Fly From a Rooftop at Dawn on Uttarayan
On the morning of 14 January, Ahmedabad does not wake so much as launch. From first light, the sky over the old city fills with patang — thousands of them, square and taut — and the air carries the whip-crack of lines being pulled, the shout of "kai po che" when a rival's string is cut, and the smell of jalebi frying somewhere below. This is Uttarayan, the Gujarati household observance of Makar Sankranti, and it is a solar festival: the sun enters Capricorn on 14 January almost every year, so the anchor date holds. In 2027 that day falls on a Thursday.
You do not need an invitation to join in. Flying happens across the city's rooftops, and families work with patang and firki, the spool wound with line. If you want a formal seat at the spectacle, head to the Sabarmati Riverfront, the main venue of the International Kite Festival staged by Gujarat Tourism since 1989. A second viewing point is the Ahmedabad Police Stadium. The programme typically spans the days around the main event — for 2027, roughly 11 to 14 January, with exact opening and closing days announced by Gujarat Tourism a few weeks in advance.
Watch the International Flyers at the Sabarmati Riverfront
The international edition is what distinguishes Ahmedabad's Uttarayan from kite-flying anywhere else. Master flyers from more than 40 countries — Japan, Italy, France, Indonesia, the United States among them — bring kites that bear no resemblance to the patang on the rooftops: formation kites, animal and cartoon shapes, and single kites so large they take several people to launch. The formal opening at the Sabarmati Riverfront is where the visiting teams display them.
- Main venue: Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad
- Second viewing point: Ahmedabad Police Stadium
- Parallel Gujarat Tourism displays: Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, and the Statue of Unity at Kevadia on the Narmada riverside
- Rough timing for 2027: approximately 11–14 January, peaking on 14 January; Vasi Uttarayan follows on 15 January, when flying continues
Come back after dark for the night tukkal — illuminated kites and paper lanterns sent up once the light goes. Food stalls and music run alongside, both at the riverfront food courts and on the rooftops themselves.
Eat Undhiyu, Chikki and Jalebi Like the City Does
Uttarayan has a menu, and it is a winter one. The centrepiece is undhiyu, a slow-cooked mix of winter vegetables — surti beans, small aubergines, potatoes, yam, muthiya dumplings and green masala — traditionally eaten with puri. Alongside it: chikki, the peanut or sesame brittle set in jaggery, and jalebi, the syrup-soaked fried coils classically paired with fafda on Uttarayan morning. If you are in the city during the season, look for ponk as well, roasted tender green sorghum, a Surat-region winter delicacy served with sev and lime.
You will find these in homes, at sweet shops, and around the festival venues. The rooftop spread is the real thing: families fly, eat and fly again through the day, and the food is passed around as the lines are pulled.
Fly Safely, and Know the Rules
Gujarat has banned glass-coated and Chinese manja, and the Gujarat High Court has ordered strict action against its sale and use. Plain cotton thread is the recommended choice. The practical advice is straightforward and worth taking seriously:
- Fly in the early morning or late afternoon, when the winds are steadiest
- Keep children away from terrace edges and supervise them near parapets
- Carry water, sunscreen and a cap — you will be in the sun for hours
- Avoid flying near power lines, roads or crowded lanes
- Do not leave cut string loose; it injures birds and animals
- Do not lean over unguarded parapets
- If you find an injured bird, use the bird-rescue helplines rather than ignoring it
Plan Around 14 January
The distinction worth holding on to: the International Kite Festival is the Gujarat Tourism event staged around Uttarayan, while Uttarayan itself is the religious solar festival of Makar Sankranti observed in Gujarati households. The two overlap on 14 January, and that overlap is the reason to be in Ahmedabad rather than anywhere else. Book your travel so that you are in the city by the evening of 13 January, keep the 15th free for Vasi Uttarayan, and watch for Gujarat Tourism's announcement of the exact programme a few weeks out. Then find a rooftop, buy a firki, and spend the day looking up.