The festivals of Punjab run from a desert jeep rally in February to a Sufi festival of lights in spring and a Sikh pilgrimage in April, each drawing crowds to a different part of the province. Timing a trip around one of these adds a layer to a Punjab visit that sightseeing alone doesn't.
This is a month-by-month guide to what's on, where, and what to expect if you go.
| Festival | Roughly when | Where | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cholistan Jeep Rally | February | Derawar Fort, Bahawalpur | Motorsport |
| Basant | Early-mid February (2026 revival; dates vary by year) | Lahore | Kite flying |
| Mela Chiraghan | Spring (dates vary) | Shalimar Gardens, Lahore | Sufi urs, festival of lights |
| Vaisakhi | Mid-April | Hasan Abdal, Punjab-wide | Sikh pilgrimage |
| Urs season | Year-round, peaks vary by shrine | Shrines across Punjab | Sufi devotional |
February: the Cholistan Jeep Rally
The Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally is an annual motorsport event run across Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan, based around Derawar Fort. It typically runs for several days in mid-February, with vehicle inspections and a drivers' conference at the start, qualifying and category races through the middle days, and a prize ceremony to close.
It draws a mix of competitors and spectators from across Pakistan, and it's usually paired with a cultural night and other desert-tourism events around Derawar. February suits the desert well: daytime temperatures are mild rather than the extreme heat Cholistan sees for most of the year, which is part of why the rally is scheduled then. If you're planning around it, check the current year's dates before booking, since they shift from year to year. Our guides to the Cholistan Jeep Rally and Derawar Fort cover logistics for the visit itself.
February: Basant, cautiously revived
Basant, Lahore's historic spring kite-flying festival, was banned for close to two decades after chemical-coated and metal-reinforced kite string caused a string of deaths and injuries, including to motorcyclists on the roads below. It returned in February 2026 for the first time in 19 years, under a new law, the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Act 2025, restricting flying to plain cotton string and approved kite sizes.
That first revival still recorded fatalities, and enforcement of the new rules has been uneven since. Treat Basant as a festival with a genuine safety record to check before you go rather than an established annual fixture: confirm whether it's running in the year you're travelling, and if you do attend, stay off open rooftops and away from main roads, where stray string is still the main risk to anyone not actually flying a kite.
Spring: Mela Chiraghan at Shalimar Gardens
Mela Chiraghan, the "Festival of Lamps", marks the urs (death anniversary) of the 16th-century Sufi poet Shah Hussain and is held at Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. It was revived in recent years after a long gap, with the gardens lit by lamps over several days and devotional music running through the nights.
Dates move with the lunar-linked urs calendar and with the Walled City Lahore Authority's own scheduling, so confirm the current year's dates locally rather than assuming a fixed date. If your interest is Sufi culture more broadly rather than this one event, it connects naturally to a wider look at Punjab's Sufi shrines and the urs calendar at shrines province-wide.
April: Vaisakhi and the pilgrimage to Hasan Abdal
Vaisakhi, marking the founding of the Sikh Khalsa in 1699, brings thousands of Sikh pilgrims to Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hasan Abdal every April, many travelling from India on pilgrim visas alongside the much larger number of Pakistani Sikhs and visitors who attend locally. The main ceremony is usually held in mid-April, with events running for several days either side.
Hasan Abdal sits just off the GT Road between Islamabad and Taxila, so it's an easy stop to combine with a wider Punjab itinerary if your dates line up. It is a religious event first, so visiting as a spectator means being respectful of pilgrims and ceremony rather than treating it purely as a tourist sight.
Year-round: urs at Punjab's Sufi shrines
Beyond these set dates, Punjab's Sufi shrines each hold their own urs, an annual festival marking the saint's death anniversary, with the biggest examples at Data Darbar in Lahore and the shrine of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan drawing enormous crowds over several days. These are devotional events with qawwali, langar (free food) and all-night gatherings rather than tourist festivals, and they follow the Islamic calendar, so the Gregorian date shifts by around 10 days each year.
Quieter months, and what fills them
Summer (June to August) and much of autumn have no major province-wide festival on this calendar, which is one reason many travellers choose those months for straightforward sightseeing rather than festival travel: hotel prices in Lahore and Bahawalpur are closer to normal, and you won't be planning a route around crowds. Winter (December and January) is also quiet on the festival front, though it's peak season for weddings across the province, which fills hotels in a different way and is worth asking about when you book.
Planning a trip around a festival
Festival dates in Punjab move for a mix of reasons: lunar calendars for religious events, government scheduling for civic ones like Basant, and weather for outdoor events like the jeep rally. None of the dates in this guide should be treated as fixed for future years; check with the organising body (the Punjab tourism department, the Walled City Lahore Authority, or local district administration, depending on the event) close to your travel dates.
Crowds and accommodation prices both rise sharply around these dates in Lahore and Bahawalpur especially, so book hotels well ahead if your trip is built around one of them. If your plan is more flexible, our guide to when to visit Punjab can help you weigh a festival trip against Punjab's more predictable weather seasons.
Frequently asked questions
Is Basant happening this year?
Basant's return is recent and its schedule is still unsettled year to year, with licensing and safety rules changing each time it's held. Check current news or the Punjab government's kite-flying portal before planning a trip around it.
When is the Cholistan Jeep Rally held?
It's usually held over several days in February, based at Derawar Fort in Bahawalpur district, but exact dates are announced separately each year and have shifted in the past, so confirm before booking.
What is Mela Chiraghan?
It's a Sufi festival of lights at Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, marking the urs of the poet-saint Shah Hussain, with lamps lit across the gardens and devotional music over several nights in spring.
Can non-Sikh visitors attend Vaisakhi at Hasan Abdal?
Visitors are generally welcome to observe respectfully, but it is a religious pilgrimage for Sikh devotees first, and access to some areas may be managed for pilgrims during the busiest days.
Which Punjab festival is best for families?
The Cholistan Jeep Rally has the broadest general-audience appeal, with racing, a cultural night and desert scenery. Urs festivals and Basant both involve large, dense crowds and are less suited to young children.