The First Thing You Notice Is the Smell
It’s not the colors. Not the music. It’s the smoke from the Holika Dahan bonfires the night before — a sweet, heavy haze of mango wood and coconut husk that clings to everything. By the time you step outside on the morning of March 15, the air already tastes different. Like something is about to happen.
Holi 2026 falls on March 14-15, with the bonfire ritual on the evening of the 14th and the main color-throwing on the 15th. The dates shift every year because they follow the Hindu lunar calendar, pegged to the full moon of the month of Phalguna. Worth double-checking closer to the date — I’ve seen conflicting sources before.
Where It Gets Serious
Mathura and Vrindavan are the obvious answer, and they earn it. These twin cities in Uttar Pradesh are where Krishna is said to have grown up, and the Holi celebrations stretch across nearly a week. The famous Lathmar Holi in nearby Barsana — where women chase men with sticks, a tradition linked to Krishna’s playful teasing of the gopis — starts several days before the main event. It’s chaotic, loud, and genuinely hard to photograph well because everything is moving.
The thing about Mathura is that it’s not set up for tourists. The streets are narrow, the crowds are dense, and you will get colored from head to toe whether you want to or not. There’s no polite sideline here. If that sounds overwhelming, it probably is for a first-timer.
Jaipur is the easier entry point. Heritage hotels like the Rambagh Palace and Narain Niwas organize Holi events with DJ sets, buffets, and a controlled color-play area. The old Elephant Festival used to run alongside Holi here, though its format has changed over the years — check if it’s happening in 2026 before planning around it.
Udaipur and Pushkar split the difference between intensity and accessibility. Pushkar in particular has become a backpacker Holi hub, which means the crowd skews young and international. Whether that’s a plus or minus depends on what you’re after.
For something genuinely different: Shantiniketan in West Bengal celebrates Holi as Basanta Utsav, rooted in Rabindranath Tagore’s cultural traditions. Students from Visva-Bharati University perform dances and songs in saffron-colored clothes. It’s quieter, more deliberate, and frankly more photogenic than the chaos of North India. Not better, just different.
The Practical Stuff Nobody Glamorizes
Here’s what the pretty Instagram photos don’t show you:
The colors stain. Not temporarily — some of the cheaper synthetic powders (especially silver and dark green) can take days to fully wash out of your skin and weeks to leave your hair. Coconut oil helps. Slather it on every exposed surface before you go out — skin, hair, behind your ears, between your fingers. It creates a barrier that makes the color slide off more easily afterward. Not perfectly, but noticeably.
Your phone will get destroyed unless you seal it. A Ziploc bag works; a proper waterproof pouch works better. Either way, assume your phone case is a write-off.
Wear white if you want the full visual effect of getting colorized, but wear clothes you plan to throw away afterward. Shoes too — sandals or old sneakers, nothing you’re attached to.
Water balloons and water guns are part of the deal, especially in cities. You will get soaked. If you’re carrying a camera with interchangeable lenses, leave it at the hotel unless you have serious weather sealing. A GoPro or a phone in a waterproof case is the smarter move.
One more thing: bhang, a cannabis-infused drink, is traditional during Holi and widely offered. It’s legal in this context, but the potency varies wildly and it hits slower than you’d expect. Approach with caution, especially if someone hands you a cup and says ‘it’s mild.‘
Getting There and Getting Around
Most international travelers fly into Delhi (DEL) and connect by road or rail. Delhi to Mathura is about 3 hours by car, or you can take the train from Hazrat Nizamuddin station — the Taj Express runs daily, though seats sell out fast around Holi.
Jaipur has its own airport with some international connections, which simplifies things if you’re heading there directly. Trip.com tends to have decent options for flights into Delhi and Jaipur, especially if you book a few weeks out. Last-minute Holi flights get expensive quickly — this is one of India’s peak domestic travel windows.
For trains between cities, book through IRCTC’s official site or app. The ticketing system is… an experience in itself. Tatkal (last-minute) tickets release the day before travel, but they sell out in literal seconds.
Within cities during Holi, forget ride-hailing apps. Drivers mostly take the day off, roads get blocked for celebrations, and auto-rickshaw fares spike. Walk, or stay close to wherever you plan to celebrate.
What to Eat (This Part Is Actually Great)
The food is one of the best things about Holi and it doesn’t get enough attention.
Gujiya is the iconic Holi sweet — a crescent-shaped dumpling filled with khoya (reduced milk solids), dried fruits, and a touch of cardamom, then deep-fried. Every household makes them slightly differently. The store-bought ones from sweet shops like Nathu’s in Delhi are fine, but homemade is another level.
Thandai is the traditional drink — cold spiced milk with almonds, fennel, rose, and saffron. The non-bhang version is genuinely delicious, like a cold chai that went in a different direction. Most street vendors and restaurants serve it during the festival period.
Dahi bhalla, papri chaat, and puran poli round out the typical Holi spread depending on which region you’re in. North India leans heavier on the fried sweets; West Bengal’s Basanta Utsav has its own lineup of sandesh and mishti doi.
Street food stalls multiply during Holi. The usual caution about street food hygiene applies, but honestly, the risk of a stomach issue from unfamiliar food is manageable with common sense. Stick to stalls with high turnover and skip anything that’s been sitting out.
The Awkward Part: Safety and Boundaries
This needs to be said plainly. Holi is joyful, but large Indian festivals in crowded public spaces come with real safety considerations, particularly for women and solo travelers.
The rule is simple: always ask before putting color on someone. In practice, in the thick of celebrations, this boundary gets blurred. Stick to organized events or travel with a group if you’re concerned. The heritage hotel celebrations in Jaipur and Udaipur are the most controlled environments. Street Holi in Mathura or Varanasi is the least controlled.
Keep your valuables locked at the hotel. Carry only cash (small denominations), your sealed phone, and your room key. Pickpocketing happens in any dense crowd, and Holi crowds are among the densest you’ll encounter.
If you want a structured experience with local guides who handle logistics and safety, KLOOK and KKday both offer guided Holi packages in Jaipur and Mathura. They’re not cheap — the going rate seems to be around $40-80 per person — but they take care of transport, provide a guide, and usually include lunch. Might be worth it for a first visit.
Timing and the Quiet After
Arrive 2-3 days early. Partly for jet lag, partly because the pre-Holi buildup is its own experience. Markets overflow with color powder and water guns, bonfires get stacked and decorated, and the energy ratchets up daily.
Holika Dahan on the evening of March 14 is worth witnessing — neighborhoods build massive bonfires and families gather around them. It’s more subdued than the next day’s chaos, and the mythology behind it (the burning of the demoness Holika) is told and retold around the fire.
The color-throwing on March 15 starts early — by 9 or 10 AM in most places — and winds down by early afternoon. By 2 PM, most of the powder has been thrown, and people start heading home to scrub off the colors and change into clean clothes. The evening is family time: visiting relatives, eating too many gujiyas, sitting on rooftops.
The day after Holi is weirdly quiet. Streets that were packed with color and noise are being hosed down. Stray dogs have colored patches on their fur. The sweet shops are sold out of gujiya. And you’re still finding purple powder in places you didn’t know powder could reach.
Book your return flight for at least two days after Holi. You’ll need the recovery time, and your fingernails will still be blue.
