Bundi Utsav 2026: Dates, Programme and Tips from Kota

Bundi Utsav, the Bundi Festival, is the moment when one of Rajasthan’s most atmospheric small towns puts on its finery: a procession winding below the hillside palace, a crafts market, folk music and dance in the evenings, and, on the night of the full moon, thousands of small lamps floating on Nawal Sagar lake. In 2026 Rajasthan Tourism’s fairs calendar lists the festival for 27 to 29 November. Bundi is only about 36 km from Kota, so this is one of the easiest festivals in Rajasthan to reach from the city.

Bundi Utsav 2026 at a glance

Detail	Information
Dates	27-29 November 2026, as listed in the Rajasthan Tourism calendar
Hindu month	Kartik (October-November), after Kartik Purnima
Where	Bundi town: the old city, Nawal Sagar, Sukh Mahal and other venues
Distance from Kota	About 36 km by road
Listed by	Department of Tourism, Rajasthan, in its fairs and festivals calendar
Entry	Public festival events are open to all; specific shows may have their own arrangements

The detailed day-by-day programme is normally published close to the festival. Check the Rajasthan Tourism website or the district tourist office before you go.

A short history

According to accounts of the festival’s origins, preparations for Bundi Utsav began in 1995 with public input, and the first festival was held the following year. It was conceived to strengthen local people’s connection with their heritage and to bring visitors to Bundi, and has since become a fixture of Rajasthan’s cultural calendar. The festival was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The town it celebrates was the first capital of the Hada Chauhans, the family that gave the Hadoti region its name and later founded the separate state of Kota. Rajasthan Tourism notes the popular belief that Rudyard Kipling wrote part of Kim in Bundi; he stayed at Sukh Mahal on Jait Sagar.

What happens at Bundi Utsav

Rajasthan Tourism’s description of the programme includes:

• Shobha yatra. A colourful procession through the streets, traditionally beginning with worship of Ganesha at Taragarh Fort, with decorated camels, horses and elephants in some years.
• Arts and crafts fair. Stalls selling textiles, jewellery, pottery and local handicrafts.
• Performances. Folk music and dance, classical music and dance, and musical band competitions. Folk performances have been held at the 84-pillared cenotaph.
• Competitions and ethnic sports. Turban tying, moustache, bridal costume and traditional games such as tug-of-war.
• Deepdan. Earthen lamps lit and floated on Nawal Sagar, and early on the morning after Kartik Purnima, lamps lit on the banks of the Chambal.
• Fireworks on the closing night.

Accounts of past festivals also mention heritage walks, a painting workshop at Sukh Mahal, a “village safari” to Thikarda village near Bundi, and food stalls with regional dishes such as katt bafla and gatte ki sabzi. Not every element runs every year.

Thikarda village

The village of Thikarda, the destination of the festival’s village safari, lies about 10 km from Bundi. Rajasthan Tourism describes it as an agricultural village of around five thousand people, known locally for portrait work and for its own religious festival, the Ghans Bheru festival. If the safari runs during your visit, it is a gentle way to see rural Hadoti; if not, a taxi from Bundi can take you there in a short drive.

Bundi’s other festival: Kajli Teej

If you cannot make it in November, Bundi’s other big celebration is Kajli Teej, which Rajasthan Tourism describes as unique to the town. It falls in the monsoon month of Bhadrapad and honours the goddess Uma (Parvati), worshipped by women seeking marital happiness. Women dress in colourful traditional clothes, wear new bangles and decorate their hands with henna, and a fair nearby sells handicrafts, paintings, bangles and food. Rajasthan Tourism’s 2026 calendar listed Kajli Teej for 31 August to 1 September. See the festivals calendar for the full year.

Seeing Bundi while you are there

The festival is a good excuse to see Bundi properly. Our weekend in Bundi guide has a full route; the essentials are:

• Bundi Palace and its Chitrashala, with some of the finest murals in Rajasthan (see the Kota school of painting for the related Kota style).
• Taragarh Fort above the palace, for the view over the blue-washed old town.
• Raniji ki Baori, the queen’s stepwell built in 1699.
• Sukh Mahal and the Government Museum on Jait Sagar.
• The stepwells: besides Raniji ki Baori, Bundi has the Dabhai Kund, a large kund shaped like an inverted pyramid, and the twin Nagar Sagar Kund outside the Chauhan Gate, built to supply water in times of famine.

Practical tips

1. Book early. Bundi’s guesthouses are small and fill quickly in festival week. Kota has more rooms and is close enough for a day trip.
2. Arrive early for the procession and pick a spot in the shade; streets in the old town are narrow.
3. Stay for the evening. The lamps on Nawal Sagar and the evening performances are the most memorable part.
4. Carry a warm layer. Late November evenings in Hadoti are cool.
5. Combine with Jhalawar. In 2026 the Chandrabhaga fair at Jhalrapatan is listed for 23-25 November, just before Bundi Utsav.

Getting there

Bundi is about 36 km from Kota. Buses run regularly between the two, taxis are easy to arrange in Kota, and Bundi railway station is about 4 km south of the old city. The nearest airport listed by Rajasthan Tourism is Jaipur, about 206 km away. See how to reach Kota and the festivals in Kota and Hadoti calendar for other events in the season.