Makar Sankranti 2027: Date, Timings, and the Festivals of the Harvest

One of the most joyful festivals of the Indian year, Makar Sankranti fills the winter sky with colour and in Gujarat, the land of Dwarka and Somnath, it is the great kite festival of Uttarayan. This guide, from the team behind Somnath Dwarka Tour Package, a unit of Experience My India, covers the Makar Sankranti 2027 date and timings, its meaning, the many harvest festivals it brings and how it is celebrated as Uttarayan in Gujarat.

When is Makar Sankranti 2027?

Makar Sankranti 2027 is observed on Friday, 15 January 2027. This is because the exact Sankranti moment, when the Sun enters sidereal Capricorn or Makara Rashi, falls late in the evening of Thursday, 14 January 2027, at about 9:14 PM, after sunset. By tradition, when the Sankranti moment occurs after sunset, the religious observances such as holy baths and charity shift to the next sunrise, which is why the main day of observance in 2027 is 15 January. Makar Sankranti is one of the few Hindu festivals set by the solar calendar rather than the moon, so it usually falls on 14 or 15 January each year, unlike most festivals whose dates move more widely. The exact day and timings can vary slightly by region and tradition and in Gujarat the kite festival of Uttarayan is traditionally flown on 14 January, with the 15th celebrated as Vasi Uttarayan, so both days are festive.

Makar Sankranti 2027 at a glance

What is Makar Sankranti?

Makar Sankranti marks the day the Sun enters the zodiac sign of Capricorn or Makara and begins its northward journey, known as Uttarayan. It is a festival of the Sun, of the harvest and of new light, celebrating the end of the coldest part of winter and the lengthening of the days. Across India it is a time for holy dips in sacred rivers, for giving to charity or daan and for eating sweets made of sesame and jaggery or til and gud, which warm the body in winter. It is one of the most ancient and widely celebrated festivals in India, known by many names and marked in many ways from region to region, but everywhere it carries the same spirit of gratitude, warmth and the welcoming of the Sun's return to the north. Unlike most Hindu festivals, which follow the moon and so shift across the calendar, Makar Sankranti follows the Sun, which is why it falls at almost the same time every year, around the middle of January, at the turning of the season.

Makar Sankranti 2027 timings

The key timings for Makar Sankranti 2027, based on the reckoning for southern India, are:

The Punya Kaal is the auspicious window for the holy bath, prayers and charity, with the Maha Punya Kaal in the morning being especially blessed. Please note that these timings are indicative and calculated for the Bengaluru and Karnataka region and they vary by location across India, so it is best to confirm the exact Sankranti and Punya Kaal timings for your city with a local panchang before the festival.

The many festivals of Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is celebrated under many names across India and the days around it bring a whole cluster of harvest festivals. Here is how they fall in 2027:

In the north, Lohri is celebrated with bonfires, while Bhogi marks the first day of the four-day Pongal in the south, followed by Thai Pongal and Mattu Pongal. In the east, Magh Bihu in Assam and Poush Sankranti in Bengal celebrate the harvest and in Gujarat and the west, the day is Uttarayan, the kite festival. Though the names and customs differ, all these festivals share the same solar occasion and the same joyful spirit of the harvest. This makes Makar Sankranti perhaps the most truly pan-Indian of all festivals, celebrated from Punjab to Tamil Nadu and Assam to Gujarat on the same days, each region colouring it with its own food, music and customs, yet all giving thanks for the harvest and welcoming the Sun's return.

Uttarayan: Makar Sankranti in Gujarat

In Gujarat, Makar Sankranti is Uttarayan and it is one of the biggest and most spectacular festivals of the year, famous above all for kite-flying. On Uttarayan, celebrated on 14 January with Vasi Uttarayan on the 15th, the skies over every Gujarati city and town fill with countless colourful kites, from dawn to dusk, as people of all ages take to the rooftops for friendly kite-fighting battles, cutting each other's strings amid cries of joy. Ahmedabad hosts the famous International Kite Festival, drawing kite-flyers from around the world and the whole state seems to take to the air. Alongside the kites, Gujaratis feast on festive foods like undhiyu, the mixed winter vegetable dish and sweets of til and gud such as chikki and til-gud ladoo, as covered in our famous food of Gujarat guide. Uttarayan is a wonderful, colourful time to be in Gujarat. As night falls on Uttarayan, the kites give way to glowing paper lanterns or tukkals, launched into the dark sky, so that the celebration continues from the bright, kite-filled day into a magical, lantern-lit night, rounding off one of the most joyful festivals in the whole Gujarati calendar.

How Makar Sankranti is celebrated

Makar Sankranti is celebrated with a rich variety of customs across India. Many people rise early for a holy dip in a sacred river or the sea, believed to be especially purifying on this day, followed by prayers to the Sun God and offerings of charity to the needy. Sweets made of sesame and jaggery are prepared and shared, with the saying that one should eat til-gud and speak sweet words. In the north, bonfires are lit for Lohri; in the south, the Pongal dish of newly harvested rice is cooked; in the east, harvest feasts are held; and in Gujarat and the west, the skies fill with kites. Everywhere, it is a time for family, food, gratitude and the welcoming of warmer, brighter days ahead, one of the happiest occasions in the Indian calendar. Cattle, too, are honoured on these days, washed, decorated and fed, in thanks for their part in the harvest, as on Mattu Pongal in the south, reflecting the festival's deep roots in the farming life of the land.

Tips for Makar Sankranti 2027

A few pointers for the festival:

• Note the main day of observance in 2027 is Friday, 15 January, with the Sankranti moment late on 14 January.

• Confirm the exact Sankranti and Punya Kaal timings for your city, as they vary by location.

• In Gujarat, fly kites on Uttarayan on 14 January and Vasi Uttarayan on 15 January.

• Enjoy the festive foods, from the til and gud sesame-and-jaggery sweets to the Gujarati winter dish undhiyu.

• Consider visiting Gujarat for the Uttarayan kite festival, when the whole sky comes alive with colour.

• Combine a kite-season trip with the temples of Dwarka and Somnath and a Gir safari.

Plan a Makar Sankranti trip to Gujarat

Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan, in January is a wonderful, festive and pleasant time to visit Gujarat, in the heart of the cool winter season. Experience My India can plan a trip that takes in the kite festival along with the temples and the coast. Time your trip with the best time to visit Gujarat, read the Dwarka city guide for what to see, add a Gir lion safari, book Somnath Dwarka hotels and let the Experience My India Somnath Dwarka tour packages or the wider Gujarat tour packages arrange the festival, the temples and the coast. For more festivals, see our festivals section. Visiting Gujarat during Uttarayan lets you join one of India's most joyful festivals, flying kites from a rooftop by day and watching the lantern-lit sky by night, before or after taking darshan at the great temples of the coast.

Related guides

To plan a festive Gujarat trip, these related guides help:

Plan your visit

Experience My India can arrange a festive kite-season trip to Dwarka, Somnath and Gujarat. Browse more travel guides, message us on WhatsApp or call +91 73006 20809.