5. Krishna Janmashtami

This festival commemorates the birth of Lord Krishna, who is revered for his positive attitude towards life and his ability to smile through life and death, and victory and defeat. The festival is usually held in late August or early September, depending on the year, and the highlight is the ‘Dahi Handi’. Clay pots containing money, butter and curd are strung up from buildings and people compete with each other to reach the pots by forming a human pyramid and clambering to the top. There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this bizarre spectacle – Lord Krishna absolutely loved butter and curd, and would try to take it from homes, so the villagers would hang it out of his reach. The story goes that he roped his friends into helping him climb up and reach it.

6. Eid-ul-Fitr

Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and is one of the most important Islamic festivals. To celebrate, Muslims attend communal prayers, decorate their homes and exchange food and gifts with friends. There’s also a charity donation of rice from wealthy families to the needy. One of the best places to see the celebrations is at Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, which was built in the mid-17th century.

7. Gujarat Kite Festival

Large, colourful and unusual kites flood the skies of Gujarat each January to commemorate the start of summer and the beginning of harvest. Purchase your own at Patang Bazaar, a famous kite market, or just watch the others dance through the sky.

8. Pushkar Camel Fair

Thousands of camels (and their owners dressed in their finest garb) descend upon Rajasthan’s Pushkar for the annual camel fair. Camels are traded and raced, acrobats and performers entertain crowds at a nearby fair, while finely dressed males and bejewelled females take the chance to let their hair down.