Celebrations

Festivals & Fairs

Through most of the year the summit is silent and windswept — but on a handful of days each year, it fills with song, color and thousands of pilgrims.

The April Fair (Mela)

Each year in April the temple committee and surrounding villages organise a grand fair on the temple grounds. It is the year's largest gathering — a celebration of harmony and shared joy that draws devotees from across Garhwal.

Navratri

The nine nights of the Goddess bring the temple to life with special prayers, elaborate rituals, devotional songs and communal feasts. For a Shakti Peeth, Navratri is the spiritual high point of the year.

Vaisakhi

The spring festival of Vaisakhi marks the turn of the agricultural year and brings crowds up the mountain seeking the Devi's blessings for the season ahead.

Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributors, used under Creative Commons licenses. Images are representative of these festivals across the region.

The Daily Aartis

Beyond the great festivals, the temple keeps its own quiet calendar. Twice each day — at sunrise and sunset — the aarti is performed: lamps are circled before the Shri Yantra to the rhythm of bells and chant. Pilgrims who time their darshan to these hours often describe them as the most moving moments of the visit, the lamplight glowing against the vast darkening Himalaya.

To stand at the summit during the evening aarti, with the peaks turning gold and the bells ringing out over the valley, is — for many — the whole reason for the climb.

Best Time to Join

For festivals and comfortable trekking alike, the favoured windows are April to June and September to November, when skies are clear and the mountain views are at their finest. Winter brings snow and a hushed beauty, but also cold and occasionally difficult access.