The short answer
Onam is Kerala's main harvest festival, celebrated by people of all faiths over around ten days in August or September. The dates follow the Malayalam calendar and change each year. Highlights are the sadya feast served on a banana leaf, flower carpets called pookalam and snake boat races on the backwaters.
What is Onam?
Onam celebrates the harvest and the legend of King Mahabali, whose annual return the festival marks. It falls in the Malayalam month of Chingam, and the main day is Thiruvonam.
What happens at Onam?
Sadya
A vegetarian feast of many dishes served on a banana leaf. Many hotels offer one to guests.
Pookalam
Circular flower carpets made at the doorstep, growing day by day.
Boat races
Long snake boats with large crews race on the backwaters around this time of year.
Travelling during Onam
Onam is a public holiday period, so domestic travel is busy and some shops and offices close. Hotels fill up, especially in the backwaters.
Local tipBook early if you want to be in Kerala for Thiruvonam, and confirm that year's date with us.
The days of Onam
Onam builds over about ten days, starting with Atham. Each day the pookalam at the doorstep gets larger. The most important day is Thiruvonam, when families gather for the sadya and the house is cleaned and decorated for Mahabali's return. Many Keralites travel home for this day, wherever they live.
The Onam sadya
The sadya is a vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf and eaten with the right hand. It can include more than twenty dishes, among them rice, sambar, avial, thoran, olan, pickles, papadam, banana chips and at least one payasam, a sweet dessert. Dishes are placed on the leaf in a set order. Many hotels serve a sadya on Thiruvonam, and some offer one throughout the festival.
Boat races and other events
The snake boat races are some of Kerala's great sights, with long, narrow boats and large crews rowing in time to songs. Races are held on the backwaters around this season. Dates vary, and some races fall before or after Onam. Thrissur also holds Pulikali, with performers painted as tigers, and there are cultural events in many towns.
How we plan an Onam trip
Onam falls at the end of the monsoon, so the country is green and there can still be showers. We build the trip around one or two Onam experiences, such as a sadya at a good hotel or a boat race, and plan the rest so you are not caught in holiday traffic. Our Cochin team checks the festival and race dates for your year.
From our Cochin officeBook hotels and houseboats early. Domestic travellers fill the backwaters and hill stations during the Onam holidays.
Our Kerala expert
Based in Cochin
Our Kerala office has been planning trips from Cochin for 20 years. This guide reflects what we tell travellers who call us.
Ready to plan your Kerala trip?
Ask us to plan around festival dates.
Frequently asked questions
Usually in late August or September. The exact date changes each year with the Malayalam calendar.
Yes. Many hotels hold a sadya and events, and public celebrations are open to all.
It is festive and memorable but busy, at the end of the monsoon. Book well ahead.
The sadya: a vegetarian feast of many dishes served on a banana leaf, finished with payasam.
It is mainly a Kerala festival, also celebrated by Malayali communities elsewhere in India and abroad.
