pushkar
If you're looking for the biggest Holi celebration in India with the most amount of tourists, then Pushkar is the place.
Most of our friends celebrated Holi in Pushkar, and we heard mixed reviews. It is the most intense, so is definitely for those that love big parties and crowds. We heard it's overwhelming for most women, as it's primarily full of young (and grabby) men.
Mathura & Vrindivan
If you're looking for the most traditional Holi Festival celebrations, then this is the area you'll want to focus on.
Mathura & Vrindivan are comprised of smaller villages, and each day is focused in one particular location. This is great for a more local experience, but can be a bit intimidating as a foreigner, especially if you don't look Indian. This is because as a tourist people typically target you and also tend to line up for photos with you.
Our first Holi experience was in this area in a small village. It was super fun and authentic, and we were able to do it the week before Holi. However, we'd really recommend having a local to go with as the logistics of getting there, finding accommodation, etc are not as simple as in the more touristic areas.
Mathura & Vrindivan have more local celebrations.
Jaipur
Jaipur is the heart of Northern India, and one of our favorite cities in India. We didn't celebrate Holi here, but were recommended to do it here. This is an ideal place to celebrate Holi Festival in India if you want a taste of Holi without going all in.
It is the most tourist-friendly, and while they do celebrate Holi, it's not as intense as some of the other cities that locals flock to.
Udaipur
Udaipur is the place we decided to celebrate Holi Festival in India on the official holiday. We absolutely loved it! Everything is concentrated in one area, but there are also a lot of side streets to escape to if you need a break.
The party was super fun, and while it was crowded, the men were so much more respectful here than what we heard from friends that went to Pushkar, or what we experienced in Mathura.
Varanasi
Varanasi is one of the only cities we didn't make it to in Northern India, but it is certainly one for the bucket list! Known as one of the holiest cities in the country, it's a really popular place for Holi Festival in India. The celebrations are massive, but it's also a place you'll want to be careful.
Holi Festival in India: What to Expect
Now you know the basic info for booking your trip to Holi Festival in India, and we're here to share about what the experience actually looks like!
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🔥 Evening of Bonfires (Holika Dahan)
The night before Holi is when the fun begins. People gather around and create large bonfires where they offer prayers, sing, and perform rituals to seek blessings and protection from negative energies.
This happens after sunset, and you can find the bonfires all over the cities, as well as fireworks.
🌈 Holi Festival Day
No matter where you decide to celebrate Holi Festival in India, there will be a designated area where the main action happens, typically right in the heart of the city, or near an iconic temple.
Starting from early in the morning, you'll see locals setting up their street food stalls, and locals offering colorful powders for the sale. The colors are vibrant, and don't cost much - typically less than $1.
People of all ages crowd the streets and will be drinking, eating, and dancing. "Happy Holi!". Every time you hear this typically someone will come up and put some color on you, usually on the face.
Most people are nice and just smear some on you, but there will also be people who will straight up throw it in your face, so try to steer clear of those that seem overly intoxicated or aggressive.
Before you know it the streets will be completely full, music will be playing, and you may even have a DJ or massive party atmosphere like we experienced in Udaipur.
The party goes all morning, and pretty much the later it gets the more rowdy the crowds get. (Don't worry - we'll cover a bit more about that in a bit).
Some people will throw just colors, but you can also expect water guns with powder mixed in, water balloons, and even hoses. Honestly, we'd recommend trying to avoid the water as it's super dirty, and also is what stains your skin the worst.
All ages participate in Holi, and the young boys and adolescents are typically the craziest of them all. You'll probably find some women here and there, and younger girls, but they're definitely outnumbered by boys and men.
Once the parties finish people usually go have a meal, shower up, and then have a relaxing even from a morning of partying.
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What Do People Wear at Holi Festival in India?
Most people at Holi Festival wear comfortable white clothing, with closed footwear that they don't care about.
👗 What We Wore at Holi Festival in India
I wore flip flops as I didn't want to destroy my only pair of sneakers, but I'll be honest with saying it wasn't the greatest idea, as my feet got stepped on a lot and I've never needed a pedicure more in my life after that.
The colors from Holi will be really difficult to get out unless you wear something black, so what we'd recommend is buying a cheap white T-shirt with black shorts or leggings. You can just throw the shirt out after.
I was gifted a sari by our host in Mathura, so used that for the first celebration, and for the second one I bought a simple white sari which went over a black sports bra and black shorts.
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Holi Festival in India: Price & Timetable
Now that you know what Holi Festival in India looks like, let's break down some of the important details for you.
💸 How Much Does Holi Festival in India Cost?
There is this wild misconception that Holi Festival in India costs a fortune! The truth is Holi itself is completely free of charge to participate in, unless you decide to go to a private party. For your first time we'd recommend doing to public ones though, unless you want a more quiet experience.
Hotels definitely raise their rates during Holi, but if you book in advance you can certainly find budget-friendly accommodation options.
🕘 What Time is Holi Festival?
Holi Festival starts early in the morning, and usually finishes in the afternoon when people start getting a little crazy. By 3:00 the entire festival had finished in Udaipur, and many places even finish before that.
We'd recommend going to the bonfire the night before, and then having a relatively early night so that you can be up and ready to go by 8 or 9 am.
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Safety at Holi Festival in India
Holi Festival in India can be so much fun - until it gets not so fun that is - and this is what we mean.
The majority of the population at Holi is young men, who are under the influence of a lot of alcohol, and also many are high (from a local yogurt based drink). As Indians aren't always massive partiers, they get pretty wild during Holi, and the later the day gets, the more crazy they become.
Indian men are notorious for being really creepy, especially when intoxicated, and especially for Western women it can get really uncomfortable. I got groped multiple times, and it's very common for foreign women to have this happen.
Holi Festival is made of of mostly men.
👮🏻♀️ How to Stay Safe During Holi Festival in India
Here are a few things we recommend for staying stay as a woman during Holi:
- Attend in a group, preferably with other men.
- Don't accept to take pictures with large groups of men.
- Be friendly - but set boundaries and be firm in letting men know you're not an object.
- Go to celebrations that are less crowded.
- Leave when you notice people are getting out of hand.
- Keep your belongings on you and hidden.
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Other Things to Keep in Mind for Attending Holi Festival in India
Now you know almost everything you need to attend Holi Festival in India. But don't go just yet! Here are a few other things you'll want to keep in mind to prepare for you visit.
☀️ Weather in India During Holi
March is when India starts to really heat up, and has sunny and hot days, and pleasantly cool nights.
Each city varies a bit though. For example, Delhi has perfect weather during the day, and gets a bit chilly at night, while the cities a bit to the south west like Jodhpur or Jaisalmer are already extremely hot during the day, and have very nice temperatures later in the evening.
Keep in mind that since Holi is during the day though, that chances are it'll be on the hotter side, no matter where you decide to go.
🧳 How to Prepare for Holi Festival
Being prepared is key for enjoying Holi Festival in India! Here is our little packing list of things you shouldn't forget.
🎒 Packing List for Holi Festival in India
- White T-shirt or Sari
- Black Shorts or Pants
- Black Undergarments
- Comfortable Shoes (preferably closed toed)
- Small fanny pack or waterproof drawstring bag
- Coconut oil to put on your skin and hair
- Camera (we use the Sony A7Riii)
- Standard Lens for a dynamic range (we use the Sony GM 24-70)
- Action Camera (we use the Insta 360 X3 because it's small & waterproof)
- Cash for the colored powders, drinks, and snacks
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Is Holi Festival in India Worth it?
Holi Festival in India is one of the most exciting celebrations around the world to experience, and is certainly for the bucket list! That being said, it's not great for those that are claustrophobic, sensitive to sounds, or those that are uncomfortable with attention.
Tips for Attending Holi Festival in India
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So are you ready to experience Holi Festival in India? This truly is a bucket-list event to attend, and as long as you plan it right, it's an awesome time.
Want to check out other cool celebrations across the globe? Don't miss out on our list of holidays and festivals around the world. Ready for some other things to do around India? We also have several other India travel guides, as well as more coming up, so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date!
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