Name: Raksha Bandhan — Delhi
Start: 2027-08-17
End: 2027-08-17
Location: Delhi

Stay1–2 nights

arrive1 days ahead

book14 days ahead

Pricesnone

The rakhi is tied at home, so what Delhi shows is the run-up: Sadar Bazaar and Chandni Chowk hung with thousands of rakhis, and Old Delhi's sweet shops at full stretch.

Where to watch

Sadar Bazaar: Delhi's great wholesale market; before the festival the lanes near its Hanuman temple turn into a rakhi market of dozens of dedicated shops. Dense and slow, best on foot.

Chandni Chowk and Kinari Bazaar: handmade rakhis, trims and tinsel in the lane of wedding and festival decorations. Chandni Chowk metro station, Yellow Line.

Old Delhi sweet shops: ghevar, a honeycomb disc of fried batter in syrup that belongs to the monsoon festivals, alongside barfi and laddoos. Chandni Chowk and the lanes off it.

🎟 Free viewing

The rakhi lanes of Sadar Bazaar on the days before
Kinari Bazaar and the length of Chandni Chowk
The sweet counters of Old Delhi on the morning of the festival

🧳 When to arrive

Arrive the day before: the rakhi markets are fullest on the eve and the morning, and by the afternoon of the festival the city has gone indoors to family lunches. The thread is tied in a muhurta that avoids Bhadra, so in some years the tying moves to the evening; the window is published with the panchang.

Where to stay

Stay in central Delhi or near Old Delhi (Daryaganj, Paharganj), a metro ride from both markets: Chandni Chowk station on the Yellow Line for Chandni Chowk and Kinari Bazaar, with Sadar Bazaar a short rickshaw ride further west.

📌 What to book ahead

No special lead time for rooms: August is monsoon and low season in Delhi. The trains are another matter: Raksha Bandhan is one of the busiest short-haul travel days in the north, with siblings crossing states to tie the thread, so book onward tickets about a month ahead.

The festival in the app's calendar

Dates, cities and a reminder in India GO.

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Raksha Bandhan in Delhi

Where to watch

🎟 Free viewing