Kankaria Carnival 2026: Ahmedabad's Lakefront Festival

The Kankaria Carnival is the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's week-long festival at Kankaria Lake, held in the last week of December, traditionally from 25 to 31 December. It began in 2008, when the rebuilt lakefront was inaugurated on Christmas Day, and has run almost every year since. For seven evenings the 2.25 km promenade around the 15th-century lake becomes one long venue: stages with music, dance, folk and comedy performances by local and visiting artists, light displays over the water, art exhibitions, competitions and activities for children, and a food court alongside the lakefront's permanent stalls. The toy train, Kids City, the zoo, the balloon ride and the amusement rides all operate through the week. The carnival closes on New Year's Eve, which makes Kankaria the city's biggest public alternative to a ticketed party. The corporation normally publishes the 2026 line-up, timings and entry arrangements in mid-December; at the time of writing it had not yet been announced. Expect very large crowds, traffic diversions around Maninagar and heavy use of the Blue Line's Kankaria East station. This page lists carnival programmes and related events at Kankaria as they are confirmed.