Vishu
Kerala's golden new year
Significance
Marks the first day of the Malayalam month Medam — the Kerala solar new year. A deeply intimate home ritual with no public spectacle.
A dawn ritual — family elders wake you gently and lead you blindfolded to the Vishukkani: a tray of rice, golden laburnum flowers, yellow mango, Krishna idol and gold coins, lit by a single oil lamp. The first sight of the year must be auspicious.
First-time visitor
Book a Fort Kochi homestay, wake pre-dawn for the Vishukkani, have Sadya lunch, catch a Kathakali show in the evening.
What to see
- Vishukkani arrangement at dawn
- Kaineettam — elders gift cash to the young
- Sadya lunch on banana leaf
- Firework 'Vishu Padakkam' in the evening
Festival foods
Best for
Travel tips
- 1Booking a Kerala homestay is the best experience
- 2Temples open early — Guruvayur's 3 AM nirmalya is famed
- 3Pack yellow — the colour of Vishu
Never miss a festival
Want to hear about every event in Kerala?
Subscribe to Kerala or to the full Seasonal category — we'll nudge you at 90, 30, 7 and 1 days before each begins. Tune it off anytime from the bell in the header.
Explore Further
Linked places, stories and categories

Linked destination
Alleppey Backwaters
Kerala
Famous for its houseboat cruises through the serene network of canals and lagoons.
Visit pageMore festivals
Festival calendar — Kerala
Every cultural event we track in Kerala, sorted by date.
Browse by statePlaces
All destinations in Kerala
Curated places, rituals and hidden gems across the state.
Explore KeralaCategory
More seasonal festivals
Every seasonal event across India in one list.
See all SeasonalFrom the YatraJunction journal
Kerala · 10 min read
Kerala’s Backwaters: Sailing Through God’s Own Country
Coconut groves, kettuvallam houseboats and the slow heartbeat of the south — how the canals of Alleppey became the most poetic waterway in India.

Kerala · 9 min read
Fort Kochi: Where Four Empires Came for Pepper and Left Their Churches
Chinese fishing nets, a 400-year-old synagogue, a Dutch cemetery and the oldest European church in India — all tangled along two kilometres of Kerala's spice harbour.

Uttar Pradesh · 10 min read
Holi in Mathura: Where Krishna’s Colour Still Lingers
Forty days of flower-fights, turmeric, and divine mischief in the twin towns where Lord Krishna was born and fell in love. The most ancient Holi on earth.
Questions & Answers
About Vishu
Vishu 2027 is scheduled for 14 Apr 2027. That's 355 days from today.
You may also like
More festivals in Kerala


