December in India
Best places to visit in December in India with kids
December is festival season in India, and the places worth planning around are the ones with a dated event or a stated winter season on an official page. This guide gives the dates, child rules and season statements that official pages give for nine places, and says which ones we could not confirm.
Sourced 23 October 2026. We read each official page linked below on 23 October 2026, except where a line says otherwise. We give a rupee figure only where an official page states it. Dates, fees and rules change, so confirm on the official page before you book.
What IMD says about December weather
The India Meteorological Department's press release of 1 December 2025 outlined the 2025 to 2026 winter. For December 2025 it expected cold waves to be above normal over parts of northwest, central and northeast India (IMD outlook, December 2025, sourced 23 October 2026).
That is a 2025 forecast, not a forecast for December 2026. We did not use any December 2026 outlook, and IMD's document gives no temperatures for individual tourist places. Check IMD's current outlook close to the date you travel.
How to choose a December destination with kids
- Dated events. Rann Utsav, the Hornbill Festival and the Mount Abu Winter Festival have dates on official pages. Book rooms early around them.
- Cold nights. Rajasthan's tourism page describes chilly nights in winter, and Kerala's hill areas can get cold. Pack layers for the morning and evening.
- Child rules. Few official pages state rules for children. We say so where a page states none.
- Your own pace. One dated event plus a rest day suits most families with young children better than a full programme.
December places in India: dates and facts from official pages
One row per place. Every fact comes from the linked page, read on 23 October 2026 unless a note says otherwise.
| Place | Official facts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kutch, Gujarat: Rann Utsav | The festival runs 1 November 2026 to 7 March 2027. The page says packages start from Rs 6,300 for one night, Rs 12,600 for two nights and Rs 18,900 for three nights, plus 18% tax. It does not say whether the rates are per person or per tent, and it states no child rules and no entry fee. rannutsav.com is the festival operator's site. Gujarat Tourism's own festival page still showed 2025 to 2026 dates when we read it, and points to an online entry permit for the White Rann at Dhordo | Rann Utsav, Gujarat Tourism, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Nagaland: Hornbill Festival | The Tourism Nagaland event calendar lists the Hornbill Festival at Kisama, Kohima, from 1st to 10th December | Tourism Nagaland event calendar, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Mount Abu, Rajasthan: Winter Festival | Incredible India lists the Winter Festival 2026 at Mount Abu for 29th to 31st December 2026, organised by the Tourist Reception Center, Mount Abu. Rajasthan Tourism's festival page describes a procession, a lamp-floating ceremony at Nakki Lake and fireworks, but its text still carries older dates and calls it a two day festival, so we follow Incredible India for the dates | Incredible India, Rajasthan Tourism festivals, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Hampi, Karnataka | ASI says children below 15 years enter free, and the monuments are open from sunrise to sunset. The page gives no fee for Indian adults | ASI, Hampi, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Goa | Incredible India calls winter the golden time for the beaches, and describes Christmas and New Year as a favourite time. The page gives no temperatures | Incredible India, best season for Goa, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Kerala | Kerala Tourism says Kerala does not have a marked winter period. It says the weather turns cool after the northeast monsoon in October or November and lasts to the middle of February, that hill areas such as Munnar and Wayanad can see a considerable drop, and that other places stay between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius | Kerala Tourism FAQ, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Rajasthan | Rajasthan Tourism says winter is the best season to visit, with mild weather of 10 to 30 degrees Celsius for most parts, sunny days and chilly nights, and says winters usually commence around October and extend to January (its temperature list gives 13 to 30 degrees Celsius for October to December) | Rajasthan Tourism, best time to visit, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Indian nationals need no permit to visit the Andaman Islands, and visiting tribal areas is prohibited | ANIIDCO, entry formalities, sourced 23 October 2026 |
| Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh | Dashashwamedh Ghat is open 24x7. The Ganga Aarti lasts forty-five minutes and starts at dusk. The page gives no clock time | Incredible India, Dashashwamedh Ghat, sourced 23 October 2026 |
Notes on the table
The Rann Utsav figures come from the festival operator's own site, not from Gujarat Tourism. Our re-check of rannutsav.com on 23 October 2026 was blocked by the site's firewall, so the dates and rates are as we recorded them from our earlier read that day. Re-open the site before you book.
A hotel or tent price is not an entry fee. The page states no entry fee for the festival grounds, which is not the same as saying there is none.
Rann Utsav with young children
The Rann Utsav page states no child rules, so we cannot tell you an age limit or a child rate. Ask the operator what the rate covers for a child before you pay, and ask Gujarat Tourism how the White Rann permit works for your party.
Hornbill Festival and Mount Abu dates
Both festivals have dates on official pages: 1st to 10th December for the Hornbill Festival at Kisama, Kohima, and 29th to 31st December 2026 for the Mount Abu Winter Festival. The pages we read state no child rules. Book rooms early, because both are dated events.
Places we could not confirm
We left out the Nilgiri Mountain Railway to Ooty and the Andaman best-season and Cellular Jail fee pages, because the official pages would not load for us on 23 October 2026. We left out the Goa Feast of St Francis Xavier traffic notice, the Hampi Virupaksha celebration, Kerala Christmas events and Varanasi festival dates in December 2026, because we could not confirm them on an official page. A few pages do give state-wide winter notes, which we report in the table above so you can see how thin the official weather copy is. Beyond those state-wide ranges on the Kerala and Rajasthan pages, we give no December temperatures for individual cities or hill stations.
Plan the trip
- Total flights, rooms and food with the family trip budget calculator.
- Pack with the family packing list generator.
- Find a short trip from your city with the weekend getaway finder.
- Planning a summer trip too? Read summer vacation places in India for families.
Ula, your AI travel companion, plans and books trips with your OK and remembers how you travel. It is in early access, and you can join the waitlist. The calculator and the packing list work without it.
What we left out
We left out a ranking of the places, room prices, any claim about how cold a given place will be in December 2026, and any rupee figure that an official page does not state.
Sources
- Rann Utsav: rannutsav.com, sourced 23 October 2026
- Gujarat Tourism, Rann Utsav: gujarattourism.com, sourced 23 October 2026
- Tourism Nagaland event calendar: tourism.nagaland.gov.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- Incredible India, Winter Festival Rajasthan: incredibleindia.gov.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- Rajasthan Tourism, fairs and festivals: tourism.rajasthan.gov.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- Rajasthan Tourism, best time to visit: tourism.rajasthan.gov.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- ASI, Hampi: asi.nic.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- Incredible India, best season for Goa: incredibleindia.gov.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- Kerala Tourism FAQ: keralatourism.org, sourced 23 October 2026
- ANIIDCO, entry formalities: aniidco.and.nic.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- Incredible India, Dashashwamedh Ghat: incredibleindia.gov.in, sourced 23 October 2026
- IMD press release, 1 December 2025: mausam.imd.gov.in, sourced 23 October 2026
Questions
Which are the best places to visit in December in India with kids?
We do not rank them. This guide gives official dates and facts for the Rann Utsav, Hornbill Festival, Mount Abu Winter Festival, Hampi, Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan, the Andaman Islands and Varanasi, and you can choose by the event dates and the child rules. Sourced 23 October 2026.
When is the Hornbill Festival in December 2026?
The Tourism Nagaland event calendar lists the Hornbill Festival at Kisama, Kohima, from 1st to 10th December. Sourced 23 October 2026.
When is the Mount Abu Winter Festival in 2026?
Incredible India lists the Winter Festival 2026 at Mount Abu for 29th to 31st December 2026. Rajasthan Tourism's festival page carries older dates, so check both pages before you book. Sourced 23 October 2026.
Do children pay at Hampi?
ASI says children below 15 years enter free. The monuments are open from sunrise to sunset, and the page gives no fee for Indian adults. Sourced 23 October 2026.
How much does the Rann Utsav cost?
The festival page says packages start from Rs 6,300 for one night, Rs 12,600 for two nights and Rs 18,900 for three nights, plus 18% tax. It does not say whether the rates are per person or per tent. It states no child rules and no entry fee. Sourced 23 October 2026.