Kathmandu festival calendar by Nepali month

Nepal's official calendar is Bikram Sambat, a solar calendar about 56 years and 8 months ahead of the Gregorian. The Nepali year 2083 began in mid-April 2026. Its twelve months each start on a fixed solar transit and run 29 to 32 days, so Baisakh always begins around 13–15 April and Chaitra always ends around the same time a year later. Government offices, schools and newspapers all use it, and Saturday is the weekly holiday.

Festivals are a different matter. Most are fixed by tithi, the lunar day, counted from new moon and full moon. A festival on the full moon of Shrawan can fall anywhere from late July to late August, and every few years an extra lunar month shifts everything. The Newars also keep their own lunar era, Nepal Sambat, whose new year falls during Tihar in October or November.

So treat the table below as a guide to the season, not the date. Every year the government and the calendar committee publish exact festival dates. Check current status before you travel, and if a festival is the reason for your trip, plan a day of slack on either side.

This table maps each Nepali month to its usual Gregorian dates and the main festivals you can see in the Kathmandu Valley.

The Nepali year opens with Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur, a festival of about nine days spanning Baisakh 1. Huge wooden chariots of Bhairav and Bhadrakali are pulled through the city in a tug of war between the upper and lower halves of town, and a tall wooden pole is raised and then pulled down to mark the new year. The day after, Madhyapur Thimi holds Sindur Jatra, when palanquins of local gods are carried through clouds of orange vermilion powder.

Buddha Jayanti, the full moon of Baisakh, fills Swayambhu and Boudha with pilgrims and butter lamps. Around the same time Patan begins the Rato Machhindranath jatra, the longest chariot festival in the valley, when a towering chariot is hauled through the city over several weeks. It ends with Bhoto Jatra at Jawalakhel, when a jewelled vest is shown to the crowd. In Jestha, Newar families clean wells and ponds for Sithi Nakha and eat wo, lentil patties.

The monsoon is the season of rice planting, and Asar 15, usually the end of June, is the national rice-planting day, when people splash in muddy fields and eat curd with beaten rice. From Shrawan, Newar Buddhists observe Gunla, a holy month when music groups walk to Swayambhu each morning. Nag Panchami puts pictures of serpent gods above doorways.

On Janai Purnima, the full moon of Shrawan, Hindu men change their sacred thread, many people tie a protective string on their wrists, and pilgrims bathe at the Kumbheshwar pond in Patan. Families eat kwati, a soup of sprouted beans. The next day is Gai Jatra, when families who lost someone during the year walk in procession with cows or boys dressed as cows; Bhaktapur's version is the biggest. In Bhadra come Krishna Janmashtami at Patan's Krishna Mandir and Teej, when women in red saris fast, sing and dance, many at Pashupatinath.

Late Bhadra brings Indra Jatra in Kathmandu, an eight-day festival that usually runs into September. A tall wooden pole is raised at Hanuman Dhoka, masked dancers fill the squares, rice beer pours from the mouth of the Seto Bhairav mask, and the living goddess Kumari is pulled through the old city on her chariot.

Dashain, the biggest festival of the year, falls in the bright half of Ashwin and sometimes spills into Kartik. For fifteen days kites fill the sky, bamboo swings go up in villages and families travel home. The last days bring Fulpati, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and Vijaya Dashami, when elders give tika and jamara to younger relatives. Many shops and offices close for a week or more.

About three weeks later comes Tihar, the five-day festival of lights, honouring crows, dogs, cows and the goddess Laxmi, with oil lamps and marigolds on every house and groups singing deusi and bhailo door to door. For Newars, the fourth day is Mha Puja, a worship of one's own body, and the new year of Nepal Sambat. Bhai Tika, on the fifth day, is for sisters and brothers. Chhath follows at Kathmandu's ponds.

In Mangsir, Pashupatinath holds an all-night vigil for Bala Chaturdashi, when devotees scatter seeds for departed relatives, and the Mangsir full moon is Yomari Punhi, the harvest feast of sweet dumplings.

Poush is a quiet month for Hindu ritual, but Gurung families celebrate Tamu Lhosar, their new year, around Poush 15, with gatherings in Kathmandu. Magh opens with Maghe Sankranti, usually 14 or 15 January, when families eat til ko laddu, sesame sweets, chaku, sweet potatoes and yams. Tamang communities mark Sonam Lhosar in Magh, and on Basanta Panchami students offer pens and books to Saraswati, including at her shrine on Swayambhu hill.

Falgun brings Maha Shivaratri, when tens of thousands of pilgrims and sadhus come to Pashupatinath and bonfires burn through the night. Gyalpo Lhosar, the Tibetan new year, fills Boudha with families in new clothes and masked dances at the monasteries. Holi, or Fagu Purnima, follows at the Falgun full moon, preceded by a week when a pole with coloured cloths stands in Basantapur.

In Chaitra the Nepal Army holds Ghode Jatra, a horse festival at Tundikhel, and the white Seto Machhindranath is pulled on a chariot through Asan and the old city. Then Bisket Jatra returns and the year begins again.

Festivals are the best reason to choose particular dates, but they come with crowds and closures. During Dashain and Tihar, transport out of Kathmandu is booked for days, so reserve domestic flights early. For jatras, ask your guide where to stand; chariots and crowds can surge without warning. Accept that some rituals are for the community only, and take photos only when it is clearly welcome.

Match the festival to the kind of trip you want. For big public spectacle, aim for Bisket Jatra, Indra Jatra or the Rato Machhindranath chariot. For family life and food, Dashain and Tihar are unmatched, but come with a host or guide, as much of it happens indoors. For Buddhist ritual, choose Buddha Jayanti or Gyalpo Lhosar at Boudha. For something smaller, the Gunla processions to Swayambhu in the monsoon and the Bala Chaturdashi vigil at Pashupatinath are quiet, local and moving.

Weather follows the calendar too. The monsoon festivals of Shrawan and Bhadra come with afternoon rain, so carry an umbrella and expect slippery stone. Shivaratri and Lhosar fall in the cool, clear end of winter, with cold nights. Bisket Jatra comes with warm, hazy spring days.