India Travel Deals and Cheap Tickets

Fall Festival Travel to India

For most people, a vacation is built around a desire to see a place – whether it’s sweeping vistas or specific attractions – and while nice weather is a plus, it can be easy to plan attraction-driver trips at any time of year.

If you’re hoping to catch a few of the local festivals when you’re traveling, however, you need to pay attention to the calendar. And in India, where festivals are tied to the Hindu calendar, figuring out when they occur may be more complicated.

Here, then, is some information about big fall festivals in India to help you plan your autumn trip.

>> Find out more about flights to India and domestic flights within India to make it easier to get from city to city for these various festivals.

Going to India for the Ganesh Chaturthi

Even those of us who know little to nothing about Hinduism are likely familiar with the image of the beloved Hindu god Ganesha (also called Ganesh), easily recognized by his elephant head. This popular deity is worshipped by Hindu people in India and Nepal, as well as Hindus around the world, and his popularity even goes beyond Hinduism – Ganesh is also worshipped by some from other religions as well. Because of this, the annual festival celebrating Ganesha – the Ganesh Chaturthi – is a major event on the calendar.

>> In 2011, Ganesh Caturthi runs from September 1-12.

>> Want to honor Ganesha in India? Check out cheap flights to India and domestic flights in India to see how different parts of the country celebrate.

Celebrating Onam in India

Finding out there’s a major festival going on when you’re traveling through a country can feel like you’ve won the travel lottery – so finding out there are two big festivals is even better. Visitors to India in the fall will be pleased to know that not only is there a nationwide celebration of the start of autumn – Navaratri – there’s also a huge festival – Onam – in one specific Indian state at roughly the same time.

In the state of Kerala, Onam is the biggest festival on the calendar. The festival celebrates the harvest season and the return of King Maveli, and it runs for 10 days. Legend holds that King Maveli (also called Mahabali), a type of Hindu god called an Asura, comes back each year to Kerala where it is said there was no happier or more peaceful time than when Mahabali ruled.

>> In 2011, Onam takes place from August 31 through September 9.

>> Read more about Sharad Navaratri in India, too, to find out if you can celebrate both holidays during one trip.

Celebrating Navaratri in India

It’s not uncommon for the changing of the seasons to be a time of celebration in many parts of the world, and India is no exception. Of the many festivals on the Indian calendar, one of the most important heralds the transition from summer to autumn – it’s called Sharad Navaratri.

There are actually more Navaratri celebrations at different times of the year, but the biggest is Sharad Navaratri (also called Sharana or Sharada Navaratri) held in what is usually late September and early October. The date varies from year to year because it’s on the Hindu calendar – it’s always good to check what the dates are for the current year’s Navaratri festivities, but as an advance planning rule you can count on it being a fall festival.

>> In 2011, Sharad Navaratri is from September 28 through October 6.

>> Learn more about cheap flights to India and domestic flights in India if you want to check out multiple celebrations in different parts of the country.

Great Fares to India

It has been said on more than one occasion that you haven’t really traveled until you have traveled through India. If being sick, traveling on absurdly crowded buses and trains, and being thrown into a mix of a billion people constitutes real travel, I can understand why so many people chose to spend a weekend in Vegas or a week at Disney World.

India, of course, is a country with more than just unpleasant aspects. In fact, it is a downright lovely and fascinating country to visit in its own unique way. At first the sights, the sounds and the smells may overwhelm you. That might not ever go away. But after you get your feet wet you’ll find that the positives far exceed the negative and that the maxim about not traveling until you have been to India is a positive indictment.

Getting to India is rarely cheap, but there are certain airlines that offer up decent prices on flights from time to time. Air France is one of those airlines. They are certainly worth looking into while you plan your India trip and you begin your life as a “real” traveler.