May is the peak summer season with scorching heat, humidity, and vibrant festivals. Traditional, locals celebrate a lot of festivals to lift the spirits of the people during the harsh climate. Many festivals have scientific proof that the activities and delicacies allow the human body to fight the harsh climate, better. In short, if you are visiting India in May, you can enjoy numerous cultural and religious festivals.
Here are the top 17 May festivals to enjoy in India in 2025
1. International Yoga Contest
Location of the celebration: Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh
Date of the festival: March 9–15, 2025
This is an international yoga contest and expo conducted for the welfare of the participants and to spread awareness of Yoga. For the 2025 contest, numerous lectures, workshops, and performances are being planned. Yoga philosophers and performers from around the world visit India to take part in this expo and contest. The candidate who wins the contest is offered cash prizes and awards.
2. Moatsu Festival
Location of the celebration: Mokokchung in the state of Nagaland, India
Date of the festival: May 1 to 3, 2025
If you are looking for a unique and vibrant vacation to enjoy, North-East India is the best. The tribal population in this region celebrates numerous festivals, which are famous for their uniqueness and vibrant beauty. One such festival is the Moatsu Festival celebrated by the Ao Tribe. This festival is celebrated to end the harvest festival with a grand gesture. After harvesting, the tribes thank the almighty for the bounty and share their happiness with merry-making, dance, music, feast, and others. People burn the leftovers in the field, create a bonfire, and dance around it.
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3. Thrissur Pooram
Location of the celebration: Vadakkunnathan Temple in Thrissur, Kerala, India
Date of the festival: May 6, 2025
Thrissur is a vibrant cultural destination in Kerala and Pooram is the name of the annual religious festival usually dedicated to Goddesses like Durga, Kali, and others. Many regions like Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, and others celebrate Pooram, which is also the summer harvest festival.
Thrissur Pooram is the grandest of all with more than 30 elephants taking part in the grand procession along with 250 musicians playing loud blaring music with traditional instruments. Apart from these, millions of people take part in the procession with dance, music, and drum beats. The procession ends at Vadakkumnathan temple, where unique rituals, fairgrounds, and other attractions can be seen. At the end of the celebration, fireworks are but
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4. Madurai Meenakshi ThiruKalyanam
Location of the celebration: Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai
Date of the festival: Not yet Announced
Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple is an important religious, cultural, and heritage site of South India. The ThiruKalyanam is the re-creation of the celestial marriage between Madurai Meenakshi Amman and her consort Lord Sundareswarar. The second part of this festival is the Lord Alazhagar procession. The festival is celebrated with a grand ambiance, interesting rituals, ostentatious processions, cultural performances, and so on. Watching the celestial marriage is considered a very religious activity among Hindus. The area around the temple will be turned into a carnival fairground where you can find shops for souvenir hunting, small rides, street performers, and so on.
5. Summer Festival
Location of the celebration: Mount Abu in Rajasthan
Date of the festival: May 10–12, 2025
May is the peak summer month and to attract tourists, the hill station of Mount Abu conducts numerous activities and celebrations. This summer festival is famous for dance and ballad singing, adventure activities, bot races, sham-e-Qawwali music performances, fireworks, and much more. The summer festival is celebrated at the end of Rajasthan’s tourism festival.
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6. Buddha Purnima
Location of the celebration: Sarnath, Ladakh, Delhi, Bodhgaya and other Buddhism-infused regions
Also called Buddha Jayanthi, this festival celebrates the birth anniversary of Lord Gautama Buddha. He found and spread the Buddhism religion. Some believe that it is the day on which Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. Buddhist monasteries and gompas conduct numerous rituals and celebrations. You can take part in scripture recitals, seminars, prayer meetings, meditation sessions, special rituals, and so on.
Date of the festival: May 12, 2025
7. Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti
Location of the celebration: West Bengal; especially Santiniketan University
Date of the festival: 7th May, 2025
As the name indicates, this is the festival for celebrating the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, a freedom fighter and poet. He is the author of the national anthem of India and Bangladesh. This festival is very commonly celebrated in West Bengal. During the celebration, people take part in cultural activities like drama, dance, music, poetry, and so on. Every event that takes place on this day will be related to the life, work, and acknowledgment of Tagore. If you visit Santiniketan, you can witness grand celebrations conducted by the students of the university.
8. Yercaud Summer Festival
Location of the celebration: Anna Park in Yercaud, Salem
Date of the festival: May 22 to May 26, 2025
May is the peak tourism season and the last month of the tourism season too. Every year, during May, Yercaud celebrates tourism with flower shows, boat races, cultural performances, dog shows, village tours, adventure activities, and so on. Each year, the list of activities conducted during the festival, changes. The agenda for this year is yet to be released by the government.
However, the celebration and fun during the festival is guaranteed. Locals and tourists visit the festival region to take part in the celebrations and watch exhibitions. The most important of all is the flower show in which hundreds of species of flowers are displayed. Many large structures and objects will also be recreated using just flowers.
Also Read: 10 Most Famous Festivals in India in June 2025
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9. Servaraya Festival
Location of the celebration: Servaraya Perumal Temple, Yercaud
Date of the festival: Not yet Announced
Lord Servaraya is the protective God for 67 villages including Yercaud. The temple is not a grand structure or exquisite beauty. It is a simple structure built more than 2000 years ago. During the first week of May, the annual temple festival is conducted by the tribes of the region. During this festival, the locals conduct a procession to the top of the hill where the temple is located. In the temple, many interesting rituals and celebrations take place.
10. Dhungri Mela
Date of the festival: 14th to 16th May, 2025
Location of the celebration: Hadimba Temple, Manali
This religious festival takes place in Manali to celebrate the birth anniversary of Goddess Hadimba, the wife of Bhima (Mahabharata). The temple is the main pilgrimage site for numerous villages around the region. Thus, during the annual festival, the pilgrims visit the temple to take part in rituals, carnival activities, dancing, singing, and much more. The main attraction of the festival is the Kullu Natti dance performance. The region around the temple will be turned into a carnival with rides and attractions.
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11. Electric Mahadev Festival
Location of the celebration: Manali
Date of the festival: Not yet Announced
This is the celebration of psychedelic art, culture, and music. This event is famous for flea markets, late-night cultural programs, workshops, Yoga classes, music performances, and many others. This is a vibrant celebration attracting a young crowd.
12. Ramadan (Ramzan)
Location of the celebration: Throughout the country, especially in Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Delhi, and others
Date of the festival: February 28, 2025, and end on the evening of Sunday, March 30, 2025
This is an Islamic celebration, which includes fasting for a month. At the end of the month, a grand feast is conducted. The Ramadan is celebrated with food festivals. Muslim communities share food and delicacies with others. The markets will be filled with souvenirs during the festival.
13. Maharana Pratap Jayanti
Location of the celebration: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan
Date of the festival: 9 May, 2025
This is the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap. He is one of the famous rulers of Rajput and an important freedom fighter. During this festival, people conduct cultural events like drama, dance, music, poetry, and others to spread the valor, life, and works of the king. The memorial statue of Maharana Pratap in Udaipur will be well decorated and honored with garlands. In certain areas, grand parades will be conducted to remember the legacy.
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14. Ooty Summer Festival
Location of the celebration: Ooty and the regions around it
Date of the festival: May 17–22, 2025
This is another Summer Festival to enjoy in May. May is the last month of tourism season and the hill station celebrates it with a blast. Many attractions like flower shows, dog shows, fruit shows, rose shows, and others take part in different venues around the hill station. Many stalls will be erected for selling organic and natural products. A spice show will be conducted in Gudalur, which is gaining more attention from the tourists. Night bazaars will be conducted exclusively during this festival.
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Also Read: Elephant Festival in Jaipur 2025 – All You Need to Know
15. Gangtok International Flower Festival
Location of the celebration: The Governor's Residence of Gangtok
Date of the festival: 1st May to 31st May 2025
This is one of the grandest flower shows in the country. During this flower show, numerous species of orchids, gladioli, alpine plants, climbers, creepers, and others will be displayed. Numerous stalls will be erected for selling natural products, saplings, and others. During this show many botanical seminars, debates and lectures will be conducted. Many adventure activities will also be open during this show like river rafting, yak safari, and others.
16. Sital Sasthi
Location of the celebration: Sambalpur of Western Odisha
Date of the festival: 31st of May, 2025
This is a local religious celebration, which commemorates the celestial marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. During this festival, numerous cultural performances take place like dance, music, drama, and others. The main attraction of the festival is the grand procession of the two deities to represent the marriage procession. This festival has been celebrated for more than 400 years and it is celebrated to pray to God for an abundant monsoon, sooner. In this festival, Lord Shiva represents the summer heat and Goddess Parvathi represents the rain.
17. Diorama Film Festival
Location of the celebration: Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts, Delhi
Date of the festival: May 13 to 24, 2025
This is a traditional film festival, which is famous for entertainment activities. Many Bollywood, Hollywood, and other regional cinemas will be showcased during this festival and ranked by critics. Apart from the film screening, numerous other activities are also conducted like meet-the-stars, fashion shows, media workshops, music concerts, camera exhibitions, food festivals, award shows, art exhibitions, and others.
Are you planning to visit India to take part in any of these festivals? Surf in detail about the festival to learn about the events and timings. Some festivals take place very early in the morning and some might not be open for international tourists. Get enough details about the event before planning your vacation.
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