Last updated: October 2026 · Method: compiled from public listings and traveller reports; treat figures as planning aids, not quotations.
On Kartik Purnima night, the Kolayat fair’s signature scene is a lake covered in floating lamps: thousands of diyas set on the holy water by pilgrims through the evening. After dark, the Kolayat fair stages its signature scene: lamps floated on the holy water by the thousand.
The night fair
- The lamps: diyas set afloat on Kartik Purnima night, a date the lunar calendar fixes.
- For photographs, bring a tripod to the ghat edges and use the long-exposure settings that suit work over water.
- The etiquette: the lamps are prayers; photograph the water, not the worshippers launching them.
The scene builds rather than switches on. From dusk the ghat steps fill with pilgrims launching small clay lamps, and by mid-evening the water carries hundreds of points of light that drift and gather on the dark surface. The date is lunar, so the dates guide fixes the night rather than the printed calendar. For photographers the method is slow work: a tripod at the ghat edges, the long-exposure settings suited to work over water, and patience for the wind to drop, since ripples smear the reflections that make the frame. The etiquette line is absolute: the lamps are prayers, not props, so photograph the water and the light, never launch-side worshippers without asking, and step around, not across, the families setting their diyas afloat.