What's on in Hyderabad, India through the year

Peak crowds — Numaish, Sankranti

• Festival

  Numaish

  1 Jan – 15 FebMajor festivalCrowded

  The All India Industrial Exhibition has filled the Nampally grounds every January since the 1930s: two thousand stalls, food from every state, and half the city going at least once. Evenings are shoulder to shoulder. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Sankranti

  13–16 JanHarvestClosures

  The harvest holiday empties the city as Telugu families go back to their villages for three days. Kites go up over the old city, and a lot of restaurants and offices simply shut. Source ↗

Still on: Cool dry season (15 Nov – 15 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Numaish, Ramzan and the haleem season

• Holiday

  Ramzan and the haleem season

  1 Feb – 25 Mar · usuallyRamadan & EidCrowded

  The one month a year the old city cooks haleem, sold from clay ovens outside every bakery around Charminar from late afternoon. The night markets at Madina and Pathergatti run until two. Source ↗

Still on: Numaish (1 Jan – 15 Feb), Cool dry season (15 Nov – 15 Feb (usually))

Busy — Ramzan and the haleem season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Ugadi

  15 Mar – 15 Apr · usuallyMajor festivalClosures

  Telugu new year, kept at home rather than in the street: mango leaves over the doorways, the bitter-sweet pachadi, and offices and most shops closed for the day. Nothing to watch, but plenty shut. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Deccan summer heat

  20 Mar – 5 Jun · usuallyExtreme heat

  Heat advisories start in late March and the middle of the day goes indoors until the rains break. Golconda and the Qutb Shahi tombs have almost no shade, so they are a first-light or last-light job. Source ↗

Still on: Ramzan and the haleem season (1 Feb – 25 Mar (usually))

Busy — Summer vacation (Kerala / far south) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Ugadi (15 Mar – 15 Apr (usually)), Deccan summer heat (20 Mar – 5 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Muharram and Ashura, Summer vacation (north & east) in India

• Holiday

  Muharram and Ashura

  20 May – 5 Jul · usuallyMuharram & AshuraClosures

  Hyderabad's old city keeps one of India's largest Muharram observances, with mourning processions past the Ashurkhanas around Charminar and roads closed for Ashura, a gazetted central holiday. Source ↗

Still on: Deccan summer heat (20 Mar – 5 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Muharram and Ashura, Bonalu

• Season

  Southwest monsoon

  10 Jun – 30 Sep · usually

  The Deccan rain arrives in bands rather than a wall of water and the city stays workable, with the lakes at Hussain Sagar and Osman Sagar full and the rock outcrops around Gandipet green.

• Festival

  Bonalu

  25 Jun – 15 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  Four consecutive Sundays through the month of Ashada, one for each of the big Mahankali temples in turn, with pot-carrying processions, drumming and the Rangam prophecy at Lal Darwaza. Roads round each temple close for the day. Source ↗

Still on: Deccan summer heat (20 Mar – 5 Jun (usually)), Muharram and Ashura (20 May – 5 Jul (usually))

Peak crowds — Muharram and Ashura, Bonalu

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Muharram and Ashura (20 May – 5 Jul (usually)), Southwest monsoon (10 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Bonalu (25 Jun – 15 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Bonalu, Ganesh Chaturthi immersion

• Festival

  Ganesh Chaturthi immersion

  20 Aug – 30 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  Ten days of pandals ending with the Khairatabad idol, one of the tallest in India, hauled to Hussain Sagar in a procession that takes over the Tank Bund and most of a day and night. Source ↗

Still on: Southwest monsoon (10 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Bonalu (25 Jun – 15 Aug (usually))

Busy — Ganesh Chaturthi immersion, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Bathukamma

  20 Sep – 25 Oct · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Nine evenings when Telangana women build and float tiered flower stacks on the tanks and lakes, singing round them in a circle. Tank Bund on the last night is the version everyone photographs. Source ↗

Still on: Southwest monsoon (10 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Ganesh Chaturthi immersion (20 Aug – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Autumn break (Dussehra / Diwali) in India, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Diwali and the smoke after

  15 Oct – 15 Nov · usuallyRisk

  The old city sells little but crackers for a fortnight, and the monitors spike for two or three days either side of the night itself. It is the worst air of Hyderabad's year, and it clears within the week. Source ↗

Still on: Bathukamma (20 Sep – 25 Oct (usually))

Busy — Cool dry season

• Season

  Cool dry season

  15 Nov – 15 Feb · usuallyCrowded

  The stretch worth planning around: dry, mild, clear enough to walk Golconda in the afternoon. It is also wedding season, so hotels and the roads around the convention centres run full.

Still on: Diwali and the smoke after (15 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Cool dry season, Winter break in India

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Cool dry season (15 Nov – 15 Feb (usually))