Village festival procession in coastal Maharashtra with drummers and marigold garlands

Festivals of the Kokan

A calendar the whole coast lives by

Kokan festivals are not performances for visitors — they are village life at full volume. Come as a guest of a family and you see them from the inside.

Season by season

When to come, and what you will see

GaneshotsavAugust – September

Ganeshotsav

The Kokan's biggest homecoming. Families return from every city, clay idols are made in the village itself, and ten days pass in aartis, modaks and singing. Book a stay months ahead.

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Shimga & HoliFebruary – March

Shimga & Holi

Palkhis carried between wadis, dhol-tasha through the night and folk performances of Naman and Khele — the Kokan's own spring festival, distinct from Holi elsewhere.

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Narali PurnimaAugust (Shravan Purnima)

Narali Purnima

The fishing community offers coconuts to the sea and reopens the fishing season. Boats are decorated, flags raised, and the whole shoreline turns out.

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Diwali & village jatrasOctober – November

Diwali & village jatras

Lamp-lit laterite verandahs, rangoli at every doorway, faral sweets, and through the winter a long calendar of gramdaivat jatras and temple fairs.

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Spend a festival in a Kokan village

Limited homestay rooms open for Ganeshotsav, Shimga and Diwali. Tell us your dates and we will match you with a host family.