Venue
Gopalbari, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302001, India
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Dhulandi Festival in Jaipur (Holi) guide
A gentle first Holi in Jaipur.
In short
Dhulandi at Hotel Khasa Kothi suits first-timers who want Holi colour with folk music and dancers in a managed setting. It usually falls in March, following the full moon of Phalguna, and Rajasthan Tourism confirms the date a few weeks ahead. Choose between this and the louder street version before booking a room near MI Road.
Dhulandi is the morning of Holi when people throw colour, and in Jaipur the state tourism department turns it into an open party on the lawns of Hotel Khasa Kothi, a heritage hotel owned by the state. Folk musicians and dancers set the pace while visitors from abroad and local families cover each other in powder.
For a first Holi it is a gentle way in. The street version in the walled city can be a lot to take on without a local friend, and here you get the music, the colour and the company of Rajasthani families with room to breathe. It also gives the Pink City a Holi tradition that needs no animals, which has not always been the case.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Where: Jaipur, India
Venue: Hotel Khasa Kothi
Held: Every year
Type of event: Cultural Events, Religious Festivals
Currency: Indian rupee (₹ INR)
Time zone: UTC+5:30 (IST), no daylight saving
Language: Hindi, Rajasthani; English widely used in tourism
Map
Close to the venue
- Amber Fort (Amer Fort) Attraction · 8.4 km
- Rambagh Palace Hotel · 2.2 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Preparing clothes, skin and phone for the colours
Holi colour gets everywhere, and some of it never comes out. Prepare the night before.
- Wear clothes and shoes you are happy to throw away. White shows the colour best, which is the point.
- Rub coconut oil or a thick moisturiser into your skin and hair before you leave. The powder lifts off far more easily in the shower.
- Sunglasses keep powder out of your eyes. Contact lens wearers should switch to glasses for the day.
- Seal your phone in a zip-lock bag. You can still take photos through the plastic.
- Leave passports, cards you do not need and good jewellery in the hotel safe.
Asking for consent before applying colour
Holi feels like a free-for-all, but it runs on consent. Ask before you smear colour on anyone you do not know, especially on the face, and take a no gracefully. Expect people to ask you in turn, and say so clearly if you would rather not.
Keep children within arm's reach once the lawns fill up, and agree a meeting point with your group, since everyone looks alike under a layer of pink and green. Going with friends is wise on the lawns and wiser still in the old city lanes.
If you have sensitive skin or asthma, do a patch test with a pinch of powder the day before, and keep a scarf handy to cover your nose and mouth when a cloud of colour goes up.
Holi public holiday dates and closures
The government holiday and the colour day do not always match. India's central holiday list for Delhi offices puts the public Holi holiday for 2027 on Tuesday 23 March, the same day the streets play. Banks, government offices and many shops shut that Tuesday, and some close early on the Monday afternoon ahead of the bonfires. Expect the counters you need to be closed on both days.
Change money and finish any paperwork, rail bookings included, before the weekend. Carry small notes for snacks and drinks, since card machines and colour-soaked hands do not mix.
What happens on the day
- Evening before
Holika Dahan
Neighbourhoods light their bonfires after dark and families walk round the flames. It is a short, local ritual; most people are home early.
- Morning
Colour on the lawns
Folk musicians and dancers start the programme at Hotel Khasa Kothi, and the powder comes out soon after. Arrive early for a place near the music.
- Late morning
The height of the play
The lawns are at their most crowded and the street Holi in the walled city is at its loudest.
- Early afternoon
Scrub and rest
Play winds down. People go home to wash, eat gujiya and sleep it off, and the city is quiet by mid-afternoon.
Etiquette and dress
Ask before you colour
A touch of gulal on the cheek with "Happy Holi" is the polite way in. Don't smear strangers, and leave alone anyone who steps back.
Dress for it
Wear old cotton clothes that cover arms and legs, and shoes you can throw away. Oil your hair and skin beforehand so the colour washes off more easily.
Protect eyes and phone
Sunglasses keep powder out of your eyes; a zip-lock bag keeps your phone working.
Women travellers
The hotel lawns are the comfortable choice. In the old city's lanes, go with a group or a local friend and avoid the late, drunker hours.
Street Holi or a hotel party: choosing before you book
Jaipur gives you two ways to play Holi, and it pays to choose before you book. One is the street version, loud and unscripted, in the lanes of the old walled city and around the temples. The other is the state's own colour party on the lawns of a heritage hotel, where folk musicians and dancers keep the rhythm and the colour play happens on open lawns with space to step back. Many first-timers start on the lawns and walk into the old city later, once they have the hang of it.
Give yourself the evening before as well. The bonfire night is half of Holi, and arriving tired on colour morning wastes the best hours. Our guide to the Pink City has ideas for the quieter days either side of the festival.
The stories of Prahlada and Krishna behind Holi
Holi tells two stories on two days. The bonfire recalls Prahlada, a boy devoted to Vishnu whose aunt Holika sat with him on a pyre meaning to kill him, and burned in his place. Lighting it is about good beating evil. The colour belongs to Krishna, who, worried that Radha would not love him for his dark skin, was told to let her paint his face any shade she liked. Dhulandi, also called Dhuleti or Rangwali Holi in other parts of India, is that playful half.
Food comes with it. Expect gujiya, sweet fried pastries stuffed with milk solids, alongside crisp mathri and syrupy malpua, washed down with thandai, a spiced milk drink. At Khasa Kothi the playing is gentler than a street Holi, with families from Jaipur standing next to visitors who have never done this before.
This colour party replaced something very different. Until 2011 the day before Holi meant painted elephants racing and playing polo in the city. Animal-welfare campaigners objected, the event was cancelled three years running, and in 2014 the state relaunched the day without animals.
Getting there
By air
Jaipur International Airport is at Sanganer, about 13 km south of the old city. Most long-haul travellers connect through Delhi; from Bangladesh, see Dhaka to New Delhi flights.
By rail
Jaipur Junction is the busiest station in Rajasthan, and Hotel Khasa Kothi, at Khasa Kothi Circle on MI Road, is a short walk from it.
By road
Delhi is about 268 km away. Jaipur, Delhi and Agra make up the Golden Triangle, so many travellers fit Holi into that loop.
On the day
Walk. Nobody wants to get into a car covered in wet powder, and MI Road runs east from Khasa Kothi towards the walled city's bazaars.
Where to stay during the festival
The hotel event draws a big crowd from abroad, so book a room as soon as the date is confirmed. The streets around MI Road and the railway station are the practical base: the lawns are on your doorstep and the trains are close for the onward trip.
Keep a change of clothes at the hotel for the walk back; most hotels would rather you did not drip colour through the lobby.
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Rambagh Palace5-star hotel
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Weather and what to pack
March in Jaipur is warm, dry and sunny. The India Meteorological Department's 1991-2020 normals for the airport give an average high of 32.0°C and a low of 17.4°C, with only 4.4 mm of rain in the whole month.
Mornings are fresh and pleasant for colour play; by early afternoon the sun is strong, and wet clothes dry quickly.
Worth packing
- Old cotton clothes you can throw away
- Sunglasses
- Coconut oil for hair and skin
- A zip-lock bag for your phone
- Sunscreen and a refillable water bottle
- A change of clothes and an old towel
Car hire in Jaipur
Airport transfer to Dhulandi Festival in Jaipur (Holi)
Met at arrivals at Jaipur International Airport (JAI) and driven door to door to Hotel Khasa Kothi.
- Jaipur International Airport (JAI) → Hotel Khasa Kothi
- 14 km · 20 min
Restaurants and food in India
Places to eat in India before or after the celebrations.
1135 AD
Level 2, Jaleb Chowk, Amer Palace, near Sheela Mata Temple, Amer, Jaipur 302002, India
Cuisine:RajasthaniMughlai
- Dine-in
- Private room
Karavalli
Vivanta Bengaluru Residency Road (formerly The Gateway Hotel), 66 Residency Road, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru 560025, India
Cuisine:South Indian coastalKerala
- Dine-in
Karim's
Gali Kababian, near Jama Masjid, Old Delhi, Delhi 110006, India
Cuisine:MughlaiNorth Indian
- Dine-in
- Takeaway
Indian Accent
The Lodhi, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003, India
Cuisine:Modern IndianTasting menu
- Dine-in
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
No. The elephant parade, races and polo that once took place on the eve of Holi last ran in 2011. Objections over painted animals and unregistered elephants led to cancellations in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the state replaced it with the Dhulandi colour festival, which uses no animals at all.
Rajasthan Tourism describes the colours as herbal, made from ingredients such as turmeric and flowers. That makes them gentler on skin than the cheapest street powders, though anyone with allergies should still test a little first.
Thousands. Before the 2025 edition, Jaipur newspapers reported that 3,000 to 5,000 foreign tourists from about 20 countries were expected at Khasa Kothi, on top of the local families who come every year.
Go to Govind Dev Ji Temple, the Krishna temple inside the City Palace complex in the old city. At Holi the courtyard fills with devotees singing and throwing gulal into the air, a very different scene from the hotel lawns.
Holi is the whole festival, which spans two days. Dhulandi is its second day, the morning of colour play that follows the bonfire night of Holika Dahan. The state's festival at Khasa Kothi takes its name from that colour day, not from the bonfires.
Thandai itself is a spiced milk drink with no alcohol. Some versions are mixed with bhang, a cannabis preparation that hits hard and late, so ask what is in a glass before you accept it, especially if someone offers it with a grin.
Stay & facilities
Rajasthan Tourism, the state government's tourism department, which also owns the hotel. The event appears on the national Utsav and Incredible India festival portals, which are the places to confirm the date each year.
It stands in Gopalbari, postcode 302001, on the roundabout named after the hotel along Mirza Ismail Road. Ask a driver for the circle by name and you will be dropped at the gate.
Timing & weather
Colour day falls on Tuesday 23 March 2027, with the Holika Dahan bonfires lit on the Monday evening before. The festival on the hotel lawns is held on that Tuesday, so plan to arrive by the Monday and catch the fires too.
Families & accessibility
Yes, more so than street Holi. Local families bring children, the lawns give space to move, and the herbal colours are milder. Dress children in old clothes, oil their hair and skin, and keep them close when the crowd is at its thickest.