Snakes festival is celebrated for 8-10 days at the small town of Battis Shirala, Maharashtra, which is 50 km from Kolhapur. The festival is celebrated on the onset of the monsoons, and it is believed to counter the increased possibility of snakebites during this time.
Battis Shirala is a hilly town with thick forests having a wide species of snakes ranging from the deadliest king cobra to the rare species of pythons. Youths get into nearby jungles and persuade snakes out of it a week before the festival. Thousands of tourists including foreign tourists are attracted by the snake show organized during the festival.
Nearest airport is at Kolhapur, 50 km away from the Battis Shirala, while nearest railway station is also at Kolhapur. This place is well connected by road as well. Hotels are available at Kolhapur or Sangli.
Maharashtra is a land of rich cultural heritage and traditions. The diverse form of landscape and environment make the state's culture more colourful. Maharashtrians celebrate every fair with great fervour and enthusiasm. The sacred Kumb Mela at Nashik that comes after every twelve years is regarded to be the most important religious fair in Maharashtra. As Maharashtrians have great belief of Lord Ganesh, Ganesh Utsav at Sangli and Pune are the fairs that Maharashtrians celebrate with great fun fare, which are attended by the maximum number of visitors even from foreign countries. The Maharashtra government in collaboration with the Union government is promoting the Pune fair as a major tourists attraction. Other important temple fairs include Changdeo fair at the Markandeya Temple near Edlabad, Kiran Utsav at the Mahalaxmi Temple at Kolhapur, Rathyatra at the Kalaram Temple in Nashik, and the Shrirama Rathotsava fair and the Navaratra Mahalaxmi fair at the Navaratra Mahalaxmi temple in Jalgaon. The Khuldabad Urs is a festival for Muslims; celebrated for five days. Mount Mary Festival, which is held every year at Bandra, Mumbai attracts huge crowds of the city. The Snake festival at Battis Shirala town too attracts large number of tourists from India and aboard.