By Harry Nara · Last updated
- The following day is the gazetted public holidayMonday 9 November 2026
- Where
- Little India
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- October or November
- Dates
- Move each year with the lunar calendar
The Serangoon Road light-up is switched on several weeks before the day and stays up for weeks after it, so the decorated street is available across a much wider window than the holiday itself. The Festival Village bazaar on Campbell Lane runs in the build-up.
The light-up along Serangoon Road is the reason to come, and it is switched on weeks before the day and left up for weeks after. That means the decorated street, which is what people actually want to see, is available across a window several times longer than the holiday itself, and the quiet weeknights in that window are far better than the day. Working this out in advance turns a crowded hour into a good evening.
What Deepavali actually is
Deepavali is the festival of lights, the most important date in the Hindu calendar, and in Singapore it is a gazetted public holiday and the year’s biggest event for the Tamil community. It runs on the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it moves between the second half of October and the middle of November. Little India is transformed for it: arches of lights strung the length of Serangoon Road, a bazaar filling Campbell Lane and the streets around it, temples working at full tilt, and a district that is busy at the best of times becoming genuinely packed. The day itself is a family occasion, with an early temple visit and then eating and visiting at home.
Where to watch Deepavali
- Serangoon Road, after dark, on a weeknight. The arches run the length of the street and the whole stretch is lit end to end. It is at its best from just after sunset. The crucial part is which evening: a weeknight well before the holiday gives you the same lights with a fraction of the crowd, while the final weekend is close to impassable.
- Campbell Lane and the Festival Village bazaar. The market that fills the streets off Serangoon in the build-up, selling garlands, saris, brassware, sweets and an enormous quantity of decorations. This is where the crowds concentrate and where the sensory overload is, in a good way. Cash is handy, though most stalls take cards.
- Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple on Serangoon Road. One of the oldest temples in the city and the visual anchor of the district, busy through the festival period and open to respectful visitors. Shoes off, dress modestly, and ask before photographing anyone.
- Tekka Centre. The hawker centre and wet market at the corner of the district, and the best single place to eat in Little India at any time of year. It gets a great deal busier through the festival period, and it is where to go when the bazaar has made you hungry rather than trying to eat in the crush.
- The day itself, from a distance. Temples fill very early and then the district quiets as people move to family homes. The public holiday is not the spectacle; it is the run-up that is. If you are here on the day, go early to a temple and treat the rest of it as a rest day.
Tickets and what it costs
None of it costs anything. The light-up, the bazaar, the temples and the streets are all free and open, and the only money involved is what you spend at a stall or on dinner. That makes this one of the best value evenings in Singapore, and it compares well against the paid attractions the city is better known for. The one genuine cost is that hotel demand rises over the public holiday itself, particularly when it falls next to a weekend, so if the holiday is the specific reason for the trip then book earlier than you otherwise would.
Official information and booking: www.visitsingapore.com
Getting there
Little India has its own station on the North East and Downtown lines, and Rochor and Farrer Park are both a short walk from different ends of the district. Take the train: Serangoon Road carries heavy traffic normally and the festival period makes it considerably worse, with crowd barriers along the pavements on the busiest evenings. On peak nights the station itself is managed with queues, and walking a stop to Rochor or Farrer Park to board is often faster than waiting.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Going on the final weekend before the holiday
That is the single busiest window of the whole period and the pavements around Serangoon Road are barriered and shuffling. The same lights are up on a Tuesday three weeks earlier with room to walk and photograph. Unless the crush is the appeal, pick a weeknight.
Arriving on the public holiday expecting the bazaar
The build-up is the event. On the day itself, temples are busy very early and then the district quiets while families are at home. The bazaar and the crowds belong to the weeks before.
Photographing people in the temple without asking
The temples are working places of worship, not attractions, and they are at their busiest at the one time of year everyone visits. Ask, accept a no, take your shoes off and dress modestly. The same applies to people carrying offerings in the street.
Assuming it always falls in the same month
It runs on a lunisolar calendar and moves between the second half of October and the middle of November. Planning around a date remembered from a previous year can easily land you two or three weeks out.
Eating on the run rather than at Tekka
The bazaar food is fine and the crush is considerable. Tekka Centre is a couple of minutes away, has some of the best Indian food in the city, and gives you somewhere to sit. It is the obvious move and a surprising number of visitors never make it.
Other Singapore events
Frequently asked questions
When is the Little India light-up switched on?
Several weeks before the day itself, and it stays up for several weeks afterwards. That gives a viewing window far longer than the holiday, and the quiet weeknights inside it are much better than the peak weekend.
Is Deepavali a public holiday in Singapore?
Yes, it is gazetted. When the day itself falls at a weekend the following Monday is taken as the holiday instead, which is worth checking against your dates because it changes what is open.
What is the Festival Village?
The bazaar that fills Campbell Lane and the surrounding streets in the run-up, selling garlands, saris, brassware, sweets, lamps and decorations. Free to walk through, and the busiest and most atmospheric part of the whole period.
When is the best evening to go?
A weeknight, after dark, well before the holiday. You get the full light-up with room to move. The last weekend before the day is spectacular and close to impassable, so choose according to which of those you want.
Can non-Hindus visit the temples?
Yes, respectfully. Remove your shoes, dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered, keep to the edges when a ritual is happening and ask before photographing anyone. They are busier than at any other time of year, which is part of what makes visiting worthwhile and also a reason to be unobtrusive.
Why does the date move so much?
It follows the Hindu lunisolar calendar rather than the Gregorian one, so it lands anywhere from the second half of October to the middle of November. The Ministry of Manpower publishes the gazetted date for each year well ahead.
Sources
- Visit Singapore, Deepavali and Little India
- Ministry of Manpower gazetted public holidays
- Roots, National Heritage Board on Little India
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.