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FESTIVAL · HOLI · TRIBAL FAIRSHoli & Fairs
In the tribal belt of eastern Gujarat, Holi is the festival of the year — days of bonfires, drums, colour and country fairs where whole villages gather to dance in the spring.
The spring festival of the tribes
For the Bhil and other tribal communities of eastern Gujarat, Holi is the greatest celebration of the year. It is far more than a single day of colour: bonfires blaze on the eve of Holi, drums beat late into the night, and the days around it fill with country fairs where villagers converge in their finest, dancing, courting, trading and playing. Colour, music and community merge into a joyous welcome to spring.
Fire, colour and community
On Holi eve the Holika bonfires are lit in every village, and the night belongs to the fire.
Dhuleti follows — the day of colour, when the whole community plays.
Around the festival the villages gather in melas that run for days across the district.
For the Adivasi belt of eastern Gujarat, Holi is the year's turning point and its biggest celebration.
Why come
Bonfires
The Holika bonfire on Holi eve is the ritual heart — built communally and circled with offerings.
Colour play
Dhuleti, the day after, is when the colour flies and every lane in the village joins.
Drums
Drumming and dance run all night around the fires — the dhol does not stop.
Village fairs
Whole communities gather: the melas around Holi are reunions as much as fairs.
Tribal finery
Dress and silver come out in full; the fairs are the year's great display.
Spring joy
This is the high point of the tribal year, and the district organises itself around it.
What to see
THE FIREHolika
The eve bonfire, lit in every village.
THE FAIRThe Holi melas
Villages gathering to dance, trade and celebrate.
How it's celebrated
Gather at dusk
See the Holika bonfire lit on Holi eve, the festival's ritual beginning.
Beat the drums
Stay through the night if you can — the drumming and dance run until dawn.
Play with colour
Play colour on Dhuleti day, and expect to be included whether you plan to or not.
Join the fair
Go to a village mela in the days around the festival, when the fairs are at their fullest.
Watch the dance
Listen for the rhythm — the drumming here is tribal Holi's signature.
Share the spring
Watch a whole community celebrate at once; that scale is what makes it unforgettable.
A tribal season of joy
Across eastern Gujarat’s tribal districts, Holi and the fairs around it are the social peak of the calendar. They are times to meet, to marry, to trade cattle and to reaffirm community bonds, all wrapped in music and colour. The celebrations here keep a distinctly folk character — earthy, communal and deeply rooted — quite different from the urban Holi of the cities.
The rest of the district is covered in our Mahisagar travel guide.
Timing
Holi itself falls in March, in Phalgun, and the festival week is the reason to time a visit.
The weeks around Holi are fair season across the tribal belt, with melas in village after village.
After Holi the heat builds quickly; the festival marks the end of the comfortable season.
⏰ Holi falls in March (Phalgun); the tribal fairs cluster around it, so time a visit to the festival week.
Getting there
By Air
Vadodara / Ahmedabad.
By Rail
Godhra / Lunawada.
By Road
Tribal Mahisagar.
More in Mahisagar
65 MILLION YEARS
Jurassic Gujarat
Raiyoli’s dinosaur fossils tell a deep-time story. Explore →
HERITAGE
Lunawada Royals
Lunawada was a princely state of the old Mahikantha agency — a lakeside town of palaces, temples and quiet royal heritage tucked into the hills of eastern Gujarat. Explore →
RIVER
Mahi Worship
The Mahi river gives Mahisagar its very name — a sacred stream honoured with aartis and fairs at its ghats, where pilgrims bathe and worship the river as a living goddess. Explore →
What to eat
FAIRMela Snacks
From the stalls.
THALIGujarati Thali
A hearty spread.
ROTLOMakai Rotlo
Tribal staple.
CHAASChaas
Spiced buttermilk.
Holi & Fairs FAQ
How is Holi celebrated here?
In the tribal belt of eastern Gujarat, Holi is the year's biggest festival — bonfires on the eve, colour on Dhuleti, and country fairs that run for days around it.
When is Holi?
In March, in the Hindu month of Phalgun, with the exact dates set by the lunar calendar.
What are the Holi fairs?
Village melas held around Holi where whole communities gather to dance, trade, meet and celebrate — the biggest gatherings of the tribal year.
How is it different from city Holi?
It keeps a strongly folk, communal character — bonfires, all-night drumming and community dance — rooted in the Adivasi culture of the belt rather than in urban celebration.
Where can I see it?
Across the tribal areas of Mahisagar district and the wider eastern belt, in the villages and at the fair grounds around them.
Is it welcoming to visitors?
Yes, though it is a community's own celebration rather than an event staged for outsiders — go respectfully, follow local cues, and ask before photographing people.
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Published 24 June 2026 · Updated 3 July 2026