Marikamba Jatre

Karnataka · September/October

Dasara

Karnataka's ten-day state festival built around the Mysuru Palace, culminating in a torch-lit procession where a bejewelled elephant carries the Chamundeshwari idol through the old city.

Karnataka · February/March

Mahashivaratri

A night of fasting and temple vigil devoted to Shiva, observed with lingam abhisheka and all-night bhajans at temples across the state.

Karnataka · March/April

Bengaluru Karaga

One of Bengaluru's oldest living festivals, where a priest of the Thigala community carries a towering flower pyramid on his head through the old city streets before dawn.