Welcome to… The 2nd Landour Literature and Arts Festival [LLAF]
Visit us for the 2nd edition of the Landour Literature and Arts Festival on September 26-27, 2026, a weekend of arts, film, literature, music, and much more, featuring speakers and artists from the hillside and beyond.
- The Chakkar and Mussoorie Heritage Centre
We are honoured to invite you to the 2nd edition of the Landour Literature & Arts Festival [LLAF], set to be held at Ivy Bank, Landour, on September 26-27, 2026 (Saturday and Sunday). The LLAF is being organised by The Chakkar and the Mussoorie Heritage Centre [MHC]. Visit us for a delightful weekend of arts, film, literature, music, and much more, featuring speakers and artists from the hillside and beyond.
The first-ever edition of LLAF was held in 2025, featuring literary discussions, poetry readings, art installations, film, live music, and more. We will return this year at a much larger scale, featuring over 30 writers, artists, poets, musicians, activists, filmmakers, and thought-leaders for an illuminating and lively two-day event in the lap of the Himalaya. The LLAF’s foundations have been strengthened by the MHC’s long-running Landour Lecture Series, which has hosted over 100 speakers in Mussoorie and Landour since 2012.
This year’s festival is dedicated to the memory of late Hugh and Colleen Gantzer, Mussoorie residents and the husband-and-wife co-writing team who redefined travel journalism in India. Known as ‘Mussoorie's Global Ambassadors’, the Gantzers produced dozens of books, documentaries, and thousands of articles. The couple were awarded the Padma Shri Award in 2025. Colleen passed away in late 2024 and Hugh, at age 94, in February 2026.
LLAF is free to attend for all with no registration required. The complete list of speakers for the sessions can be found on LLAF.in, including: the renowned Landour-based author Stephen Alter, best-selling American author and scientist Alan Lightman, renowned Uttarakhand-based writer Ashok Pande, Janhavi Prasada, Goan cultural curator Vivek Menezes, cricket presenter, author, and actor Jamie Alter, regional musicians Ady Manral and Martand Batoni, plus Smita Agarwal, Anmol Jain, Narayani Basu, Atul Sethi, Rupleena Bose, Kiran Bhat, and many more. Students from local schools who will take part in art, poetry, and elocution events. The festival will also feature art installations, film, live music, and other festivities.
“There are few places in the world like Landour and Mussoorie, that have produced or inspired such a great number of creative minds,” said Karan Madhok, author and co-founder of The Chakkar. “With the second edition of LLAF, our hope is to honour the heritage of culture and arts from this region, as well as to engage with the larger community to foster appreciation and sustainable care for the Himalayan ecosystem.”
Surbhi Agarwal, founder and curator of the Mussoorie Heritage Centre said, “As associated with the MHC’s long-running community platform Landour Lecture Series, the 2nd edition of the Landour Literature and Arts Festival will feature enlightening conversations, arts, and entertainment to celebrate our beloved hillside.”
Shuchi Sharma from Ivy Bank said, “We are delighted to welcome the second edition of the Landour Literature and Arts Festival and open our doors to a gathering that brings together voices, ideas, and stories from across the country, here to the hills and the quiet charms of Landour.”
Follow LLAF on Instagram: @LLAF_Landour for regular updates. See you on the hillside!
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