Travel style · Feasts, markets and the lunar calendar
Food and festivals in Nepal
Newar samay baji and yomari, Thakali dal bhat, Sherpa shyakpa, Tharu ghonghi, Mithila sweets, Ilam's tea and tongba in the eastern hills. And the festivals that bring them out: Dashain, Tihar, Indra Jatra, Bisket, Tiji and Chhath.
Food in Nepal changes with height as much as with region. Rice gives way to millet, buckwheat and barley as the trail climbs, and every community has a feast dish tied to a festival.
Most festivals follow the lunar calendar or the Bikram Sambat year, which began its year 2083 in April 2026. We confirm each date before we build the route.
Trips
Kathmandu Valleymax 2,175 mDashain festival days in the Kathmandu Valley
Six nights timed to the last and biggest days of Dashain, Nepal's fifteen-day autumn festival. See the Fulpati procession reach Hanuman Dhoka, …
Kathmandu Valleymax 1,400 mNewar food and festivals of the valley
Five nights in the kitchens, markets and festival squares of the Newars, the valley's oldest people. Eat samay baji in Kirtipur, buy …
Pokhara & the Annapurnasmax 1,600 mGorkha, Bandipur and Pokhara Heritage
Six nights on the old road west: the Manakamana cable car, a night at Gorkha below the palace where Prithvi Narayan Shah …
Pokhara & the Annapurnasmax 2,060 mGurung Village Homestay Trail
Six nights walking short days between Gurung villages on the south side of the Annapurnas: Dhampus, Landruk and two nights in Ghandruk, …
Pokhara & the Annapurnasmax 1,600 mPokhara Lakes Slow Week
Five slow nights on the water: three at Fish Tail Lodge on its own peninsula in Phewa Lake, with boats to Tal …
Everest & Solukhumbumax 3,867 mTengboche Mani Rimdu Festival Trek
Time your Everest trek to the Mani Rimdu festival at Tengboche Monastery, held each October or November by the Tibetan calendar. Eleven …
Chitwan & the Teraimax 1,400 mJanakpur and Mithila Art
Four nights for the Mithila culture of Nepal's south-east: one in Kathmandu, three in Janakpur. The white-domed Janaki Mandir, the sacred ponds, …
Chitwan & the Teraimax 1,400 mRamayana Trail: Janakpur to Devghat
Six nights on the Nepal side of the Ramayana. Three nights in Janakpur, Sita's city in Hindu tradition, for Janaki Mandir, the …
Chitwan & the Teraimax 160 mTharu Homestays in Barauli and Amaltari
Three nights with Tharu families on the western edge of Chitwan National Park: one night in Barauli and two in Amaltari, both …
Mustang & Dolpomax 3,710 mLower Mustang and Muktinath by road
Six nights by private jeep from Pokhara up the Kali Gandaki, the deep gorge between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, to the apple village …
Mustang & Dolpomax 2,720 mMarpha apple harvest week
Five slow nights in the apple country of Lower Mustang at harvest time, from late August to mid October. Pick fruit with …
Mustang & Dolpomax 2,720 mThakali trail down the Kali Gandaki
A seven-night downhill walk through the Thakali villages of the Kali Gandaki, from windy Jomsom to the hot springs of Tatopani. Mostly …
Mustang & Dolpomax 4,010 mTiji festival trek in Upper Mustang
A 14-night journey timed to Tiji, the three-day masked dance festival of Lo Manthang, held each spring on dates set by the …
Langtang & Manaslumax 4,380 mGosaikunda Janai Purnima pilgrimage trek
Six nights timed to Janai Purnima, the full moon of Shrawan, when thousands of Hindu pilgrims and Tamang shamans climb to Gosaikunda …
Langtang & Manaslumax 2,030 mNuwakot palace and farm stay
Three slow nights in Nuwakot, the hill town where Prithvi Narayan Shah began the unification of Nepal. You stay at The Famous …
Langtang & Manaslumax 3,165 mTamang Heritage Trail and village homestays
Seven nights on the Tamang Heritage Trail west of the Langtang valley: stone villages, hot springs, a high meadow with views to …
Eastern Nepalmax 1,850 mArun Valley and Chainpur Crafts
Seven nights from the Arun valley to the plains. Fly to Tumlingtar on its broad river terrace, spend two days with the …
Eastern Nepalmax 2,100 mEastern Hills Overland: Ilam to the Arun
Nine nights across the eastern hills by private car, from the tea gardens of Kanyam and Ilam to the Arun valley at …
Eastern Nepalmax 3,636 mIlam, Sandakpur and Kanyam
Five nights that climb from the tea gardens of Ilam to the Singalila ridge at Sandakpur, 3,636 m, where four of the …
Eastern Nepalmax 2,100 mIlam Tea Country
Four slow nights in the tea hills of Ilam, Nepal's oldest tea district. A night at Kanyam among clipped green slopes, then …
Eastern Nepalmax 1,850 mKirat Culture Trail: Bhedetar, Dhankuta, Hile
Four nights in the Kirat heartland of the eastern hills, where Rai and Limbu culture is part of daily life. Visit Budha …
Far West & Karnalimax 2,540 mKhasa Kingdom Heritage: Jumla, Sinja, Dullu
Eight nights through the heartland of the Khasa Malla kingdom, which ruled western Nepal and parts of western Tibet from about the …
Places
Kathmandu Valley1,401 mBhaktapur
Khwopa, the city of potters, drums and the five-roofed Nyatapola
Kathmandu Valley1,350 mBungamati
Home village of the red rain god, and of the valley's woodcarvers
Kathmandu Valley1,400 mKathmandu
Yen of the Newars: a capital built round one wooden pavilion
Kathmandu Valley1,400 mKirtipur
Kipu, the ridge town that held off the Gorkha army three times
Kathmandu Valley1,442 mPanauti
A Newar river town where three rivers meet, one of them unseen
Kathmandu Valley1,330 mPashupatinath
Shiva's temple on the Bagmati, where Nepal comes to pray and to part
Kathmandu Valley1,350 mPatan
Yala, the city of metalworkers, courtyards and Buddhist bahals
Everest & Solukhumbu3,440 mNamche Bazaar
Khumbu's trading town, built in a bowl at 3,440 m
Everest & Solukhumbu2,413 mPhaplu
Solu's airstrip town below cliff-top Chiwong Gompa
Everest & Solukhumbu3,867 mTengboche
Khumbu's great monastery, founded 1916, rebuilt twice
Chitwan & the Terai150 mAmaltari
Tharu and Bote village on Chitwan's western edge
Chitwan & the Terai160 mBarauli
A Tharu village homestay run by its women
Chitwan & the Terai200 mDevghat
Where the Kali Gandaki and Trishuli become the Narayani
Chitwan & the Terai90 mDhanusha Dham
Where a piece of Shiva's broken bow is said to rest
Chitwan & the Terai74 mJanakpur
Sita's city, white marble and two hundred sacred ponds
Chitwan & the Terai83 mSimraungadh
The lost capital of the Karnata kings of Mithila
Stays
heritage hotel1,400 mDwarika's Hotel
A heritage hotel at Battisputali, near Pashupatinath, built around brick courtyards and fitted with carved Newar windows, doors and struts …
city hotel1,400 mHotel Yak & Yeti
A large city hotel on Durbar Marg, built around part of a 19th-century Rana palace, with gardens, a pool and …
heritage hotel1,400 mHotel Shanker
A Rana-era palace in Lazimpat converted into a hotel, with a white neoclassical facade, high-ceilinged halls and a large garden …
city hotel1,400 mKathmandu Guest House
One of the first guesthouses in Thamel, opened in the late 1960s, and the place many say started the area's …
resort1,400 mGokarna Forest Resort
A resort inside the Gokarna forest, a former royal hunting reserve on the north-eastern edge of Kathmandu, with an 18-hole …
mountain lodge3,440 mYeti Mountain Home Namche
A lodge in Namche Bazaar at about 3,440 m with attached bathrooms and a warm dining room, run by the …
jungle lodge150 mTiger Tops Tharu Lodge
A lodge on the edge of Amaltari village in Nawalpur, built in the style of Tharu longhouses with mud-plastered walls, …
mountain lodge1,350 mHotel Srinagar
A family-run hotel on the slope of Srinagar Danda above Tansen, at about 1,400 m, open for around five decades …
resort2,700 mShinta Mani Mustang
The first high-end resort in Mustang, opened in Jomsom in August 2023 with 29 suites. Designed by Nepali architect Prabal …
mountain lodge2,700 mOm's Home
A long-running, family-feel hotel in the centre of Jomsom, a two- or three-minute walk from the airport. Om's Home is …
farm stay900 mThe Famous Farm
A restored Newar farmhouse on the ridge at Nuwakot, a short walk from the seven-storey palace. Rooms keep the low …