Bisket Jatra (also Biska Jatra) is a nine-day Newar festival in Bhaktapur that wraps around the Nepali New Year. In 2027 it is expected to run from about 10 to 18 April, with the tall yosin pole raised on 13 April and pulled down on New Year’s Day, 14 April (Baisakh 1, 2084). The highlights are the tug-of-war over the Bhairav chariot in Taumadhi Square, the pole felling and the tongue-piercing rite in nearby Bode on 15 April. Foreign visitors pay NPR 1,800 to enter Bhaktapur’s old city.
- WhereBhaktapur, about 13 km east of Kathmandu
- Length9 days and 8 nights
- 2027 datesAbout 10 to 18 April (confirm locally)
- Nepali New Year14 April 2027 (Baisakh 1, 2084 BS)
- Must-see daysDay 1 chariot, days 4 and 5 pole raising and felling
- Bode tongue piercingBaisakh 2 (15 April 2027)
- Entry feeNPR 1,800 foreigners, NPR 500 SAARC
- Swotah tripBest of Nepal Tour, 12 days, from USD 1,010 (group departure)
Every April, the ancient city of Bhaktapur transforms into something extraordinary. Chariots the size of small houses are hauled through narrow stone-paved lanes by thousands of devotees, a towering wooden pole is raised and pulled down in rituals that have unfolded for centuries, and in a nearby village a single man walks for hours with a metal spike through his tongue carrying a flaming bamboo rack, all in devotion, all in celebration. This is Bisket Jatra, Nepal's most viscerally spectacular festival, and timing your Nepal trip to coincide with it is one of the best decisions you can make.
What is Bisket Jatra?
Bisket Jatra is a nine-day festival celebrated primarily in Bhaktapur, the medieval Newar city 13 km east of Kathmandu, along with related New Year celebrations in Thimi, Bode, Tokha and Dhapasi. The name is often spelled Biska Jatra. A popular explanation traces it to the Newari bi (serpent) and ska (to kill), rooting the festival in its founding legend, though scholars debate the etymology.
The festival wraps around the Nepali New Year (Baisakh 1 of the Bikram Sambat calendar): it starts four days before and ends on Baisakh 5. It is its own distinct religious and civic event with deep roots in Bhaktapur's Newar culture. The rituals, the deities honoured, and the social structure of the celebration are entirely specific to this tradition and have no equivalent elsewhere in Nepal. It is, in the words of many who have attended, one of the most intense cultural experiences in Asia.
The festival is primarily celebrated at Taumadhi Square and Bhaktapur Durbar Square, part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site (listed in 1979), but the processions and ceremonies spread through the entire old city over the nine days. For an overview of the most popular festivals in Nepal, see our broader festival guide.
The Legend Behind the Festival
The story at the heart of Bisket Jatra is both strange and genuinely compelling. Long ago, according to Newar tradition, the princess of Bhaktapur was under a deadly curse: every man who shared her bed was found dead by morning, killed by two serpents that emerged from her nostrils in the night. Prince after prince perished. The kingdom was running out of suitors.
Eventually a young prince with tantric powers resolved to marry her. He stayed awake through the wedding night, watched the two serpents emerge, and killed them both with his sword. With the curse broken, the city erupted in celebration, and that celebration became Bisket Jatra.
The tall wooden pole (called yosin dyah or lingo) raised during the festival, and the two long banners hung from it, are widely understood to represent those two defeated serpents. The festival’s age is debated. Some accounts trace its roots to the Licchavi era, while many local historians credit Malla-period rulers, including King Jagat Jyoti Malla (reigned about 1614 to 1637), with shaping the festival as it is celebrated today.
The Main Events of Bisket Jatra
The nine days are dense with distinct ceremonies. The events that define Bisket Jatra:
- Chariot processions. The two main chariots, the large three-tiered Rath of Bhairavnath (a fierce form of Shiva) and the smaller Rath of Bhadrakali, are assembled in Taumadhi Square and hauled through Bhaktapur's lanes by enormous crowds pulling on thick ropes. The chariots are multi-storey wooden structures decorated with cloth, metalwork, and flowers. The hauling is both a devotional act and a communal feat of strength.
- The great tug-of-war. Bhaktapur is traditionally divided into two rival settlements, Thane (upper) and Kone (lower). Each side competes to pull the chariot toward their territory. The outcome is believed to predict the coming year's fortune for the city. The contest is fierce and draws thousands of participants on each rope.
- Raising and lowering the yosin dyah. On the fourth day, the last evening of the old year, a single pole about 25 metres high (traditionally 55 haat, or forearm lengths) is raised at Yosinkhel, also written Lyasinkhel, near the Hanumante River. Two long banners representing the two defeated serpents of the legend hang from it. On New Year’s Day the rival crowds pull it down, and its fall marks the start of the new year. Both the raising and the felling draw vast crowds and the coordination required is extraordinary.
- Street processions and masked dances. Masked Newar dance performances, music, oil-lamp offerings, and neighbourhood processions continue throughout the nine days, spreading into the residential lanes of the old city well beyond Taumadhi Square.
The Tongue-Piercing Ceremony in Bode
On Baisakh 2, the day after New Year (15 April in 2027), in Bode village just outside Bhaktapur, locals hold the Jibro Chhedne Jatra, and a single male devotee undergoes what may be the most extraordinary act of religious devotion in Nepal's entire festival calendar. A metal spike is driven through his tongue. He then carries a heavy, half-moon-shaped bamboo frame of lit oil lamps (the mahadeep) around the village, walking for two to three hours while the spike remains in place. At the end, the needle is removed and fixed to the wall of Bode’s Mahalaxmi temple.
The selected man, in recent years a volunteer from a local Shrestha family, goes through a period of spiritual preparation beforehand: a strict ritual diet, purification rites, and prayer. The belief is that a truly faithful and spiritually prepared devotee will feel no pain and bleed very little. He is accompanied by priests and a crowd of thousands.
The same day, the neighbouring town of Thimi holds its own New Year festival, Sindoor Jatra, when palanquins of local deities are carried through clouds of orange vermilion powder. Later in the month of Baisakh, families across Nepal mark Mata Tirtha Aunsi (Mother’s Day), when children offer sweets, fruits, and gifts to their mothers. Together they show how layered the New Year season is in the valley.
Bisket Jatra 2027 Dates, Day by Day
The festival is tied to the solar New Year, so it starts four days before Baisakh 1 and ends on Baisakh 5. In 2026 it began on 10 April (27 Chaitra) with the first pull of the Bhairav chariot. The 2027 dates below follow the same pattern. Exact times are set by priests and the Guthi each year, so check the Bhaktapur Municipality schedule before you travel.
| Date (2027) | Festival day | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 10 April | Day 1 | Bhairav chariot pulled for the first time in Taumadhi Square; Thane and Kone tug-of-war |
| 11 to 12 April | Days 2 and 3 | Chariot processions, music and neighbourhood rituals across the old city |
| Tue 13 April | Day 4 (last day of Chaitra) | Yosin pole raised at Yosinkhel in the evening |
| Wed 14 April | Day 5 (Baisakh 1, New Year 2084) | Pole pulled down; national holiday; chariots brought together at Gahiti |
| Thu 15 April | Day 6 (Baisakh 2) | Tongue piercing in Bode; Sindoor Jatra in Thimi |
| 16 to 18 April | Days 7 to 9 | Chariot returns to Taumadhi; closing rituals on Baisakh 5 |
Which Days Are Busiest?
A rough guide to crowd levels across the nine days, based on the main public events. Bars show relative crowd size.
| Day | Main event | Crowd level |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | First chariot pull | |
| Days 2 to 3 | Processions | |
| Day 4 | Pole raising | |
| Day 5 | Pole felling, New Year | |
| Day 6 | Bode and Thimi | |
| Days 7 to 9 | Return and closing |
How to Attend Bisket Jatra: Practical Tips
- Timing. Bisket Jatra falls in mid-April. Bikram Sambat New Year 2084 falls on 14 April 2027, so the festival should run from about 10 to 18 April 2027. The first day (the first chariot pull) and New Year’s Day (the pole felling) are the most dramatic. If you can only attend two days, choose those.
- Getting there. Bhaktapur is 13 km east of Kathmandu, roughly 30–45 minutes by taxi from Thamel depending on traffic. Bhaktapur Municipality charges foreign visitors NPR 1,800 (SAARC nationals NPR 500) to enter the old city, including Durbar, Taumadhi and Dattatreya squares. Keep your ticket. If you are staying several days, show your passport at the counter and ask for the ticket to be extended, usually for up to a week at no extra cost.
- Best spots. Taumadhi Square (in front of the five-tiered Nyatapola temple, built in 1702) and the chariot procession route are the prime locations. Arrive at least an hour before a scheduled procession, because crowds fill the narrow lanes quickly.
- Safety. Do not grip the chariot ropes during the tug-of-war, and stay well back when the pole comes down. Injuries occur most years among those too close to the action, and people have been killed in past years, including when the pole snapped. Keep valuables in a front pocket or secure bag. Travelling with a local guide is strongly recommended.
- Photography. General street photography is welcomed, but drones need permission. For close-up shots of the tongue-piercing ceremony in Bode, ask permission from those immediately around the devotee, keep a respectful distance, and follow the lead of local attendees on how close is appropriate.
- Accommodation. Book early. April is peak season in Nepal and Bhaktapur fills up fast. Staying in Bhaktapur itself gives you access to early-morning and late-evening events that day-trippers miss.
Plan Your Bisket Jatra Trip With Swotah
Swotah’s Best of Nepal Tour covers Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and the rest of the valley’s heritage sites over 12 days, from USD 1,010 per person on the group departure. Its fixed departures do not line up with the festival, so Swotah can arrange it as a private trip timed for Bisket Jatra, with a hotel inside Bhaktapur’s old city and a local guide for the chariot and pole days. If you want to photograph the festival, the Photography Tour in Nepal (10 days, from USD 1,099 on the group departure) can also be arranged as a private trip around the New Year.
For more on the Newar people and their culture, visit our dedicated guide. To plan a Nepal trip around Bisket Jatra and the spring season, browse our Nepal treks and tours or read our full list of 18 reasons to visit Nepal in 2026. For the broader festival calendar, see our guide to the festivals you should not miss in Nepal.
Bisket Jatra FAQs
When is Bisket Jatra 2027?
It is expected to run from about 10 to 18 April 2027. The pole goes up on 13 April and comes down on New Year’s Day, 14 April (Baisakh 1, 2084). Exact ritual times are announced locally each year.
How long does Bisket Jatra last?
Nine days and eight nights. It starts four days before the Nepali New Year and ends on Baisakh 5.
Where does the tongue piercing take place?
In Bode, a Newar town a few kilometres west of Bhaktapur, on Baisakh 2. A volunteer has his tongue pierced with a needle and walks around the town carrying a frame of lit oil lamps for two to three hours.
Do tourists need a ticket during Bisket Jatra?
Yes. Foreign visitors pay NPR 1,800 to enter Bhaktapur’s old city (NPR 500 for SAARC nationals), festival or not. Keep the ticket with you, as it is checked at the entry points.
Can visitors join the chariot tug-of-war?
It is better not to. The ropes are pulled by rival neighbourhoods, the crowd surges without warning, and injuries are common. Watch from a rooftop or a step well back from the chariot’s path.
