Ooty - Summer Festival

 

The evergreen Ooty in Tamil Nadu is all the more welcoming, during the summer season. Famous for its Summer Festival held in the month of May every year, the beautiful hill station of Ooty is thronged with visitors, who come to be a part of the summer festival.

The venue of this festival is the famous Botanical Garden in Ooty. The Flower show at the Botanical Gardens, Fruit shows, Boat Races, Cultural Programmes, fashion parade, adventure sports are a few of the many interesting events of the Summer Festival.

Tourists also prefer to go trekking in Kodaikanal, Yercaud or Elagiri Hills, the other beautiful Hill Stations in Tamil Nadu, during this festival.

All these festivals are a joint effort of the Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu & Ministry of Tourism, and Government of India.

Ooty Summer  Festival 2011: First or second week of May (tentative)

For more information, please visit:

http://www.incredibleindia-tourism.org/weekend-gateways/ooty.html

Mount Abu - Summer Festival

This cultural fiesta, organized by the Rajasthan Tourism, Municipal Board, Mt.Abu & District Administration is held every year during the summer season. A Ceremonial procession of folk performances of Rajasthan and Gujarat kicks off the festival from the RTDC Hotel Shikhar to Nakki Lake Chowk. This festival is held for 3 days, a ballad is sung, followed by folk dances called Gair and Ghoomar on the very first day absorbing the spectators. With lots of folk and classical music, regional folk dancing, the festival manages to give us an outlook of the tribal life and the vivid culture of Rajasthan.

The steep rocks, serene lakes, scenic locations and the lovely climate of Mount Abu make it a perfect location for the festival. The festival also showcases the warmth and cheerfulness of the locals, who are very welcoming, cheerful and also very hospitable. Events such as the boat race on the Nakki Lake, Horse Race, and Tug of War etc. also draw a lot of attention from the visitors. However, the much awaited event is it “Sham-e-Qawwali” meaning an evening of Qawwali, a musical extravaganza featuring some of the most renowned qawwals (the singers) from different parts of India who delight the audience. The last day of this colourful and lively event concludes with a display of dazzling fireworks.

This year the Festival will be held from 15^th of May to 17^th of May, 2011.

If you would like to be a part of this colorful celebration, please visit : http://mountabu.nic.in/sumfest.htm

Moatsu Mong Festival

During the first week of May every year, Nagaland an immensely beautiful hilly region in the Northeastern part of India comes alive with feasts, song and dance, and merry making. The Moatsu Mong festival marks the ending of the planting season and is celebrated for 6 days at a stretch. 

Cleaning of village ponds, decorating, cleaning, repairing and construction of houses, sowing of grains, cows, pigs and poultry are well fed and fattened for the festivity and beer (made from Rice) is brewed in huge quantities. The main attraction of this festival is Sangpangtu, an activity wherein man and women dress up beautifully, sit around huge bonfires and relish on meat and wine. Also eulogies are sung in praise of traditional heroes. One of the most awaited events is Naga Idol, a hunt for the local district hero. 

This festival is vastly promoted by Nagaland Tourism as a National event and Chuchuyimlang village is the main platform for the promotion of this festival. This place is known for its hospitability and visitors get an inside view of Naga life. One can also find tourist lodges with cultural programs, in almost every village of interest. Tourism is still a very new conception for the Naga tribes and they're astoundingly warm and welcoming.   

Moatsu Mong 2011: This year the festival is anticipated to be celebrated around first week of May.

For more information, please visit: http://www.north-east-india.com/nagaland/

Image source : http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2448/4088665241_86fb29e3cd.jpg

Tulip Festival

This festival is held in the month of Spring, the busiest season for gardeners, the most beautiful, and most colorful, of all seasons. It’s in this season of Spring when Kashmir is at its most picturesque. 

Spring is the season for flowering Tulips. Tulip festival is held annually at Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, Siraj Bagh Cheshmashahi , Srinagar, Kashmir, which is the home to Asia's largest tulip garden.  The Garden is located in the foothills of Zabarwan range, overlooking the legendary Dal Lake. Many varieties of Tulips are grown in the garden which spreads over 5 hectares of land.

The sprawling Tulips in full bloom with speckled colours are a charismatic, arresting and a memorable sight.

Along with this scenic beauty, the festival also treats its visitors with cultural programs, Kashmiri folk songs, sale of local handicrafts, and a taste of traditional Kashmiri cuisine.

Festival date 2011: 5^th of April to 15^th of April (tentative).

For more information please visit : http://www.jktourism.org/