A Brief Guide To GAIA Festival

Returning for its third edition, GAIA Festival returns to the village of Raison in Himachal Pradesh at the foothills of the Himalaya along the Beas River in 10 days on October 4-October 5. With an ethos that prioritises being boutique, immersive and intentional over being a bigger and louder festival, the 2-day event combines music performances alongside wellness, art and naturist experiences across 1 indoor stage, 2 open-air stages, an art section, a bazaar and a food section. The pet-friendly festival also builds itself ecologically with resource reuse, conscious waste management, no single-use plastic and a tree planted for every ticket.

Day 1

The festival will kick off with traditional Bajantari, folk musicians from Himachal leading an invocation ceremony at the Kati Patang Trial Room River Stage. The riverside then proceeds to feature selections from the festival team, a rock-pop performance by Karan Verma, the contemporary fusion sound of Sangram Malik and a set by Warehouse Mix's disco-house aficionado Tarataruga with live Afro percussion till dusk. The dance music offerings continue with Gndhi, Unnayanaa and Genish at the starlit setting of The Jungle Stage before the indoor stage of The Den (both stages powered by Tanqueray) takes over with techno from Shaun Moses and a B2B set between Reyhaa and Madhur.

Day 1 also features wellness experiences like sound-assisted relaxation and breathwork alongside aroma therapy, acupressure, acupuncture and pottery.

Day 2

The river stage on Day 2 features performances by Himachali Folk Ensemble, world music work of multi-instrumentalist Martin Dubois, the folk-meets-indie sound of Rajesh Nepali, the alternative rock trio of That Boy Roby, and the house-meets-Middle Eastern traditional instruments sound of Jarl Flamar. The Jungle Stage will continue things with nu-disco, house and techno selections from Nida, Djuma Soundsystem and Diass before the festival closes with darker sounds of Murthovic and a B2B set by Technaari and Bogus at The Den.

Besides sound-assisted relaxation and breathwork, aroma therapy, acupressure, acupuncture and pottery, Day 2 adds offerings like Hatha yoga, guided envisioning and ecstatic dance to the wellness experiences of the festival.

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Both days will also feature The Wild Bazaar with 8-eco eco-conscious local and national brands, The Feast Trail featuring regional and global cuisine, and Nrtya Art Village, which will feature exhibits from 20 multi-disciplinary visual artists curated by nrtya.

Get tickets to GAIA festival here and head to their website for more information.