Kheer Bhawani Mela
The Kheer Bhawani Mela is a single-day gathering at the Ragnya Devi temple in Tulmulla, about 27 km from Srinagar, held on Jyeshtha Ashtami — usually in May or June. Devotees offer kheer and milk at the sacred spring. Anyone may attend; dress modestly and expect heavy crowds.
- May or June, on Jyeshtha Ashtami
- 1 day
- Mata Kheer Bhawani (Ragnya Devi) temple, Tulmulla
- Free — open to all visitors
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
- May or June, on Jyeshtha Ashtami
- How long it runs
- 1 day
- Where
- Mata Kheer Bhawani (Ragnya Devi) temple, Tulmulla
- Entry
- Free — open to all visitors
- From Srinagar
- About 27 km to Tulmulla
- Dress code
- Modest; heads covered in the temple
- Time needed
- Half a day from Srinagar
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 Kheer Bhawani Mela
The Kheer Bhawani Mela is a single-day gathering at the Ragnya Devi temple at Tulmulla in Ganderbal, about 27 km from Srinagar, held on Jyeshtha Ashtami — usually in May or June. It is the largest annual gathering of the Kashmiri Pandit community, and devotees offer kheer and milk at the sacred spring around which the temple is built.
- Offerings of kheer and milk are made at the spring through the day.
- Devotees travel in from across the valley and from outside it, many returning to Kashmir specifically for the day.
- Chinar-shaded temple grounds fill from early morning; the crowd is largest around midday.
- Langars and community kitchens run around the temple for the duration.
How to attend Kheer Bhawani Mela
Getting to Tulmulla
Tulmulla is about 27 km from Srinagar towards Ganderbal — under an hour by cab in normal traffic, and a comfortable half-day trip. On mela day the last stretch is slow and parking sits well back from the temple, so allow more.
Anyone may attend
The mela is open to all visitors, not only to the community it belongs to. It is a religious gathering rather than a spectacle, so the right posture is that of a guest — watch, do not intrude, and follow what everyone around you is doing.
Dress modestly, remove shoes, ask before photographing
Cover shoulders and legs, cover your head inside the temple, and leave shoes where everyone else does. Photographing people at prayer without asking is the one thing that reliably causes offence.
Go early in the day
The grounds fill through the morning and peak around midday. Arriving early gets you the temple and the spring with room to stand, and gets you back to Srinagar before the return traffic.
The story behind Kheer Bhawani Mela
The spring that changes colour
The temple is built around a sacred spring dedicated to Ragnya Devi, and the tradition holds that the colour of its water carries meaning — a darkening read as a warning of hard times ahead. It is among the most revered sites in Kashmiri Pandit devotion, and the spring, not the building, is the shrine.
A return as much as a festival
For a community largely displaced from the valley, the mela is an annual return as well as an observance — many attendees travel back to Kashmir specifically for this one day. That is what gives the gathering its particular weight, and it is worth understanding before you arrive.
Kheer Bhawani Mela in photographs
Sartaj's on-ground tips
Born and raised in Kashmir · 20 years planning these trips
- Go early. By late morning the approach road is parked solid and you walk the last stretch anyway — arriving at eight makes it a different day.
- Take the Ganderbal road and combine it with Manasbal Lake, twenty minutes further on. It is the quietest of the valley's big lakes and nobody plans it.
- This is a devotional gathering, not an event. Cameras down around the spring unless you have asked, and you will be treated as a guest throughout.
Before you go
Kheer Bhawani Mela questions
On Jyeshtha Ashtami, which falls in May or June depending on the Hindu lunar calendar and therefore moves each year. It is a single day. We list the window rather than a date because the calendar date changes annually.
Yes. The temple and the mela are open to any visitor. Dress modestly, cover your head inside, remove your shoes where others do, and ask before photographing people — the same etiquette that applies at any place of worship in the valley.
It is about 27 km to Tulmulla on the Ganderbal road — under an hour by cab in ordinary traffic and an easy half-day trip. On mela day itself the last few kilometres are congested and parking is well back from the temple, so leave earlier than you would otherwise.
Still have a question? Ask Sartaj directly — born and raised in Kashmir, 20 years of planning these trips.
May–Jun
Build the trip around Kheer Bhawani Mela
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