Festival dates
Kartik 2026
The lamp-lit month runs 25 October to 24 November this year — with Diwali on the 8th and Annakut on the 10th of November.
- Dates
- 25 October – 24 November 2026
- Where in Braj
- Vrindavan above all; the Yamuna ghats nightly, Govardhan mid-month
- Festival guide
- Kartik in Braj · Govardhan Puja & Annakut
Day by day
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sun 25 Oct | Sharad Purnima — the rasa-dance full moon opens the season Moonlight darshans, white decorations, kheer under the open sky |
| Tue 27 Oct | Kartik month proper begins (North Indian purnimanta reckoning) Nightly Damodara lamp offerings start in every temple |
| Sun 8 Nov | Diwali in Braj — lamps at full scale on the Yamuna ghats |
| Tue 10 Nov | Govardhan Puja / Annakut — food mountains in every temple, parikrama crowds at Govardhan In 2026 the tithis leave a gap day, so Annakut falls two days after Diwali rather than the usual next morning |
| Tue 24 Nov | Kartik Purnima — deepdan at the ghats at full scale, the month's finale |
The month, this year
Kartik is the best sustained season to visit Braj — a month of lamp-lit evenings with no single crushing day — and in 2026 it runs from Sharad Purnima on 25 October to Kartik Purnima on 24 November. Every evening between, temples fill with Damodara lamp offerings at dusk and the Yamuna ghats glitter with deepdan. The main Kartik guide covers the month’s texture; this page pins the 2026 dates.
The three hot windows
Most of Kartik books like a pleasant normal season. Three windows do not:
- Sharad Purnima weekend (24–25 October) — the opening full moon falls on a Sunday, so expect a weekend surge.
- Diwali to Annakut (7–11 November) — the peak. Note the 2026 quirk: Diwali is Sunday 8 November, but Govardhan Puja / Annakut falls Tuesday 10 November — a gap day between, where most years it’s the next morning. If Annakut and the Govardhan parikrama are your reason for coming, plan around the 10th, not the 9th. The Diwali 2026 page covers those three days on their own.
- Kartik Purnima (24 November) — the finale, with deepdan at full scale at Keshi Ghat and along the river.
Book those three ahead; the rest of the month behaves — see accommodation and the best time guide.
Small print for the season
- Mornings turn genuinely cool from mid-November — pack a warm layer (packing list).
- Annakut day at Govardhan means the parikrama path at its year’s fullest: start pre-dawn or choose a neighbouring day for the walk itself.
- The easiest entry into the nightly lamp offering is ISKCON’s courtyard, with instructions in English; the most refined evenings are in the old Goswami temples like Radha Raman.
Dates checked, but check again. Braj festival days follow the lunar calendar (how that works), and temple committees fine-tune schedules close to the day. We correct this page as announcements land — the letters carry the updates.
Questions
Asked often.
- When is Kartik month in 2026?
- The festival season runs from Sharad Purnima on 25 October 2026 to Kartik Purnima on 24 November 2026; the lunar month proper begins on 27 October in the North Indian reckoning. Vrindavan's nightly lamp offerings run throughout.
- What date is Govardhan Puja in 2026?
- Tuesday 10 November 2026. Unusually, that is two days after Diwali (Sunday 8 November) rather than the next morning — the tithis leave a gap day this year. Expect Govardhan's parikrama path at its fullest on the 10th and the days around it.
- If I can only come for one week of Kartik 2026, which week?
- The week around Diwali and Annakut — roughly 6–13 November — packs the most into seven days — Diwali on the ghats, the Annakut food mountains, and the month's lamp-lit evenings throughout. Book that window first; it's also the one that sells out. For quieter beauty at normal prices, any mid-month week works.
Coming for it?
Planning a trip around Kartik 2026?
Festival trips punish improvisation — rooms, transport, and timing all need to be right. Hourly, honest planning help from a local; the introduction is free.
amit@brajbhoomi.com