Eid & Navroz in Kashmir
Eid is observed twice a year on the lunar calendar, so it shifts about eleven days earlier annually; Navroz falls around 20–21 March. Both are family occasions rather than spectacles — markets are packed beforehand and many shops shut on the day itself, which is worth planning a Kashmir itinerary around.
- Eid moves yearly; Navroz around 20–21 March
- 1 to 3 days each
- Valley-wide — Jamia Masjid and Hazratbal draw the largest crowds
- Free — public observance
Typical window — this festival's dates move each year and are confirmed close to the time. We publish them here as soon as they are announced.
At a glance
- When it falls
- Eid moves yearly; Navroz around 20–21 March
- How long it runs
- 1 to 3 days each
- Where
- Valley-wide — Jamia Masjid and Hazratbal draw the largest crowds
- Entry
- Free — public observance
- On the day
- Many shops and offices closed
- Before the day
- Markets exceptionally busy
- At the mosques
- Modest dress; heads covered
The window above is the pattern this festival reliably falls in, not an announced date. We add exact dates here once they are confirmed.
What happens at Eid & Navroz
Eid and Navroz are the valley's two biggest observances. Eid falls twice a year on the Islamic lunar calendar and shifts about eleven days earlier annually; Navroz, the Persian new year, falls around 20–21 March. Both are family occasions rather than public spectacles — which matters for a visitor mostly in what it does to the markets, the shops and the roads.
- Dawn congregations at Hazratbal and the Jamia Masjid draw the largest gatherings in the valley.
- Markets in the days before are packed — Eid shopping is the busiest retail period of the Kashmiri year.
- Wazwan feasting happens in family homes rather than in public.
- Many shops, offices and some services close on the day itself.
How to attend Eid & Navroz
Plan the itinerary around it, not out of it
The practical effect on a visitor is closure: shops shut, some drivers are off, and Srinagar's usual rhythm pauses for a day. Keep a travel day or a Gulmarg or Pahalgam day for the occasion itself rather than a shopping or sightseeing day.
Visiting the mosques
Hazratbal and the Jamia Masjid are both worth visiting on ordinary days and are extraordinarily crowded on Eid morning. If you go, go respectfully and stay outside the prayer area — dress modestly, cover your head, and do not photograph people at prayer.
See the markets in the run-up
The days before Eid are the most alive Srinagar's markets ever get — the old city, Lal Chowk and the bakeries especially. This is the part a visitor can genuinely take part in, and it is far more interesting than the day itself.
Ask, and you may be fed
Wazwan on Eid happens in homes, not restaurants, and hospitality in Kashmir runs strong. Guests who show interest respectfully are quite often invited in — that is not something to expect, but it is worth being open to.
The story behind Eid & Navroz
Two Eids, a lunar calendar
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha follows roughly two months later. Both are set by the Islamic lunar calendar, which runs about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian year — which is why they move steadily earlier and why no fixed date can be published for them in advance.
Navroz in the valley
Navroz, the Persian new year at the spring equinox, is observed in Kashmir with a particular character shaped by the valley's long Central Asian and Persian connections. It lands around 20–21 March, close to the start of the tulip window, and marks the turn of the season as much as the calendar.
Eid & Navroz in photographs
Sartaj's on-ground tips
Born and raised in Kashmir · 20 years planning these trips
- The two or three days before Eid are the best street photography in Kashmir all year. The old city bakeries at dawn, in particular, are something else.
- Do not schedule a shopping day or a full sightseeing day on Eid itself. Half of what you intend to visit will be shut and your driver may well be with family.
- Navroz falls right at the front of the tulip window. If your dates are flexible in March, the two together make one very good week.
Before you go
Eid & Navroz questions
Eid follows the Islamic lunar calendar and is confirmed by moon sighting, so the date moves about eleven days earlier each year and is only fixed shortly beforehand. Navroz is stable, around 20–21 March. We do not print an estimated Eid date here for the same reason nobody local will give you one until the night before.
No — but plan around it. Expect many shops and offices shut on the day, busier roads and packed markets beforehand, and some drivers and guides taking the day off. It is a good day to be in Gulmarg or Pahalgam, or to travel between towns, rather than to shop in Srinagar.
Respectfully, yes. The mosques are visitable outside the prayer area with modest dress and covered heads, the markets beforehand are open to everyone, and Kashmiri hospitality being what it is, guests are quite often invited to eat. What you should not do is treat prayer as a photo opportunity.
Still have a question? Ask Sartaj directly — born and raised in Kashmir, 20 years of planning these trips.
Moves yearly
Build the trip around Eid & Navroz
Tell us the dates you can travel and we will tell you honestly whether they land in the window — and build the stays, cabs and days around it if they do.
Other Kashmir festivals
Year-roundSufi Festivals & Urs
The urs gatherings at Kashmir's Sufi shrines, marked with night-long devotional singing and some of the valley's oldest living music.
Read more
Mar–AprTulip Festival, Srinagar
Asia's largest tulip garden opens for roughly three weeks each spring, with over a million bulbs flowering below the Zabarwan hills.
Read more
Jul–AugAmarnath Yatra
The annual pilgrimage to the ice lingam at Amarnath cave, on foot from either Pahalgam or Baltal, across roughly two months of high summer.
Read more