Discover Surfing At India Surf Festival 2016

One of the first (and few) surfing festivals in the country, the India Surf Festival has come a long way from its 2011 days. In the past few years, surfing in India has gained an unprecedented popularity, attested by the number of people found on remote beaches, trying to tame those waves. This Odisha-based gathering has become a focal point of this growing movement, hosting surfers, musicians and artists from around the world, and pushing forward with a nature-loving and eco-friendly vibe.

For those who have never surfed before, we seriously recommended this. Put together by an inclusive community of surfing and yoga addicts (read up on the Surfing Yogis), the festival will take you in with open arms and send you back home with a few tricks up your sleeve and a slightly colourful view of the outside world. Wave breakers from around the world will show you what it's like to brave those sea waters and how surfing can change your life.

Learn surfing in an exclusive workshop conducted by pro-surfers from the community, everything from how to wax your board to catching a wave. And when lacking inspiration, watch the Indian Surf Championship unfold on the beach, with skilled sportsmen from all over the country who will display freestyle moves over the dancing sea. They are judged on skill sets, creativity and style.

The festival has been the leading advocate of stand-up paddling since its very first edition. Both stand-up paddle surfing and stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) have been derived from traditional surfing and originated in Hawai. The festival also hosts the annual India SUP Championship, an exciting tournament for racers, hosted on a river channel that is constantly changing direction.

Start your mornings with yoga sessions, both on water and on the soft sands of the beach. We are particularly fascinated by yoga on water, a great warm-up to surfing as it helps improve your balance on water and your flexibility. The sessions will be conducted by international instructors and with the water gently bobbing beneath your surfboard, they are known to be particularly calming.

Still shying away from the water? Not a problem. Emmulate those swerves, jumps and other surfing moves over land with your skateboards. The India Surf Festival will have half pipes, pump tracks and clean paved roads for all skateboarders who can't get enough of sandy shores.

With a DJ playing out of a watch tower, cosy wooden huts, colourful tents, live art, three surfing championships and beach parties, discover what the surfing community is all about at the fifth edition of India Surf Festival, and prepare to enter a bubble of joy with sand and waves.