Quick answer: The Kumaoni festival year runs from one Harela to the next. In 2026–27 the main dates are Harela (16 July 2026), Ghee Sankranti / Olgia (17 August 2026), Khatarua (17 September 2026), Nanda Ashtami (19 September 2026), Egaas Bagwal (20 November 2026), Ghughutiya / Uttarayani (14 January 2027), Basant Panchami (11 February 2027), Phool Dei (15 March 2027), Kumaoni Holi (21–22 March 2027), Bikhauti (14 April 2027) and Harela again on 17 July 2027.
Most festival calendars for Uttarakhand are really pan-Indian calendars with Harela bolted on. This one is the other way round: it is the Kumaoni year on its own terms, in its own months, with the pan-Indian festivals placed where the hills actually put them.
The Calendar at a Glance
| Date | Festival | Kumaoni month | What it marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 2026 | Harela | Shravan (Sawan) | Sowing season opens; the year turns |
| 17 Aug 2026 | Ghee Sankranti / Olgia | Bhado | Mid-monsoon checkpoint; the ghee day |
| 17 Sep 2026 | Khatarua | Asoj (Ashwin) | Bonfires; the rains end |
| 19 Sep 2026 | Nanda Ashtami | Bhado–Asoj | The goddess of the hills comes home |
| 16–20 Sep 2026 | Nanda Devi Mela | Bhado–Asoj | Almora and Nainital melas |
| 20 Oct 2026 | Dussehra | Asoj | Ramlila season across the hill towns |
| 8 Nov 2026 | Diwali | Kartik | Lakshmi Pad drawn at every threshold |
| 20 Nov 2026 | Egaas Bagwal | Kartik | The hills' second Diwali, eleven days late |
| 14 Jan 2027 | Ghughutiya / Uttarayani | Magh | Sweet dough birds; the Bageshwar mela |
| 11 Feb 2027 | Basant Panchami | Magh–Phagun | Saraswati chowki drawn; Baithki Holi opens |
| 15 Mar 2027 | Phool Dei | Chaitra | Spring; girls bless every threshold |
| 21–22 Mar 2027 | Kumaoni Holi | Phagun | Holika Dahan, then the colour day |
| 14 Apr 2027 | Bikhauti | Baisakh | The Syalde fair; spring bathing rites |
| 17 Jul 2027 | Harela | Shravan | The year turns again |
Bold entries are Kumaon-specific festivals. Dussehra and Diwali are pan-Indian dates included because the Kumaoni calendar bends around them — Egaas exists only because Diwali does.
How the Kumaoni Year Works
Two things make this calendar different from a generic Hindu festival list, and both are worth understanding before you use the table above.
The Kumaoni year is solar where it matters most. The biggest hill festivals — Harela, Ghee Sankranti, Khatarua, Phool Dei, Bikhauti — all fall on a Sankranti, the day the sun enters a new zodiac sign and a new solar month begins. This is why they barely move: Harela is around 16–17 July every year, Ghee Sankranti around 16–17 August, Phool Dei around 14–15 March. Compare that with Holi or Diwali, which are lunar and swing across weeks.
The practical consequence is that a Kumaoni farming household can plan around its own festivals a year out, and cannot plan around Diwali. That is not incidental. These are agricultural checkpoints wearing ritual clothes.
The year begins at Harela, not in January. Harela opens the sowing season in Shravan, and the Kumaoni calendar reads forward from there — which is why this page runs July to July rather than January to December. The lunar festivals get slotted into that frame rather than the other way around.
The twelve Kumaoni months, in order from Harela: Shravan, Bhado, Asoj, Kartik, Mangsir, Poush, Magh, Phagun, Chaitra, Baisakh, Jeth, Asarh.
The Monsoon Half
Harela — 16 July 2026, 17 July 2027. Seven grains sown ten days before, the sprouts cut at dawn and placed on the foreheads of the family. The single most universally observed festival in Kumaon, and the one that anchors everything else.
Ghee Sankranti, or Olgia — 17 August 2026. Singh Sankranti, the first day of Bhado. The one day of the year when every Kumaoni is supposed to eat ghee, with bedu roti and the first taro leaves of the monsoon. Also the old olag gift-giving day.
Khatarua — 17 September 2026. The first day of Asoj, and the least documented of the major Kumaoni festivals. Bonfires are lit in the evening; cucumbers and bits of produce are thrown into the flames; cattle sheds are swept out and animals given fresh fodder. It marks the end of the rains and the turn to the cool season. Khatarua has thinned badly with out-migration from the hill villages — it is a village-courtyard festival, and it needs a village.
Nanda Ashtami — 19 September 2026, and the Nanda Devi melas around it. Bhadrapada Shukla Ashtami. Banana-stem idols of Nanda and Sunanda, the dola procession, and the largest public gatherings of the Kumaoni year at Almora and Nainital.
The Winter Half
Dussehra — 20 October 2026. Not a Kumaon-specific festival, but Almora's Ramlila is among the oldest continuously performed in India and the hill towns run an unusually long, musically distinct Ramlila season.
Diwali — 8 November 2026. In Kumaon this is above all an Aipan occasion: the Lakshmi Pad at the threshold, drawn fresh, with the geru ground laid the day before.
Egaas Bagwal — 20 November 2026. Kartik Shukla Ekadashi, eleven days after Diwali: the hills' own second Diwali, also called Budhi Diwali. Two explanations are given and both are told seriously — that news of Rama's return reached the high valleys eleven days late, and that villagers held back their celebration until the Garhwali commander Madho Singh Bhandari returned from campaign. The rituals are the Bhailo fire-twirling, cattle worship, and a feast of arsa and singal.
Ghughutiya, or Kale Kauva — 14 January 2027. Makar Sankranti. Sweet dough birds fried and strung into necklaces, children calling the crows at dawn. The same day opens the Uttarayani mela of Bageshwar, the great winter fair of Kumaon.
Basant Panchami — 11 February 2027. Magha Shukla Panchami. The Saraswati chowki is drawn for learning, and in the Kumaoni calendar this is the day Baithki Holi properly opens — six weeks of singing before any colour is thrown.
Spring and the Turn
Phool Dei — 15 March 2027. Chaitra Sankranti. Young girls go house to house at dawn scattering flowers, rice and jaggery on each threshold. The spring counterpart to Harela: one festival puts green on foreheads, the other puts flowers on doorsteps.
Kumaoni Holi — Holika Dahan 21 March, colour day 22 March 2027. The colour days are the end of a season that started in December. Baithki Holi indoors to classical ragas, Khari Holi standing in the street.
Bikhauti — 14 April 2027. Vishuwat Sankranti, the first day of Baisakh. The Syalde Bikhauti fair at Dwarahat in Almora district is the best-known observance, with its ritual striking of the Vibhandeshwar stone, alongside the spring bathing rites in the hill rivers.
Then Jeth and Asarh — the dry heat, then the first clouds — and in mid-July the seeds go into the basket again.
What Is Drawn When
Aipan is not drawn for every festival, and the pattern changes with the occasion. The short version:
| Occasion | Aipan drawn |
|---|---|
| Harela | Lakshmi Pad at the threshold, simple chowki in the puja room — drawn fast, it is a working morning |
| Diwali | Lakshmi Pad, the most elaborate version of the year |
| Basant Panchami | Saraswati chowki with the lotus, for learning |
| Nanda Ashtami | Temple chowki on fresh geru, the largest public Aipan of the year |
| Phool Dei | Threshold marking, often by the girls themselves |
| Weddings, births, griha pravesh | The full ritual repertoire — see the ritual significance of Aipan |
For the materials and the method, see how to make Aipan. For what the art is and where it comes from, start at what is Aipan.
FAQ
What are the main festivals of Kumaon?
The Kumaon-specific festivals are Harela (July), Ghee Sankranti or Olgia (August), Khatarua (September), Nanda Ashtami and the Nanda Devi melas (September), Egaas Bagwal (November), Ghughutiya or Uttarayani (January), Phool Dei (March), Kumaoni Holi (February–March) and Bikhauti (April). Diwali, Dussehra and Basant Panchami are also observed, with distinctly Kumaoni forms.
When does the Kumaoni year begin?
At Harela, in the solar month of Shravan — 16 July in 2026 and 17 July in 2027. Harela opens the sowing season, and the rest of the calendar reads forward from it.
Why do Kumaoni festival dates barely change each year?
Because the major hill festivals fall on a Sankranti — the day the sun enters a new zodiac sign — rather than on a lunar tithi. Solar dates move by a day at most between years. Harela is always mid-July, Ghee Sankranti always mid-August, Phool Dei always mid-March. The lunar festivals in the calendar, such as Holi, Diwali and Nanda Ashtami, do swing across weeks.
What is the next Kumaoni festival?
After Ghee Sankranti on 17 August 2026, the next are Khatarua on 17 September and Nanda Ashtami on 19 September 2026, with the Nanda Devi melas of Almora and Nainital running around the latter.
What is Khatarua?
A Kumaoni festival on the first day of Asoj, around 17 September, marking the end of the monsoon. Evening bonfires are lit, produce — most often cucumbers — is thrown into the flames, and cattle sheds are cleaned and animals fed fresh fodder. It is strongly a village festival and has declined with migration.
What is the difference between Diwali and Egaas Bagwal?
Egaas Bagwal is the hills' own Diwali, held on Kartik Shukla Ekadashi, eleven days after the main one — 20 November 2026 against Diwali on 8 November. It is also called Budhi Diwali, and its rituals are distinct: Bhailo fire-twirling, cattle worship, and feasts of arsa and singal.
कुमाऊँनी त्योहार 2026-27 की सूची क्या है? (What is the Kumaoni festival list for 2026–27?)
हरेला (16 जुलाई 2026), घी संक्रांति/ओलगिया (17 अगस्त 2026), खतड़ुवा (17 सितम्बर 2026), नंदा अष्टमी (19 सितम्बर 2026), इगास बग्वाल (20 नवम्बर 2026), घुघुतिया/उत्तरायणी (14 जनवरी 2027), बसंत पंचमी (11 फरवरी 2027), फूलदेई (15 मार्च 2027), कुमाऊँनी होली (21–22 मार्च 2027), बिखौती (14 अप्रैल 2027), और फिर हरेला (17 जुलाई 2027)।