Long weekends 2026 in India

India has 14 public holidays in 2026, taken from the official government list. 3 fall on a weekend.

Leave rules differ by employer and contract in India, so the planner shows every budget from one to ten days. Among the 16 countries we cover outside our main markets, India ranks number 4 for full days off this year.

36 more days appear on the official list without counting here: New Year's Day (1 January, not a day off for most workers), Hazarat Ali's Birthday (3 January, not a day off for most workers), Makar Sankranti / Magha Bihu / Pongal (14 January, not a day off for most workers), Sri Panchami, Basant Panchami (23 January, not a day off for most workers), Guru Ravi Das's Birthday (1 February, not a day off for most workers) and Birthday of Swami Dayananda Saraswati (12 February, not a day off for most workers). The planner leaves them out so every break works for everyone in India.

Each break below starts and ends on a free day, contains at least one public holiday, and needs no more than 10 days of leave. They are ranked by how many days off each day of leave brings.

24 January to 1 February: 4 days of leave (27 to 30 January) around Republic Day give 9 days off, 2.3 days for every day used.

Around Mahavir Jayanti, 1 day of leave on Mon 30 March unlocks 4 days away, 28 to 31 March.

Around Id- ul- Zuha (Bakrid), 1 day of leave on Fri 29 May unlocks 4 days away, 28 to 31 May.

22 to 26 August: 2 days of leave (24 August and 25 August) around Milad- un- Nabi or Id- e- Milad (Birthday of Prophet Mohammad) give 5 days off, 2.5 days for every day used.

Around Dussehra, 1 day of leave on Mon 19 October unlocks 4 days away, 17 to 20 October.

Around Guru Nanak's Birthday, 1 day of leave on Mon 23 November unlocks 4 days away, 21 to 24 November.

With 1 day of leave the longest run you can build is 4 days, 28 to 31 March. Three days stretch to 9 days off (28 March to 5 April). Five days, a typical week, become 10 days off around Republic Day, 17 to 26 January.

Ten days, the most this planner books in one go, give 17 days in a row, 10 to 26 January. For nine days or more away you need 3 days of leave.

Winter: Republic Day on 26 January and Christmas Day on 25 December. The pick of the season is 24 January to 1 February with 4 days of leave for 9 days off.

Spring: Id- ul- Fitr on 21 March, Mahavir Jayanti on 31 March, Good Friday on 3 April, Budha Purnima on 1 May and Id- ul- Zuha (Bakrid) on 28 May. The pick of the season is 28 to 31 March with 1 day of leave for 4 days off.

Summer: Muharram on 26 June, Independence Day on 15 August and Milad- un- Nabi or Id- e- Milad (Birthday of Prophet Mohammad) on 26 August. The pick of the season is 22 to 26 August with 2 days of leave for 5 days off.

Autumn: Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday on 2 October, Dussehra on 20 October, Diwali (Deepavali) on 8 November and Guru Nanak's Birthday on 24 November. The pick of the season is 17 to 20 October with 1 day of leave for 4 days off.

From India, long weekends suit Goa's beaches in the cool dry months, the hill stations of Shimla, Munnar and Darjeeling in the summer heat, and Rajasthan's forts and palaces from October to March. Kerala's backwaters are lovely after the monsoon.

Your strongest breaks this year fall in January, March and May, so pick the trip that suits that season, and book early: everyone else in India has the same days off.

2027 is planned as well, each with its own dates and breaks. 2028 follows as soon as the official list is out; we add it on the day it is published.

Holiday dates move every year: fixed-date days change their weekday, and Easter moves between late March and late April, which is why the best breaks are never the same twice.

Every date on this page comes from the official source for India: National Portal of India: Holiday Calendar, central list 'as per the Circular issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions' and the States and Union Territories holiday calendars and DoPT office memorandum on holidays, read directly and compared day by day with an independent second source. A year appears once its official list is published, and we never fill a gap with another country's dates.

The planner treats weekends and full public holidays as free days and works out where your days of leave turn into the longest time off. Days kept in part of India or as observances are shown but never counted. Last checked on 1 October 2026.