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Festivals & Seasons
Polo at Shandur, Kalasha rites, blossom weeks, Sufi urs, and desert fairs, 43 events to plan around across Pakistan.
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Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally
The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab's desert rally, run every February since 2005 from Derawar Fort across the Cholistan dunes.
Basant, Jashn-e-Baharan
Lahore's spring kite festival: rooftops full of colour, yellow clothes for the mustard season, music, food and the cry of 'Bo kata!' when a kite is cut.
Sibi Mela
Balochistan's great annual fair at Sibi, held since 1885: horse and cattle shows, camel races, tent pegging, crafts and folk dance.
Maha Shivaratri at Umarkot
One of Pakistan's largest religious festivals: three days at the ancient Shiv Mandir of Umarkot, with around 250,000 Hindu pilgrims from across Sindh.
Kashmir Solidarity Day
A national day on 5 February when Pakistan and Azad Kashmir hold rallies and human chains in support of the people of Indian-administered Kashmir.
Urs of Sachal Sarmast
Sindh's mystic-poetry festival at Daraza Sharif, raag, devotional music, and literary gatherings for Sachal Sarmast.
Spring Blossom Festival
Apricot and cherry blossoms wake the orchards of Hunza and Skardu, the first sign of mountain spring.
Pakistan Day Parade
The national day on 23 March, marked by a formal parade in Islamabad and civic events across the country.
Urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar
Sehwan's great urs for the 13th-century saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar: more than two million pilgrims, dhamaal drums at dusk, and the red-and-gold shrine lit all night.
Baloch Culture Day
A province-wide celebration of Baloch identity, embroidered dress, turbans, folk music, dance, and sajji feasts.
Mela Chiraghan, Festival of Lights
The Festival of Lights: three nights of lamps, dhol and dhamaal at the shrine of the Punjabi poet Shah Hussain, beside the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore.
Qaqlasht Festival
One of Chitral's oldest spring gatherings, polo, paragliding, and mountain culture on the Qaqlasht plateau.
Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) Mela
The Sikh harvest festival and pilgrimage, prayers, langar, and processions at Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib.
Eid Festivals
Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Pakistan's two great religious festivals of feasting, family, new clothes, and hospitality.
Hinglaj Mata Yatra
Pakistan's largest Hindu pilgrimage, a desert-mountain yatra to the ancient Hinglaj Mata shrine in Hingol.
Chilam Joshi (Joshi)
The Kalasha spring festival, milk stored for days, processions, and group dancing at the Charso grounds in Bumburet.
Ginani Festival
Summer solstice thanksgiving in Hunza and Nagar, wheat harvest rituals and shared meals in the orchards.
Guru Arjan Dev's Martyrdom (Jor Mela) and Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Barsi
Two June gatherings beside Lahore Fort: the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, and the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at his samadhi.
Urs of Abdullah Shah Ghazi
Karachi's own urs, on the hill above Clifton beach, for the 8th-century saint many Karachiites believe protects the city from the sea.
Sheedi Mela (Manghopir Festival)
The great festival of Pakistan's Sheedi community, people of East African descent, at the shrine of Pir Mangho in Karachi: drums, dhamaal, and the garlanding of the shrine's eldest crocodile.
Broghil Festival
A remote Wakhi mountain festival in upper Chitral, yak polo, buzkashi, horse sports, and high-altitude valley life.
Kalam Summer Festival
Swat's high-summer festival in Kalam, cultural shows, crafts, music, and mountain adventure in the upper valley.
Shandur Polo Festival
Chitral against Gilgit-Baltistan in freestyle polo on the world's highest polo ground, 3,700 metres up on the Shandur pass.
Urs of Baba Farid
Six days of urs at Pakpattan for Baba Farid, the first great poet of Punjabi, when the silver Gate of Paradise is opened at night.
Urs of Baba Bulleh Shah
Three days in Kasur for Bulleh Shah, the poet of the people, whose kafis are sung across Punjab: qawwali, dhamaal and his verses through the night.
Babusar Polo Festival
Three days of freestyle polo on Babusar Pass, at 4,173 metres one of the world's highest polo grounds, held in Diamer district each August since 2007.
Independence Day, Jashn-e-Azadi
Pakistan's national day on 14 August, flags, fireworks, and celebration nationwide, with Lahore's Minar-e-Pakistan at the symbolic centre.
Urs of Bari Imam
Islamabad's own urs, at Nurpur Shahan below the Margalla Hills, for the 17th-century saint Bari Imam, the city's patron.
Urs of Bahauddin Zakariya
Three days at the Multan shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya, who brought the Suhrawardi order to South Asia: pilgrims, qawwali and a city holiday.
Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh
Lahore's largest gathering: the three-day urs of Ali Hujwiri, Data Ganj Bakhsh, at Data Darbar, with up to a million devotees, qawwali and langar.
Urs of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Three nights at Bhit Shah for Shah Abdul Latif, the greatest poet of Sindhi, when his Shah Jo Risalo is sung through the night.
Pul Festival
The autumn festival celebrated only in Birir, the smallest and most secluded of the three Kalasha valleys.
Urs of Shah Rukn-e-Alam
The urs at Multan's great Tughluq tomb, the octagonal brick mausoleum of Shah Rukn-e-Alam on the edge of Multan Fort.
Sarfaranga Cold Desert Rally & Festival
A three-day jeep rally and festival on the Sarfaranga cold desert, 2,300 metres up where the Shigar valley meets the Indus, held each year since 2017.
Iqbal Day
Pakistan honours its national poet, Muhammad Iqbal, on his birthday: the guard changes at his tomb in Lahore, and Sialkot celebrates at the house where he was born.
Gilgit-Baltistan Independence Day
1 November in Gilgit: flags, parades and polo to mark the 1947 uprising that ended Dogra rule and joined Gilgit-Baltistan to Pakistan.
Thal Desert Rally & Cultural Festival
Punjab's autumn desert rally across the Thal, run by TDCP with Layyah and Muzaffargarh, wrapped in a Saraiki mela of music, horses and crafts.
Lok Mela, Islamabad
Lok Virsa's ten-day national folk festival in Islamabad: craftspeople, musicians and food from every province, with a pavilion for each.
Guru Nanak Gurpurab
The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Sikhism's most important pilgrimage in Pakistan, at Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur.
Sindhi Culture Day (Ajrak & Topi Day)
Sindh wears Ajrak and the Sindhi topi, folk music, poetry, and rallies celebrating one of the region's oldest identities.
Quaid-e-Azam Day
The birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, marked with the change of guard and ceremonies at the Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi.
Choimus (Chawmos)
The Kalasha winter solstice festival, fire, feasting, and rites that carry the community through the coldest months.
Christmas in Pakistan
Midnight services, carols and lit-up churches: Christmas with Pakistan's Christian communities, at Lahore's cathedral, Karachi's Christ Church and across Punjab.