Press Room Mission Statement Masthead Bejeweled locals perform for Muragan, a colorful festival held in honor of the Hindu god. In Kerala, elaborate festivals give life to fables and often commemorate religious figures or events. Several cultural festivals are staged in the tourist season, December to February, enabling travelers to experience a wide range of Kerala's performing arts. Invariably these festivals involve vibrant music and dance.
Most festivals are free.
Each year from January 27 to February 3 descendants of former rulers of southern Kerala continue royal tradition and stage a Musical Festival. Amongst the ambience of oil lamps, every evening at the Thiruvananthapuram Palace in the south of Kerala, there are performances by some of Kerala's finest musicians, who play works from popular dramas such as Kathakali and Kootiattam. Just north of the palace there's the Nishagandhi Dance Festival, where from February 21-27 each year, there are free performances of Indian classical dance. Further north, in central Kerala, the Kochi Carnival, from December 25-31, offers a kaleidoscope of performing arts, including Kathakali, classical dance, martial arts, and boat races. The Harvest Festival of Onam commemorates a mythical time of social harmony, peace, and equilibrium.