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Best Places to Celebrate Holi Festival in India

Holi is one of the most famous and ancient festivals for Hindu religious in India. Holy is a spring festival, also known as the festival of colours. The festival majorly involves Holika Dahan (bonfire) on the first night, followed by a festival of colors on the next day. Holi is celebrated on Phalgun Purnima which occurs around the month of March. It is the second most widely celebrated festival of India after Diwali.

However, different regions of India celebrate this splendid festival differently.

Holi Celebrations! Long weekend coming up. Travel on your thoughts. Yet at the same time pondering where to go? Say no more, humble travel buffs; we're here to end your worry in a jiffy!  This holi-day, let’s celebrate Holi away from home! Travel to one of these destinations in the country for the crazy Holi celebration in India.

Here are some best places in India to celebrate Holi festival.

Holi in Banke Bihari Temple - Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh)

Holi at Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan is not just a festival in Vrindavan, its a celebration of life. Every year thousands of people come to this beautiful town to celebrate Holi at the temple dedicated to Lord Krishna and play Holi with God himself.

According to Hindu methodology, the tradition of playing colors on Holi began from the leela of Radha and Krishna. Mathura holds a prestigious show in the prior week Holi. A colourful and musical procession takes place from the temples to river then to the Holi Gate, where the festival is marked. On Holi, the best place to catch the throwing of colors in Mathura is Dwarkadheesh Temple.

On the ekadashi before Holi, the city celebrates Phoolon wali Holi where blossoms are thrown at the fans by the temple priests. Another special festival of Holi in Vrindavan is the Widow's Holi that started a couple of years back to break the tradition that kept widow's from playing with colors or wearing colored clothes.

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Holi in Barsana - Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

Barsana is a historical town and a nagar panchayat in the Mathura area of the territory of Uttar Pradesh, India. The Barsana Holi is absolutely the most famous places to celebrate holi in India and will give all of you the vibes of Mathura Holi without a doubt! Barsana is famous for Lath mar Holi. Barsana was the home of Radha where Krishna went to tease her and her friends. Taking offence at this, the ladies of Barsana pursued him away. The main celebrations at Barsana, take place at the Ladliji temple, dedicated to Sri Radha Rani.

The two day celebrations of Lath mar Holi are a unique experience. In the first day men from Krishna’s village, Nandgaon travel to Barsana to tease the women there. The ladies pursue men and hitting them with sticks, henceforth the name Lathmar Holi. Men are permitted to ensure themselves with shields. The second day ladies from Barsana go to Nandgaon to play Holi with men of Nandgaon.

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Holi in Shantiniketan (West Bengal)

Rabindranath Tagore established the Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan. The peaceful and quiet town is nestled in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. The Holi festival is celebrated as Basanta Utsav or Spring Festival in Shantiniketan. This festival was started as an annual event by famous Bengali poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in his Vishva Bharati University at Shantiniketan. Till today the tradition is followed and celebrated in unmatched zest and vigour. Inspired by Holi and spring the students dress up in beautiful clothing and put on an enormous social event for the visitors. All this happiness, colours, and joy of Shantiniketan make it the best Holi celebration in India.

The students of Vishva Bharati celebrate Basanta Utsav in extremely unique way. Students dress up in yellow shading and present some wonderful folk dances and cultural programs followed by the throwing of colours. The celebrations start a day earlier than Holi and are now considered an important part of the Bengali heritage. A huge number of tourists arrive every year at Shantiniketan to witness and participate in these celebrations.

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Holi in Anandpur Sahib (Punjab)

Sikhs celebrate Holi in their own style at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. Hola Mohalla is an annual fair celebrated a day after the Hindu festival of Holi. This tradition dates back to the times of the tenth Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The Guru decided that the event of the celebration of Holi, fun and frolic and colour splashing, be the occasion for the display of the martial spirit of his people and he gave this festival of Holi a more masculine name of Hola Mohalla. Every year Hola Mohalla marks the congregation of lacs of devotees from all over the country for a festival of colour and gaiety. Apparently, the name Hola is the masculine name of the feminine Holi. While the vibrant Holi festival boasts of sprinkling colors, Hola Mohalla takes the form of demonstrating martial skills in simulated battles. On this three-day grand festival, mock battles, exhibitions, display of weapons, etc., are held followed by kirtan, music and poetry competitions. The participants perform daring feats, for example, Gatka (deride experiences with genuine weapons), tent pegging, without any protection horse-riding, standing erect on two speeding horses and different accomplishments of valiance.

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Holi in Jaipur and Udaipur (Rajasthan)

Holi is one of the major celebrations celebrated in Rajasthan with incredible supporter from royal families of Rajasthan. The festivals extend for two days. The first day of Holika Dahan is seen at the City Palace in Udaipur, among the most prominent Tourist Places in Rajasthan. The traditions of lighting the Holika Dahan are generally performed by the current custodian of the Mewar line. The next morning, the festivals of Holi are all out on the streets of Jaipur and Udaipur.

Holi in Udaipur is completely spectacular and royal. On the day of Holi, The Maharaja of Mewar invites decent visitors, outside travelers, and numerous dignitaries to The Royal City Palace. The Maharana arrives in the celebration wearing traditional clothes and a bonfire is lit in the expansive ground of the palace. The bonfire signifies the triumph of good over underhandedness. There are drums folk dances and folk songs followed by mixed drinks, a lavish dinner, and wonderful firecrackers.

Jaipur is probably among the best places to celebrate Holi in India. It's not simply the excitement of the general population of Jaipur that makes it a fun city to observe Holi, yet additionally an incredible exertion of Rajasthan Tourism that arranges an exceptional occasion for guests on the gardens of Khasa Kothi Hotel. This occasion highlights Rajasthani folk dance, song performances, and a happy lunch. Even if you’re not a guest of this hotel, you can attend by event.

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Holi in Goa (State of India)

The energetic people of Goa do not lag behind the rest of the country when it comes to Holi celebrations. The celebration of Holi is called Shigmostav in Goa. Celebration starts with prayers to the village gods and goddesses. It is the greatest celebration for Hindus and is spread over a fortnight, but the festival is celebrated mostly by the masses following all religious traditions. As expected from the Goans, the festival is accompanied with fanfare. Performance on drumbeats and epic establishment of mythology are religiously pursued. Vivid and vibrant colours of gulal and neel are richly utilized. Shigmotav is highlighted with exhibitions of troupes in the form of parades and social dramatizations. At sunset, colossal representations are taken in parades and prizes given away. The parades are held on last five days of the festival. Shigmostav is highlighted with performances of troupes in the form of parades and cultural dramas. Festivities reach the peak on the fifth day when gulal is used to colour everyone. Most of the festivities are mainly concentrated in Panjim, Vasco and Margao. The main Goa Beaches additionally turn bright upon the arrival of Holi with huge number of local people and travelers gathering on the shores to play with colors.

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Holi in Hampi (Karnataka)

Hampi is among the top destinations in India to be at to observe and encounter the party and craze of Holi Festival. Holi is another important celebration other than Hampi celebration, which is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Phalguna. The festival holds significance with respect to end of winter season and the beginning of summer season. Holi celebrations in Hampi were held for 2 days. People gather in the streets to sprinkle colors and dancing to the drum beats followed by a nice dip in the river. One of the best legacy destinations in India turns bright on the eve of Holi. Hampi is one of the prime essences of Karnataka Tourism. The foreign tourists actively participate in Holi celebrations along with locals.

It is rare to find celebrations of Holi in South India. In any case, because of the nearness of a substantial of western travelers in Hampi, it is very prominent in the city. In addition to the use of shaded powder and fluid colors, the festivals of Holi in Hampi additionally include a loud riot of music and dance.

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Holi in Purulia (West Bengal)

Purulia is one of the twenty districts of West Bengal state in Eastern India. The town of Purulia is the managerial home office of the region. Purulia is one of the dry spell inclined regions of West Bengal. It has a sub tropical atmosphere nature. Temperature is extremely high in summer and low in winter which changes from 2 degrees in winter to 52 degrees in summer thus causes dryness in moisture.

A 3-day-long Basanta Utsava is a people celebration celebrated in Purulia region of West Bengal. It starts before the actual Holi. People of Purulia sing folk songs, dance, and exhibit their unique folk art. The different forms of folk dance include the stunning Chau, Darbari Jhumur, and Natua, while the famous popular Baul musicians of WB sing melodious songs making it the best Holi in India. This will surely give you glimpse of the glorious celebrations in March in India.

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