Holi is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in March in India. Happy images of people plastering each other with powders and pigments, symbolising the triumph of good over evil and the traditional start of the harvest season, convey an atmosphere of unfettered joy and abandon that’s a-typical of a country whose rituals are generally characterised by restraint and decorum. ‘This is India letting its hair down’, the pictures proclaim ‘the subcontinental equivalent of a Thai New Year water-throwing party and beach rave all rolled into one.’
Holi is marked in different ways by different segments of the population, but for its duration social norms are turned on their head and a traveller who has not researched or planned their trip in advance risks venturing into the streets or markets and can expect to be mobbed by gangs of over-excited youths, high on ‘bhang’ (a potent cannabis preparation) and wielding cycle pumps spewing dyes that will turn your clothes blueberry colour in seconds, and never wash out.
So, before you make any travel plans, read our list of the best places to celebrate the Holi Festival in 2022 and beyond, ranging from full-on authentic to heavily managed and sedate.
Mathura:- The Braj region of India, between Delhi and Agra, is synonymous with Lord Krishna, the Hindu God most associated with the Holi festival. Matheran, its principal town, is believed to be his birthplace and local shrines host some of the largest and most spectacular celebrations in the country, attracting thousands of revellers, many of whom travel from their villages in open-backed lorries. A prime example is the Dwarkadheesh Temple, where a seething mass of worshippers gathers on the morning of Holi to sing, dance and chant under a cloud of purple gulal.
Vrindavan:- The Bankey Bihari Temple in Vrindavan forms the epicentre of Holi celebrations in this fervently Krishna-obsessed town. If you’ve seen photographs of a densely packed courtyard filled with people covered from head to toe in purple, red and pink powders, this is probably where they were taken.
Barsana:- Well worth a visit at Holi time is Barsana, near Mathura, where an extraordinary ritual takes place in the afternoon. Men from neighbouring Nandgaon process down the narrow street leading to the main Krishna temple until their progress is blocked by ranks of women wielding heavy wooden sticks. Ritual blows, delivered with great gusto by the ladies, reign down on the men’s special leather shields – a spectacle enjoyed by a huge crowd of onlookers covered in brightly coloured gulal powders.
Jaipur:- Holi festivities in the Pink City used to be dominated by a glittering elephant procession, led by the Maharaja swaying atop a giant tusker in his gilded howdah, like a vision from Mughal times. Since 2012, however, the event has been banned due to concerns over animal welfare, but Jaipur remains a Holi hotspot. A major focal point is the big gala bash in the palace hosted by the royal family in aid of local charities.
Udaipur:- The royal palace in Udaipur is the best place to be on the eve of Holi, known as ‘Holika Dahan’, when the local Maharaja lights a ceremonial bonfire in the central courtyard to mark the start of the celebrations. Afterwards, guests retire for cocktails and a lavish dinner, followed by a firework display.
Pushkar:- The sacred town of Pushkar, on the shores of Lake Pichola, has long been a haven for foreign and local backpackers looking to celebrate Holi Festival, and thousands descend here when a big party is held in the main square. Chest-thumping Techno music rather than Krishna ‘bhajans’ accompanies the seething mass of ‘gulal’-smothered participants, many of whose shirts end up strung from overhead wires.
Amritsar:- Few non-Hindu visitors know of its existence which makes it another of the best places to celebrate Holi Festival, but Amritsar holds a second ‘Golden Temple’, dedicated to the Goddess Durga. Like its more richly gilded cousin across town, the shrine sits on a rectangular lake, reached via a narrow causeway. Its marble-lined precincts are the focus of a particularly enjoyable celebration on the morning of Holi, when locals and pilgrims gleefully play ‘gulal’. Foreign visitors are considered a prime target, of course.