What's on in Lahore, Pakistan through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Rule

  Basant and the kite ban

  1 Jan – 31 DecClosures

  Kite flying has been banned in Pakistan since 2005 after deaths caused by glass-coated string, and Basant only returns when the province allows it for a weekend. Do not plan a trip around it without checking it is on. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Ramadan nights

  18 Feb – 19 MarRamadan & EidClosuresCrowded

  The food streets keep their shutters down all day and then run until sehri. Fort Road and Gawalmandi are at their busiest at two in the morning, and daytime sightseeing is unusually unhurried. Source ↗

Still on: Smog season (15 Oct – 31 Jan (usually))

Busy — Ramadan nights, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Ramadan nights (18 Feb – 19 Mar)

Peak crowds — Ramadan nights, Mela Chiraghan

• Festival

  Mela Chiraghan

  20 Mar – 5 Apr · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Three nights at Shah Hussain's shrine in Baghbanpura, beside the Shalimar Gardens: lamps, dhol and dhamaal until morning. The city's oldest surviving fair, and nothing about it is arranged for visitors. Source ↗

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Ramadan nights (18 Feb – 19 Mar)

Busy — Mela Chiraghan, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Mela Chiraghan (20 Mar – 5 Apr (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Pre-monsoon heat

  1 May – 25 Jun · usuallyExtreme heat

  The plains bake before the rains and load-shedding tracks the demand, so the air conditioning is not a given. The walled city becomes a dawn-and-dusk proposition and the gardens take everyone in between. Source ↗

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Pre-monsoon heat (1 May – 25 Jun (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Hazard

  Monsoon street flooding

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyFlood season

  The rain arrives in short violent spells the drains in the old city cannot take, and the underpasses close with them. It is also the only stretch of the year the air here is genuinely clean. Source ↗

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Monsoon street flooding (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Smog season

  15 Oct – 31 Jan · usuallyWinter smog

  The province declares a smog season and acts on it: schools shut, offices go part-remote, brick kilns and building sites stop. Lahore trades places with Delhi at the top of the daily rankings for weeks at a time. Source ↗

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Smog season (15 Oct – 31 Jan (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Basant and the kite ban (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Smog season (15 Oct – 31 Jan (usually))