Lohri 2027 in Amritsar: Rooftop Kites, Bonfires and the Maghi Dawn

Lohri 2027 is expected on the evening of Wednesday 13 January 2027, with Makar Sankranti listed for Thursday 14 January 2027 in a Hindu festival calendar for that year ¹. In Punjab the day after the fire is Maghi, the first day of the solar month of Magh, and a Sikh holy days calendar places Maghi on 14 January 2027 ^{2 11}. Lohri is an official holiday in Punjab, Jammu and Himachal Pradesh, but not a gazetted holiday in Delhi or Haryana ⁵.

The festival follows the Sun, not the Moon. Lohri is set by the Hindu solar calendar and is celebrated one day before Maghi ⁵. In 2027 the Sun enters Makara at 21:09 IST on 14 January, well after dark ⁴. Calendars count a crossing that late in different ways: some panchangs calculated for New Delhi list the bonfire a night later, on Thursday 14 January 2027 ³. Many Punjabi families simply light the fire on the evening their own calendar or gurdwara announces, so two neighbours in the same lane can celebrate a night apart.

The date also drifts over decades. Lohri fell on 11 January in the late 19th century and on 12 or 13 January in the mid 20th century, and the date shifts roughly every 70 years ⁵. Makar Sankranti falls on 15 January in every leap year ⁴. In 2024, a leap year, Lohri fell on 14 January because Maghi fell on 15 January ⁵. That year the Sun crossed into Makara at 02:42 IST on 15 January ⁴.

Further afield, the Maghi Mela at Sri Muktsar Sahib remembers the Chali Mukte, the forty Sikhs who died fighting the Mughal army in 1705 ^{11 12}. Incredible India lists the 2027 fair from 13 to 30 January, at the Mela Ground beside Gurdwara Sri Muktsar Sahib ¹².

Tip: Book Amritsar for the nights of 12, 13 and 14 January 2027 ¹. That covers both possible bonfire evenings and the Maghi dawn at the Golden Temple ^{2 3}.

The safest plan for 2027 is to arrive on 12 January, treat the evening of 13 January as the main fire, and confirm the evening with the host family in early January ¹.

Lohri in Amritsar runs on invitations, not tickets. Families light the fires in their courtyards after sunset and gather their relatives and neighbours around them ⁹. On 13 January 2027 that gathering brings the neighbourhood and the relatives to each family's courtyard fire ^{1 9}. A visitor joins through a host, such as a guesthouse owner or a Punjabi friend. Turning up at a stranger's fire uninvited is the one real mistake.

Cultural groups sometimes stage a more open fire. In January 2025 the Virsa Vihar Society in Amritsar lit a bonfire while young artists performed “Sundar Mundriye” and told the story of Dulla Bhatti, the folk hero of Punjab ⁸. In Hoshiarpur district, an Incredible India writer described a village-style Lohri at Kailash Farms, with prayers, popcorn and gajak offered to the fire, a Punjabi dhol, bhangra and giddha ⁶.

The Golden Temple is free and open to people of all faiths, with four entrances, one on each side of its square plan ¹⁷. Its langar serves more than 100,000 vegetarian meals a day at no charge, which makes it the obvious dinner on a night when every family is busy at home ¹⁷.

The temple's rules apply even on a festival night ¹⁹:

• Cover your head with a scarf or handkerchief; scarves are free outside the entrances ¹⁹.
• Leave shoes at the Jorha Ghar cloakroom and keep the token ¹⁹.
• Walk through the shallow foot-washing pools at the entrances ¹⁹.
• No cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol or chewing gum anywhere in the complex ¹⁹.
• Photograph only from the outer parikrama walkway ¹⁹.

Tip: If a Punjabi family invites you to its fire, bring a box of gajak or rewri from a bazaar stall; both go into the shared offering ^{6 9}.

Arrive before sunset on 13 January 2027 so the host can introduce you before the first offering goes into the flames ⁹.

Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport lies about 11 km from the city centre, on the Amritsar to Ajnala road near the village of Raja Sansi ¹³. Its terminal was commissioned on 25 February 2009 and has an annual capacity of 4.5 million passengers ¹³. The Golden Temple stands at 31.620 N, 74.876 E ¹⁷. A taxi or app cab from the airport stops at the edge of the pedestrian area around the shrine.

Foreign visitors can land here on an Indian e-Visa, because Amritsar is on the list of authorised e-Visa airports ¹⁸. The e-Tourist Visa is offered for 30 days, 1 year or 5 years, and applications go in at least 4 days and up to 120 days before arrival ¹⁸.

Ways into the city:

• By air: the Raja Sansi terminal handles up to 4.5 million passengers a year, about 11 km from the centre ¹³.
• By train from Delhi: the 12013 Amritsar Shatabdi Express runs daily from New Delhi, covering 448 km in 6 hours 15 minutes ¹⁶.
• Inside the city: Amritsar Junction is the busiest railway station in Punjab, and the Amritsar Metrobus rapid transit line has run since 28 January 2019 ¹⁴.
• Last stretch: auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws reach the old-city lanes where cars cannot turn.

Lohri changes the roads. In January 2025, Amritsar traffic police barred two-wheelers from all elevated roads and overbridges and fully closed the BRTS flyover on Batala Road, because of the danger from kite string ⁷. Similar closures around 13 January 2027 would push longer journeys onto surface roads ⁷. Fog is the other variable: on one morning in January 2025, six flights were cancelled and visibility improved only around 8.30 am ¹⁵.

Tip: Avoid the first flight out on the morning of 14 January 2027 ². Devotees start assembling at the Golden Temple well before sunrise on Maghi, and fog can hold departures ^{10 15}.

The Attari border lies west of the city; Amritsar is 28 km from the India–Pakistan border, and hotels post the current Beating Retreat time ¹⁴.

Lohri in Amritsar is a day-long build-up from kites to fire. Thousands of kites fill the sky above the old city during daylight, families stage friendly kite fights with the next roof, and after sunset the kites come down and the ceremonial bonfire goes up as a symbol of the Sun god ⁹. On 13 January 2027 that hand-over from roof to fire is the moment to be in place for ^{1 9}.

How the festival runs, roughly in order:

• The days before: children go from house to house singing and receive jaggery, money and snacks from the elders ⁹.
• Morning: bazaar stalls sell gajak, rewri, groundnuts and jaggery for the evening offering ⁹.
• Afternoon: rooftop kite fights peak between neighbouring families ⁹.
• After sunset: the bonfire is lit, and people toss sesame, gur, popcorn and rewri into it as offerings ⁹.
• Late evening: songs, dhol, bhangra and giddha around the fire, then dinner ⁶.
• Next dawn: Maghi, with devotees assembling at the Golden Temple well before sunrise ¹⁰.

The songs carry the story. Many of them praise Dulla Bhatti, who rescued girls from being sold into slavery during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar ⁵. One person sings and the others close each line with a loud “Ho!” in unison ⁵. In January 2025, young artists at the Virsa Vihar Society in Amritsar performed “Sundar Mundriye” while retelling his legend beside a bonfire ⁸.

Families with a new baby or a new bride throw the biggest party, because a first Lohri after a wedding or a birth is a milestone in Punjabi households ⁶. In houses that have recently had a marriage or a childbirth, the celebration reaches a higher pitch, and requests for treats increase ⁵. Many families now celebrate the birth of a daughter with the same energy as a son's ⁹.

Tip: Ask the host what time the family fire will be lit on 13 January 2027 and be on the roof before it; the first offerings set the tone for the whole evening ⁹.

At the end of the night, some people carry home the dying embers, which are believed to bring abundance and prosperity ⁹.

Amritsar in mid-January is cool by day and cold at night. India Meteorological Department normals for 1991 to 2020 give January a mean daily maximum of 17.7°C, a mean daily minimum of 3.8°C and a record low of −2.9°C ¹⁴. Rain is light, at 27.1 mm over about 2.1 rainy days in the month, and relative humidity at 17:30 IST averages 68% ¹⁴.

The cold shapes the festival. Kites belong to the sunny afternoon, and once the temperature falls towards that 3.8°C minimum after dark, the bonfire is as much about warmth as ritual ^{14 9}. Fog is common on winter mornings: on one January 2025 morning, visibility at the Raja Sansi airport improved only around 8.30 am ¹⁵.

Timing the day:

• Golden Temple: a third-party guide suggests 4 PM to 7 PM on non-festival days, and the Sukhasan ceremony runs around 9 to 11 PM ¹⁹.
• Maghi morning: devotees begin assembling well before sunrise, and some stay overnight in the complex ¹⁰.
• Rooftops: be up top by early afternoon, when the kite fights are at their height ⁹.
• Bonfire: be at the host's house before sunset ⁹.

What to pack for Lohri in Amritsar:

• A warm jacket, a sweater and thermal layers for nights near 3.8°C ¹⁴
• A woollen shawl or large scarf, which doubles as the head covering required at the Golden Temple ¹⁹
• Shoes that slip off easily for the Jorha Ghar cloakroom and for homes ¹⁹
• Socks for walking the marble parikrama around the sarovar ¹⁷
• A power bank, since cold drains phone batteries faster
• Sunglasses for rooftop glare during the kite fights

Note: Synthetic fabrics melt near open flame. Wear a cotton or wool outer layer when standing close to a Lohri bonfire, and keep shawls tucked in.

Crowds are thickest in the old city on the evening of 13 January 2027 and around the Golden Temple before dawn on 14 January 2027 ^{2 10}.

The most practical base for Lohri is the walled city within walking distance of the Golden Temple, where the bazaars, the rooftops and the Maghi dawn are all on foot. The shrine draws more than 150,000 visitors a day, so the streets around it stay busy at every hour ¹⁷.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee runs pilgrim guesthouses such as Saragarhi Niwas, and its booking site states that rooms should be booked only on that website ²⁰. The site warns against paying through any mobile number, QR code or other platform, and against fake websites that imitate Saragarhi Niwas ²⁰. When checked on 5 November 2026, it carried a notice that online booking was shut for a few days because of a payment-gateway problem ²⁰. Its booking helpline is 0183-2550060, and a receipt arrives by email within two working days of the bank's confirmation ²⁰.

Amritsar's areas compared:

• Golden Temple and Heritage Street: pedestrian streets around Maharaja Ranjit Singh Chowk, guesthouses and small hotels; noisy, but ideal for a pre-dawn walk on Maghi ^{14 10}.
• SGPC sarais: pilgrim rooms beside the shrine, booked only through the official sarai site ²⁰.
• Near Amritsar Junction: Punjab's busiest railway station, convenient for the daily 12013 Shatabdi from New Delhi ^{14 16}.
• Near the airport road: about 11 km from the centre, a long ride back from a late fire in the old city ¹³.

Tip: Book well ahead for the nights of 12, 13 and 14 January 2027; the Maghi crowd that stays overnight in the temple complex fills the closest rooms first ¹⁰.

A room with a roof terrace is worth asking for. On Lohri the rooftops of the old city are where the kite fights happen, so a guesthouse roof gives a view of both the kites and the fires across the city without needing a separate invitation ⁹.

Mobile networks in Amritsar's old city carry heavy loads in exactly the places a Lohri visitor will be: narrow lanes, packed rooftops and the Golden Temple parikrama before dawn. The shrine draws more than 150,000 visitors on an ordinary day ¹⁷, and on Maghi in January 2025 tens of thousands of devotees converged on it ¹⁰. Crowds that dense can slow mobile data just when a host is trying to share a location.

How a phone gets used on a Lohri trip:

• A live location from the host family, so the right courtyard fire is easy to find ⁹
• Maps through walled-city lanes inside Sher Singh's twelve gates ¹⁴
• A cab from the airport, about 11 km from the city centre ¹³
• Flight status when fog holds morning departures ¹⁵
• QR payments at gajak and rewri stalls ⁹
• Translation of Gurmukhi signs, menus and song lyrics such as “Sundar Mundriye” ⁸

Coverage details for an India data plan are on the eSIM for India page.

Tip: Download an offline map of central Amritsar and pin the guesthouse before 13 January 2027; if the signal drops on a crowded roof, the map and the pin still work ¹.

Free Wi-Fi in hotels and cafés does not reach a rooftop three lanes away, so treat it as a backup. Keep the phone in an inside pocket after dark, because batteries discharge faster on nights close to the 3.8°C January mean minimum ¹⁴.

Chinese dor, the synthetic plastic kite string, is banned in Amritsar because it does not snap and can slit the throat of a rider or a bird. In October 2024 a Verka resident died after a dangling Chinese kite string cut his throat on the BRTS flyover on Batala Road ⁷. Despite the ban, the Tribune reported that use of the plastic string was at its peak during Lohri in January 2025 ⁷.

What the authorities did around the January 2025 festival, as reported by the Tribune ^{7 8}:

• Barred two-wheelers from all elevated roads and overbridges in Amritsar ⁷.
• Closed the BRTS flyover on Batala Road completely ⁷.
• Kept the prohibition on the sale and use of acrylic string in force ⁸.
• Backed a rally in which schoolchildren dressed as birds carried placards reading “No More Chinese Dor” ⁸.

What it means for visitors:

• Fly kites only with cotton string sold as traditional dor ⁸.
• On a scooter or bicycle, cover the neck with a scarf and keep off flyovers ⁷.
• Keep children away from rooftop edges when cut kites fall ⁹.
• Look up before crossing open ground where loose string drifts down ⁷.

Note: If a host hands over a reel, ask whether it is cotton. Refusing synthetic string is normal in Amritsar now, and the district prohibition on acrylic string backs that choice ⁸.

Bonfires bring their own risks. Keep a bucket of water or sand next to a rooftop fire, stand back when sesame, gur and popcorn are thrown in as offerings, and never leave children alone near the flames ⁹. Inside the old wall with its twelve gates, the lanes are narrow, so prevention matters more than usual ¹⁴.

The Lohri table is built from the winter harvest, and the January sugarcane crop is one of the things the festival celebrates ⁵. Before anyone eats, sesame seeds, gur, popcorn and rewri are thrown into the fire as offerings ⁹. Til rice, made by mixing jaggery, sesame seeds and puffed rice, is another tradition, called tilcholi in some places ⁵.

Dishes to look for:

• Rewri and gajak: sesame and jaggery sweets from the bazaar stalls that line Amritsar's streets before Lohri ⁹.
• Sarson da saag with makke di roti: mustard greens with maize flatbread, the dinner most Punjabis eat at Lohri ⁹.
• Rauh di kheer: rice cooked in sugarcane juice on Lohri evening and served cold on Maghi morning, with red-chilli curd ¹¹.
• Khichdi: lentils and rice, eaten on Maghi in some parts of Punjab ¹¹.
• Phuliyas: puffed snacks sold from festival shops beside rewri, peanuts and popcorn ⁶.
• Butter-loaded parathas: a Punjab breakfast favourite ⁶.

Amritsar adds its own street food around the Golden Temple, and the temple's langar serves more than 100,000 free vegetarian meals a day to anyone who sits down in the rows ¹⁷. Breakfast before a rooftop day on 13 January 2027 can be the langar, then the evening meal belongs to the host's fire ^{9 17}.

Tip: At the langar, sit on the floor in rows with the head covered, as required everywhere in the complex ¹⁹.

Gifting food is part of Lohri. Children collect jaggery and snacks from the elders in the days before the fire, and guests usually arrive with a box of gajak or rewri ^{9 6}. Sesame and peanuts are the main allergens in almost every Lohri sweet, so ask before eating with an allergy ⁹.