Dayara Bughyal: Butter Holi Festival

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Dayara Bughyal: Butter Holi Festival

Category Mountain Views On The Nag Tibba Trek

By Vaibhav Chauhan

2014-11-06

Imagine playing Holi with milk, butter and chaach (butter milk) at an altitude of 10,000 feet on a Himalayan trek! As bizarre as it may sound, the villagers of Raithal near Uttarkashi do exactly that.

They are seen having a jolly good time celebrating Anduri, a festival, on the velvet green grass of Dayara Bugyal in Uttarakhand. This high altitude Butter Holi Festival of Dayara Bughyal is one of its kind and happens from August 16 to 18 every year.

Anduri is a festival of expressing gratitude to mother nature. The locals flock with their cattle to the grassland of Dayara. They are seen expressing their love for the Dayara meadows, which provide fodder for their cattle. The eventful proceeding starts with some 500 villagers, who are seen playing Holi with butter milk on the slopes of Dayara.

It is a happy sight to see the locals singing, dancing and rejoicing with butter-smeared faces. After this, local children are seen presenting cultural programs. Elaborate skits of Lord Krishna are done by them, with full costume and make up.

The festival has slowly caught attention of trekkers and travellers alike. So next time you want to play Butter Holi on a trek, you know where to head.

Click on the image to view the Video

Youtube video link: Courtesy: Sunil Navprabhat and ETV News.

Vaibhav Chauhan

About the author

Vaibhav was associated with Indiahikes as a Writer & Chief Explorer. He is an avid traveler with a passion for trekking in Indian Himalayas. With his roots in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh, the love for the mountains is in his blood. When not travelling he likes to spend time interacting with like-minded trek enthusiasts and read books on travel and mountaineering.