25th to 27th September 2026 | Siliguri, Gateway to the Himalayas
Picture this. A homestay owner pulls out a family recipe passed down four generations, ready to compete for a food award for the very first time. A young cyclist laces up her boots for a rally that will take her past mountains she has looked at her whole life but never truly ridden through. A football fan feels a quiet swell of pride watching a friendly match unfold on the pitch, cheered on by a crowd standing under a banner that reads "Play for Nepal," a small on field gesture of solidarity for a neighbour still rebuilding after the floods. And somewhere on the cobbled streets of Chowrasta, a traveller begins a six kilometre walk into the living history of Darjeeling, one step at a time.
This is not a trade show. This is not a marketing event. This is the Kanchenjunga Tourism Festival, and for three days in September 2026, it turns an entire region into one enormous, beating heart.
A Legacy That Keeps Growing Louder
KTF has a history of showing up for this region. Its earlier edition brought people together to celebrate sustainable journeys, put local food on a stage it deserved, and turned City Centre Siliguri into a place where strangers danced next to each other under the same lights.
But 2026 is where the story becomes something bigger. This year, KTF stops being just a festival for one city and becomes a movement for an entire civilization of mountain communities, stretching across North Bengal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, and Northeast India. A brand new Travel Awards night joins the Food Awards, meaning two galas, two red carpets, two nights of pure spectacle instead of one. A sitting Member of Parliament stands as Chief Patron. A national football legend lends his name and his heart as Goodwill Ambassador. Institutions like ACT and ENEEF are pulling in voices from across borders that rarely get to share a stage.
Every year this festival has grown. This year, it does not just grow. It leaps.
The People Behind the Power
Numbers do not move people. People move people. And KTF 2026 has assembled a remarkable one.
Shri Raju Bista, Hon'ble MP for Darjeeling, is not a name on a banner. As Chief Patron, he is opening doors to the Tourism Secretary, engaging directly with the GTA, and standing on stage to personally welcome every guest who walks through on Day One. That is not sponsorship. That is someone putting his own credibility behind this region's future.
Padma Shri Bhaichung Bhutia, a man whose name is spoken with pride in every corner of this region, walks the halls as Goodwill Ambassador. When he shakes hands with a homestay owner or poses for a photo with a first time exhibitor, it is not just a media moment. It is someone from these hills who became a national icon, coming home to lift up the next generation.
And behind it all stands the Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT), a Festival Partner that never lets the celebration forget its responsibility. ACT's presence is a quiet but powerful reminder that these mountains, these rivers, and these cultures are not a backdrop for tourism. They are the reason it exists, and they deserve to be protected while they are celebrated.
Play for Nepal: A Match That Means More Than a Match
There is football, and then there is this.
In the wake of the devastating floods that shook Nepal, KTF is hosting Play for Nepal, and anyone who has ever stood in a stadium knows that some matches carry weight beyond the scoreline. This is one of them. Every cheer, every goal, every banner on that field carries a simple message across a border that cannot be crossed by road overnight but can be crossed instantly by solidarity. Co powered by CAMPA, this is not a sponsorship activation dressed up as compassion. It is compassion, wearing football boots.
The Queen's Trail: History You Can Feel Under Your Feet
"Some stories aren't on Google Maps. Walk them with us."
There is a version of Darjeeling that lives in guidebooks, and there is a version that lives in the cracks of old stone steps and the quiet corners tourists usually rush past. On Sunday, 27th September, from 6 AM, the Queen's Trail invites people to discover the second one.
Starting at Chowrasta and ending at Darjeeling Railway Station, this walk is not about covering distance. It is about slowing down long enough to hear a town breathe. Every colonial building, every viewpoint, every winding lane becomes a chapter in a story that has been unfolding for over a century, and for one morning, everyone who joins gets to be part of writing its next page.
Three Days That Refuse to Be Forgotten
Day One, Launch and Inauguration, opens with lamps lit, guests welcomed, and the unmistakable feeling of something enormous beginning. Cultural performances from Adivasi, Rajbanshi, Tibetan, Rai, Lepcha, and Tamang communities remind everyone in the room exactly whose stories this festival is built to honour.
Day Two, Youth, Culture and Ideas, hands the stage to the region's future. A cycle rally at sunrise. Students performing folk and classical dance with everything they have. The Mr and Ms Kanchenjunga pageant. Local bands playing music that belongs to these hills. This is the day the festival stops being watched and starts being lived.
Day Three, Gala Evening, brings the glamour. The debut Kanchenjunga Travel Awards honour the tour operators, homestays, and eco resorts who have spent years building this region's tourism economy from the ground up, often without recognition. The Kanchenjunga Food Awards follow, celebrating the chefs and food brands who turn simple ingredients into the taste of home. Two galas, one unforgettable night.
Across it all, over 40 million digital impressions, more than 10,000 people walking through the venues in person, and 25 plus regional creators capturing every second of it will carry this story far beyond the mountains it was born in.
More Than a Festival, A Promise
Strip away the stages, the lights, and the trophies, and what remains is something simple. KTF 2026 is a region standing up and saying, we are here, our culture is alive, our food is worth celebrating, our neighbours matter, and our mountains deserve to be protected while they are shared with the world.
That is what ACT has always believed tourism should be. Not extraction, but connection.
Culture connects people. This September, come feel it for yourself.
