Mysuru Dasara emblem MysuruDasaraSince 1610 AD
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11 days · 100+ programmes

Everything that happens

Dasara is not one event but a hundred. Cultural evenings on a dozen stages, a youth festival, sport, food, flowers, the Kambala, poetry and a two-month exhibition — and on the last day, the procession that ties it all together.

11 – 21 October 2026100+ programmes15+ venues
Day-by-day schedule
Costumed folk performers in the parade
Costumed folk performers in the parade
Cultural <em>programmes</em>
Music, dance & theatre

Cultural programmes

The largest programme of the festival. The Palace stage hosts the marquee concerts each evening; Jaganmohan Palace and Kalamandira carry classical music and dance; Chikka Gadiyara, Town Hall and Kuppanna Park host folk, theatre and youth performances. Entry to most stages is free; the Palace stage is ticketed.

  • Palace stage · Jaganmohan Palace · Kalamandira · Chikka Gadiyara · Town Hall · Kuppanna Park
  • Daily, 5 PM onwards
Yuva <em>Sambhrama</em>
Youth festival & concerts

Yuva Sambhrama

Four nights of headline concerts for the young — film music, indie and folk fusion on the biggest stage of the festival, with a crowd of tens of thousands.

  • Manasagangothri Open Air Theatre
  • 28 Sep – 5 Oct · 5 – 10 PM
Dasara <em>Sports & Kusti</em>
The Dasara CM Cup 2026

Dasara Sports & Kusti

The Dasara CM Cup 2026 runs 28 disciplines over four days — archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling on the Ring Road, fencing, football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho-kho, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wushu, yoga, shooting and karate among them. The Dasara Kusti is fought at the D. Devaraj Urs Kusti pavilion; the Vajramushti Kalaga, the ancient armed wrestling once fought before the Maharaja, keeps its place on Vijayadashami.

  • Chamundi Vihar · University sports pavilion · Maharaja & Yuvaraja indoor stadia · D. Devaraj Urs Kusti pavilion
  • CM Cup 11 – 14 October · morning to evening
Aahara <em>Mela</em>
Mysuru flavours

Aahara Mela

The Janapriya Aahara Mela: stalls of South and North Karnataka cooking beside Kashmiri, Punjabi, Rajasthani, North-Eastern, Andhra, Kerala, Tamil, Marathi, Chinese, Tibetan, Italian, French and African kitchens, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, with a millet and organic-food section. Stalls are allotted by the Mysuru City Corporation.

  • Maharaja’s College Ground
  • 11 – 25 October · 11 AM – 10 PM
Flower <em>Show</em>
Kuppanna Park

Flower Show

The Horticulture Department’s Dasara Fruit & Flower Show 2026, on the theme “Prajaprabhutvada Habba” — the festival of democracy — is inaugurated by the Chief Minister on 11 October at 11:30 AM at Kuppanna Park: a themed floral installation, rose gardens, bonsai, vegetable carving and the famed tableau in the glasshouse. The same afternoon, at 12:30 PM, the Pushpa Mela and nursery visit open at the Lingambudhi Botanical Garden, Ramakrishna Nagar.

  • Kuppanna Park (Nishad Bagh) · Lingambudhi Botanical Garden
  • 11 – 21 October · 9 AM – 9 PM · inauguration 11 October, 11:30 AM
Dasara <em>Exhibition</em>
Doddakere Maidana

Dasara Exhibition

The Karnataka Exhibition Authority’s fair runs for two months from the start of Dasara: government and industry pavilions, a crafts bazaar, amusement rides and an evening entertainment stage.

  • Doddakere Maidana, opposite the Palace
  • Two months · 11 AM – 10 PM
Heritage <em>Dasara</em>
Walk, cycle ride & tonga ride

Heritage Dasara

Three early mornings with the Department of Archaeology, Museums & Heritage, each starting at 7 AM from the Town Hall: a heritage walk through the city’s Wadiyar-era and British-era buildings on 15 October, a heritage cycle ride on 16 October, and on 17 October a heritage tonga ride for couples in traditional attire.

  • Rangacharlu Memorial Hall (Town Hall) premises, Mysuru
  • 15 – 17 October · 7 AM
Kambala
Traditional buffalo race

Kambala

Coastal Karnataka’s buffalo race comes to Mysuru for Dasara: pairs of buffaloes and their runners race the slush track in heats over two days. Spectator entry is free; participant registration is online.

  • Kambala track near VTU College, Mysuru
  • 18 & 19 October · from 9 AM
Panjina <em>Kavayathu</em>
The Torchlight Parade

Panjina Kavayathu

A grand display of military and police bands, cavalry, daredevil riders and the laser-and-fireworks finale at Bannimantap — the closing act of the festival on Vijayadashami night, previewed the evening before. The same ground hosts the drone shows at 8 PM on 17, 18, 20 and 21 October.

  • Bannimantap Ground
  • 20 & 21 October · from 7 PM
Mahila <em>& Makkala Dasara</em>
Women’s & Children’s Dasara

Mahila & Makkala Dasara

Four days for women and children, opened on 13 October by the Mysuru district in-charge Minister: a rangoli chittara in front of the Palace at dawn, folk dances, a mother-and-child fashion show, a ragi-mudde contest, two days of schoolchildren’s competitions and cultural programmes at the Karnataka Kala Mandira (14 & 15 October, inaugurated by the Minister for School Education), a women’s cultural walkathon from the Kote Anjaneya temple, programmes by special children, and a closing day for senior citizens and the transgender community with prizes.

  • J.K. Grounds · Amba Vilas Palace premises · Karnataka Kala Mandira · Kote Anjaneya temple
  • 13 – 16 October · inauguration 13 October, 10 AM
Raitha <em>Dasara</em>
The farmer’s festival

Raitha Dasara

A procession of bullock carts, farmers and farm machinery from the Kote Anjaneya temple opens it on 16 October, followed by the agricultural exhibition at J.K. Grounds and the felicitation of progressive farmers. A state-level milk-yielding competition on 17 October and a pet animals show on 18 October close it.

  • Kote Anjaneya temple → J.K. Grounds · Alumni Association hall, Manasagangotri
  • 16 – 18 October
Yoga <em>Dasara</em>
Four days of yoga

Yoga Dasara

Inaugurated on 13 October at the Alumni Association hall, Manasagangotri, with a dance-drama; a state-level Yogasana competition on 17 October at the P. Kalinga Rao hall; a rural Yoga Dasara at Nanjangud on the morning of 18 October; and the Yoga Charana on the steps of Chamundi Hill on 19 October.

  • Alumni Association hall, Manasagangotri · P. Kalinga Rao hall · Nanjangud · Chamundi Hill
  • 13, 17, 18 & 19 October
Lalithakale <em>& Karakushala Kale</em>
Fine arts & crafts

Lalithakale & Karakushala Kale

Sand-casting, mural and printmaking workshops through late September lead to the inauguration on 11 October at 4 PM and a state-level art competition and exhibition open till 24 October — with demonstration and sales stalls, animation film shows, on-the-spot drawing and clay-art competitions for schoolchildren, and the Kalajathre of CAVA alumni on 18 October.

  • Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA), Siddarthanagar
  • 11 – 24 October · workshops from 21 September
Dasara <em>Kavigoshti</em>
Five mornings of poetry

Dasara Kavigoshti

The Vishwavikhyata Mysuru Dasara Kavigoshti is inaugurated by the writer Vaidehi on 13 October at 10 AM, followed the same morning by the Hasya / Chutuku Kavigoshti of humour and short verse. A Yuva Kavigoshti for young poets (14 October), the Chiguru Kavigoshti for children (15 October), the Janapada Kavyagoshti of folk poetry (16 October) and the Pradhana Kavigoshti (17 October) follow, each at 10:30 AM. Entry is free.

  • B.M. Sri Auditorium, Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri
  • 13 – 17 October · mornings from 10 AM
Drone <em>Show</em>
Lights over Bannimantap

Drone Show

CESC’s drone show over the Torchlight Parade ground — inaugurated on 17 October at 8 PM by the Mysuru district in-charge Minister and the Chairman of CESC, and flown again on 18, 20 and 21 October. On the last two nights it follows the Panjina Kavayathu at the same ground. Free to watch from the public enclosures.

  • Panjina Kavayathu ground (Torchlight Parade ground), Bannimantap
  • 17, 18, 20 & 21 October · 8 PM
Deepalankara
The city illumination

Deepalankara

The city’s festival lighting is switched on by the Minister for Energy on Sayyaji Rao Road on the first evening, and the Palace’s lakh of bulbs are lit from 7 to 10 PM every night of the festival. See Illumination.

  • Sayyaji Rao Road near K.R. Hospital Circle · Amba Vilas Palace
  • Inauguration 11 October, 6:30 PM · Palace lit 7 – 10 PM nightly
Gaja <em>Payana</em>
The elephants’ journey

Gaja Payana

Twelve elephants selected by the Forest Department are flagged off from Veeranahosahalli on 26 August at 10:01 AM and received at the Palace with the Gaja Puja on 28 August. They return to the forest camps on 22 October. Meet the herd on the Elephants page.

  • Veeranahosahalli, Nagarhole → Amba Vilas Palace
  • 26 August · Palace entry 28 August · return 22 October
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Full scheduleGuide

Full schedule

11 days

Every programme, venue and timing, day by day.

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Venue guideGuide

Venue guide

15+ venues

Every stage and ground on a map, with directions.

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Dasara Ticket 2026Tickets

Dasara Ticket 2026

From ₹1,000

Gold Card, procession, Torchlight Parade and Drone Show seats — booked on TicketGenie.

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Kambala 2026Register

Kambala 2026

18 – 19 Oct

Team registration for the buffalo race, on the Kambala portal.

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Yuva SambhramaRegister

Yuva Sambhrama

28 Sep – 5 Oct

Young artists and college teams register on the Yuva Sambhrama portal.

Register to perform
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