Staying away from home this Diwali? Here are top 5 places to celebrate the festival of lights in 2022

Do you want to take a tour to see how other cities celebrate the most awaited festival of the country - Diwali? Do you want to celebrate the festival with strangers who make you feel like family? Then this article is right for you. Here, we list the top five places that will blow you away with the splendour of their Diwali celebration.

Witnessing the festival of lights in the lake city is a thing of joy. Streets are littered with bright lights and every house takes pride in decorating its own in the best possible way. The Udaipur Palace is aglow and looks heavenly. The people of Udaipur celebrate with fireworks and sky lanterns, which adds pomp to the festival. The Udaipur lantern festival attracts people from all over the country to experience a show of talent and festivity. If you have time while visiting Udaipur, do not miss out on Jaipur - the Pink City! The best light arrangements can be found there during Diwali, with amazing food, colours, grand outfits, crackers and peak festivity!

One of the oldest cities in India is home to one of the grandest celebrations of Diwali. The Ganga Aarti is the most important during Diwali, where diyas are lit and floated in the river by all devotees. It looks almost like a river of lights. With religious chanting, beautiful lights, fireworks and decorations, the city itself comes to life. The Ganga Aarti during the night of Diwali directly touches your soul and you can blissfully lose yourself in the divinity there.

Ayodhya is also one of the oldest cities in India and you must definitely experience the homecoming of Rama to his birth land, Ayodhya. The city is known for lighting the most lamps. People rejoice in the celebration with lights, fireworks, handmade decorations, dressing up themselves in costumes and colourful dresses. Since Ayodhya is the first place to start celebrating Diwali in north India, the festival is hailed with much love and wonder. The energy of the place is at its highest and has to be experienced once in a lifetime.

Since the foundation stone for the Golden Temple was laid during Diwali, Amritsar celebrates the festival with utmost splendour. The food, firecrackers, oil lamps, and sky lanterns all signify the love for the festival. The breathtaking display of fireworks is a must-watch in this place.

The colourful and joyous parade through the streets of Amritsar shows how much the people of the city express their love for the occasion and what it stands for.

The camel fair at Pushkar during Diwali is a unique experience for anyone. During the Haveli Diwali, the city hosts a camel fair where almost 50,000 camels are dressed up in gorgeous embellishments and walk the streets of the place. Camel races and trading happen during the festival.

Odisha, on the other hand, celebrates Diwali religiously by preparing weeks ahead of the festival, lighting thousands of lamps and fireworks. Goddess Kali is celebrated by all people for 15 days with the final celebrations on the day of Diwali, with a long procession to the temple. The people of Odisha also take this occasion to lovingly remember their ancestors.

In the Puri Jagannath Temple, during Diwali jute sticks are burnt, as a way of invoking the blessings of ancestors and for everyone to be reminded that even though they have left the world, they are still part of the family and the festivities.