21
Oct 2026
Lunar dates, checked each season
Nepal Festival Calendar
Every festival we can get you to in Nepal, with the dates our local office has confirmed. Tell us when you can travel and we will show you what is on.
Add your dates and we will match festivals to your window.
October 2026
November 2026
8
Nov 2026
11
Nov 2026
December 2026
30
Dec 2026
February 2027
7
Feb 2027
April 2027
14
Apr 2027
May 2027
10
May 2027
20
May 2027
June 2027
1–3
Jun 2027
August 2027
17–19
Aug 2027
18
Aug 2027
September 2027
3
Sep 2027
14
Sep 2027
October 2027
29
Oct 2027
31
Oct 2027
November 2027
20
Nov 2027
December 2027
30
Dec 2027
No festivals match that combination.
Festivals worth travelling for
Nepal follows lunar calendars, so dates move every year. These are the ones our guests ask about most.
Dashain
Nepal's biggest holiday, celebrating good over evil. Families gather for tika blessings from elders, and bamboo swings and kites appear everywhere. Offices close for several days.
Tihar
Five days of lights, also called Deepawali. Crows, dogs and cows are honoured on their own days, and the festival ends with Bhai Tika between brothers and sisters.
Mani Rimdu
Three days of masked cham dances at Tengboche Monastery. It can be timed with an autumn Everest trek.
Indra Jatra
Eight days of masked dances in Kathmandu Durbar Square, and the one time the living goddess Kumari is pulled through the city in her chariot.
Gai Jatra & Teej
Gai Jatra remembers family members who died that year with lively processions. At Teej, women in red saris fast and dance at Pashupatinath.
Maha Shivaratri
Thousands of pilgrims and sadhus from Nepal and India gather at Pashupatinath for a night of fires and prayer to Shiva.
Losar
New Year is celebrated three times: Tamu Lhosar (Gurung, late December), Sonam Lhosar (Tamang) and Gyalpo Lhosar (Sherpa and Tibetan, at Boudhanath).
Bisket Jatra
Nepali New Year in Bhaktapur, with a tug-of-war between halves of the town over a huge wooden chariot.
Rato Machhindranath
The valley's longest chariot festival. A towering chariot is pulled through Patan over several weeks to bring the monsoon rains.
Buddha Jayanti
Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death, marked with butter lamps at Lumbini, Swayambhunath and Boudhanath.
Tiji
Three days of masked dances in the walled town of Lo Manthang. The story is of a deity who defeats a demon to save the kingdom.
Yartung
Harvest festival at Muktinath with horse races, archery and dancing. Mustang stays drier than the rest of Nepal in this season.
Planning around a festival
A few things we tell every guest who wants to see a festival.
Book early
Kathmandu hotels and domestic flights fill up during Dashain and Tihar, and Lukla seats are scarce in the autumn trekking season.
Expect closures
Banks, offices and some shops close on the main days of Dashain and Tihar. We plan sightseeing around them.
Leave room for date changes
Monasteries sometimes move dates at short notice. For Mani Rimdu and Tiji, we add a spare day either side.
Build a trip around a festival
Rooms go early in festival weeks, and remote festivals need extra travel days. Send us the festival you want and we will tell you honestly whether the dates still work.
Plan my festival trip