Festival in Manali

The Hadimba Devi fair is another important event in this place and a rather big fair is organized in the Hadimba Devi temple complex. People from in and around the countryside come to visit this fair, which is held during the spring season when the valley is at its spectacular and colourful best.

Though almost all the festivals are celebrated with zest and devotion, Dussehra gets special attention all over the valley. The festival is celebrated in the month of October during the autumn season when the rest of the country celebrates Durga Puja and Vijaya Dashami. The celebration goes on for a few days when all the people of the Kullu valley take part enthusiastically.
The Hadimba Devi fair is another important event in this place and a rather big fair is organized in the Hadimba Devi temple complex. People from in and around the countryside come to visit this fair, which is held during the spring season when the valley is at its spectacular and colourful best.
The Doongri Forest festival, which is basically organized by the women folks of this place, is another major event of this place. Moreover, the winter sport carnival held in the mid-February draws a good number of tourists from all over the country and abroad.
Winter Carnival
Snow continues to play a major part in February’s festivals and Himachal Winter Carnival is also held this month. Ski slopes of Kufri, Manali and Narkanda come to life with adventure seekers competing their way downhill. For daredevils, Manali, as a base camp, offers best opportunity for Heli-Skiing.
Spring festival is also called Basantotsava or Pipal jatra and takes place at Dhalpur ground Kullu from 28th April to 30th April. This fair has been declared a state festival by the Himachal Pradesh government. As it marks the beginning of the spring season (and also the tourist season) in the valley, it is also known as Spring Festival.

Spring Festival
Spring festival is also called Basantotsava or Pipal jatra and takes place at Dhalpur ground Kullu from 28th April to 30th April. This fair has been declared a state festival by the Himachal Pradesh government. As it marks the beginning of the spring season (and also the tourist season) in the valley, it is also known as Spring Festival.

Kullu is known as the valley of gods. The villages have their own gods and goddesses. It is said that in olden days, the King (or the Raja) used to sit in the Dhalpur ground with his courtiers under the Pipal Tree to look at the traditional dances. Earlier 16 Gods used to participate in the fair, but as the years rolled by, the fair lost its grandeur.

Every night during the festival, cultural programs are performed by the various cultural groups at Kala Kendra which is a big open-air theater. The cultural groups and reputed artists come from all over India to perform in the festival.