All activities / Witness / Attend / Chaguanas
Witness / Attend in Chaguanas
Divali Nagar
Trinidad's largest and fastest-growing town, on the central plains south of Port of Spain and the commercial heart of the island's Indo-Trinidadian community. It is the home of the Divali Nagar, the sprawling festival site where the National Council of Indian Culture stages the largest celebration of Divali outside India each autumn.
Run by National Council of Indian Culture, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why here
The Divali Nagar is the largest celebration of Divali outside India, and it turns Chaguanas into a nine-night showcase of Indo-Trinidadian culture. About four in ten Trinidadians trace their roots to indentured labourers who came from India in the nineteenth century, and the Nagar, staged since 1986 by the National Council of Indian Culture, is where that heritage comes to the surface. On a permanent festival ground the council builds a temporary city of light: a main stage running classical Indian and local chutney music, dance and drama every night, a large religious exhibition built each year around a Hindu theme, stalls of Divali sweets, doubles and vegetarian food, and a market of saris, brassware and crafts, all free to enter. It climaxes as Divali itself approaches and the whole country lights deyas, the small clay oil lamps, along walls and driveways. Coming to the Nagar is the easy, welcoming way for a visitor to step into the festival, eat well and hear the music, before Divali night when the island glows with lamps.
Best months
Divali follows the Hindu lunar calendar and falls on the new moon of the month of Kartik, so it moves between mid-October and mid-November each year, and the Nagar runs for the nine nights leading up to it. Divali 2026 falls on 8 November, so the Nagar is expected in the days before it; the 2025 edition ran 11 to 19 October. The festival ground opens in the evenings and gets very busy as Divali nears, especially at weekends. It is warm and can be showery at the tail of the wet season, so bring a light rain layer.
Getting there & around
The Divali Nagar site is at Narsaloo Ramaya Marg in Endeavour, Chaguanas, about a 30 to 40 minute drive south of Port of Spain on the highway, and is easiest reached by car or taxi. Entry to the grounds is free; the site opens in the evenings through the festival and traffic and crowds build sharply on the nights closest to Divali, so go early and allow time for parking. Dress is casual but modest for the religious exhibits.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
National Council of Indian Culture
OrganizerThe National Council of Indian Culture is a Trinidadian non-governmental body founded in 1964 to preserve Indo-Trinidadian culture, and since 1986 it has staged the Divali Nagar in Chaguanas. The Nagar runs the nine nights before Divali as a free-entry fair, with Indian music and dance on a main stage, a yearly religious exhibition on a Hindu theme, and streets of craft and food stalls. The council calls it the largest celebration of Divali outside India.