Maharashtra is a land of rich cultural heritage and
traditions. The diverse form of landscape and environment make the
state's culture more colourful. Maharashtrians celebrate every fair with
great fervour and enthusiasm. The sacred Kumb Mela at Nashik that comes
after every twelve years is regarded to be the most important religious
fair in Maharashtra.
As Maharashtrians have great belief of Lord Ganesh, Ganesh Utsav at
Sangli and Pune are the fairs that Maharashtrians celebrate with great
fun fare, which are attended by the maximum number of visitors even from
foreign countries. The Maharashtra government in collaboration with the
Union government is promoting the Pune fair as a major tourists
attraction.
Other important temple fairs include Changdeo fair at the Markandeya
Temple near Edlabad, Kiran Utsav at the Mahalaxmi Temple at Kolhapur,
Rathyatra at the Kalaram Temple in Nashik, and the Shrirama Rathotsava
fair and the Navaratra Mahalaxmi fair at the Navaratra Mahalaxmi temple
in Jalgaon.
The Khuldabad Urs is a festival for Muslims; celebrated for five days.
Mount Mary Festival, which is held every year at Bandra, Mumbai attracts
huge crowds of the city. The Snake festival at Battis Shirala town too
attracts large number of tourists from India and aboard.
