October 2027 is an exceptional month, because Diwali falls on Friday 29 October – unusually early, which puts the whole festival cluster inside a single month. Navratri and Dussehra come first, Durga Puja fills Kolkata, the monsoon finishes clearing, the tiger reserves reopen on about 1 October, and the weather turns into the season India is famous for. It is the best month of the second half of the year.
Diwali 2027: Friday 29 October
Diwali is five days, not one:
- Wednesday 27 October – Dhanteras. Buying gold, silver and new utensils; markets at their busiest of the year.
- Thursday 28 October – Naraka Chaturdashi, or Choti Diwali.
- Friday 29 October – Diwali and Lakshmi Puja. Lamps, fireworks, sweets and the main evening.
- Saturday 30 October – Govardhan Puja and, in Gujarat, the new year.
- Sunday 31 October – Bhai Dooj, for brothers and sisters.
What a visitor needs to know. Trains and flights around Diwali are the most heavily booked of the Indian year – reserve weeks ahead. Many businesses and some monuments close on the main day. Hotels charge festival rates. And air quality in Delhi and the northern plains deteriorates sharply around Diwali, combining firework smoke with post-harvest stubble burning; readings in the “severe” range are common for several days. If you have asthma or another respiratory condition, that is a genuine reason to be elsewhere – the south and west are far less affected.
Navratri, Dussehra and Durga Puja
With Diwali on 29 October, the preceding cluster falls in the first half of the month:
- Navratri – nine nights, celebrated most spectacularly in Gujarat with all-night garba and dandiya dancing in Ahmedabad and Vadodara.
- Durga Puja – the same days in West Bengal, where Kolkata builds hundreds of temporary pandals, some of them extraordinary works of art, and the city stays awake for a week. It is UNESCO-listed and it is one of the great urban festivals anywhere in the world.
- Dussehra – the tenth day, with effigies of Ravana burned across the north, and a famous version at Mysore with a caparisoned-elephant procession.
Exact 2027 dates follow the lunar calendar; the cluster sits roughly twenty days before Diwali, so expect it in the first half of October.
Weather by region
Continue planning your India trip
- Delhi and the north – about 31°C by day and 20°C at night, with almost no rain – roughly 14 mm. Warm, dry and increasingly pleasant, but with the air-quality problem above.
- Rajasthan – excellent: warm days, cool evenings, and still green from the monsoon.
- Kerala and the west coast – the monsoon has finished; warm, humid and green, with the season starting.
- Goa – the season reopens through October; shacks rebuild and the beaches come back.
- Tamil Nadu and the south-east – the exception. The north-east monsoon starts here in October, so Chennai and Pondicherry are wet.
- The Himalaya – clear and cold, with the best mountain views of the year; the Ladakh passes close later in the month or in November.
The wildlife season reopens
Most central Indian tiger reserves reopen around 1 October after the monsoon closure. Early-season sightings are harder than in spring, because the forest is thick and water is everywhere – but the parks are green, beautiful and far less crowded than they will be in February. Kaziranga in Assam also reopens, and it is the single best place in India for one-horned rhino.
Prices and crowds
Rising through the month, and peaking around Diwali. The first week is still shoulder pricing; by the end of October the high season has begun and Rajasthan, Kerala and Goa are firming up fast. Domestic travel around 27–31 October is the busiest of the year.
See the cost of travelling India.
What to pack
Light clothing with a layer for northern evenings, sun protection, and modest temple clothing – you will be visiting a lot of them this month. If you are in Delhi around Diwali, an N95-type mask is a reasonable precaution given the air quality. See what to pack for India.
The October 2027 calendar
- Around 1 October – the central Indian tiger reserves and Kaziranga reopen.
- Saturday 2 October – Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday and a dry day in many states.
- First half of October – Navratri and Durga Puja; garba in Gujarat, pandals in Kolkata.
- Mid October – Dussehra; Ravana effigies burned across the north, and the Mysore procession.
- Wednesday 27 October – Dhanteras; markets at their busiest.
- Friday 29 October – Diwali and Lakshmi Puja.
- 30–31 October – Govardhan Puja, the Gujarati new year and Bhai Dooj.
- Through October – the north-east monsoon begins over Tamil Nadu.
Read alongside
- India in September – the monsoon withdrawing and the last cheap month.
- India in November – Pushkar, and the season proper.
- Best time to visit India – all twelve months compared.
- India 2-week itinerary – a route for the reopening season.
- Cost of travelling India – festival-season numbers.
- What to pack for India – the autumn list.
- India travel guide – regions and how to combine them.
Frequently asked
When is Diwali in 2027?
Friday 29 October 2027. The five days run from Dhanteras on Wednesday 27 October through Choti Diwali on the 28th, Diwali and Lakshmi Puja on the 29th, Govardhan Puja on the 30th and Bhai Dooj on Sunday 31 October.
Is October a good time to visit India?
It is the best month of the second half of the year: the monsoon has cleared, the country is green, the wildlife parks reopen and the festival calendar is at its richest. The caveats are Diwali pricing and the northern air quality.
Is Delhi air bad around Diwali?
Yes, seriously so. Firework smoke combines with post-harvest stubble burning and readings in the severe range are common for several days. If you have a respiratory condition, plan to be in the south or west around the festival.
What is Durga Puja?
West Bengal’s greatest festival, in the first half of October in 2027, when Kolkata builds hundreds of temporary pandals – some of them remarkable works of art – and stays awake for a week. It is UNESCO-listed.
Are the tiger reserves open in October?
Yes, most reopen around 1 October after the monsoon. Sightings are harder than in spring because the forest is thick and water is everywhere, but the parks are green and far less crowded than in winter.
How warm is India in October?
Delhi averages about 31°C by day and 20°C at night with almost no rain. Rajasthan is warm and still green, Goa is reopening, and the Himalaya are clear and cold.
Should I book ahead for Diwali?
Yes, weeks ahead. Domestic travel around 27–31 October is the heaviest of the Indian year, trains and flights sell out, and hotels charge festival rates.
Is Tamil Nadu wet in October?
Yes. The separate north-east monsoon starts over Tamil Nadu and the south-east coast in October and runs to December, so Chennai and Pondicherry are wet while the rest of India is drying out.
You Might Also Love
Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
