Upcoming Festivals in Nepal: Tihar 2026 to Dashain 2027 Dates and Guide

• Next festivalTihar, November 7 to 11, 2026
• Laxmi PujaNovember 8, 2026
• Chhath main dayNovember 15, 2026
• Maha ShivaratriMarch 6, 2027
• HoliMarch 21 (hills), March 22 (Terai), 2027
• Nepali New Year 2084April 14, 2027
• Buddha JayantiMay 20, 2027
• Dashain 2027Vijaya Dashami around October 9 (expected)

Nepal celebrates more than 50 festivals a year, and the biggest ones for the 2026/2027 season now have dates. Tihar lights up the country from November 7 to 11, 2026, and Chhath follows on November 15. Looking further ahead, Maha Shivaratri lands on March 6, 2027, Holi on March 21 and 22, 2027, and Bisket Jatra opens the Nepali New Year in mid-April. Teej, Indra Jatra and Dashain have already passed for 2026 and return between August and October 2027. Most Nepali festivals follow the lunar calendar, so dates move every year. The table below gives you the dates to plan a festival-timed trip around, in the order they come up.

Nepal Festival Calendar 2026/2027 at a Glance

Lunar dates can shift by a day as the official Nepali calendar is finalised, so confirm against a current calendar when you book. The 2027 monsoon and autumn dates are expected dates. Nepal's Calendar Determination Committee fixes them closer to the time.

Already passed in 2026: Janai Purnima (August 28), Gai Jatra (August 29), Teej (main day September 14), Indra Jatra (from September 25) and Dashain (October 11 to 25, with Vijaya Dashami tika on October 21). Their sections below give the 2027 outlook.

How Long Each Festival Lasts

Festival length in days, from the first ritual to the last. Longer festivals mean longer closures of offices, buses and some shops.

Here is what each festival is actually like on the ground, starting with the next one on the calendar.

Tihar: November 7 to 11, 2026

Tihar, Nepal's festival of lights, runs five days from November 7 to 11 in 2026. The sequence is uniquely Nepali: crows are honoured first (Kag Tihar, November 7), then dogs (Kukur Tihar, the day the internet falls in love with Nepal), then cows and Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, on Laxmi Puja, when every home glows with oil lamps and marigold garlands. In 2026 Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja fall on the same day, November 8. On November 10 the Newar community celebrates Mha Puja, a blessing of one's own body, and the Nepal Sambat New Year (1147). The festival closes with Bhai Tika on November 11, when sisters bless their brothers. Evenings of Deusi-Bhailo carolling make it the most beautiful week to walk any Nepali town. In 2027 Tihar falls earlier, in late October and early November.

Chhath: November 13 to 16, 2026

A week after Laxmi Puja, the Terai turns to Chhath, the great sun-worship festival of Nepal's south. Devotees fast and stand waist-deep in rivers and ponds to offer fruit and thekua sweets to the setting and then the rising sun. In 2026 the four days run from November 13 to 16, with the main evening offering on Sunday, November 15, a public holiday, and the dawn offering the next morning. The ghats of Janakpur, lit by thousands of lamps at dawn, host the most atmospheric celebrations, an easy add-on for anyone visiting the Janaki Temple.

Yomari Punhi: Around December 24, 2026

On the full moon of the Newar month of Thinla, which falls around December 24 in 2026, Newar families in the Kathmandu Valley mark the end of the rice harvest with yomari, steamed rice-flour dumplings shaped like a fig and filled with chaku (molasses) or sesame paste. Households offer them to the gods and share them with neighbours, and children go door to door singing for them in some neighbourhoods. It is a small, homely festival, but the bakeries and cafes of Patan and Bhaktapur make it easy to taste.

Losar: December 2026 to March 2027

Nepal's Himalayan communities celebrate three new years across the winter: Tamu Losar of the Gurung (around December 30, 2026), Sonam Losar of the Tamang (around February 7, 2027), and Gyalpo Losar of the Sherpa and Tibetan communities (early March 2027, though calendars differ, so check the government holiday list). Monasteries hold masked dances and prayer ceremonies, families feast, and the Boudhanath stupa, restrung with fresh prayer flags, draws Kathmandu's biggest public gathering.

Maha Shivaratri: March 6, 2027

Maha Shivaratri, the great night of Shiva, draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and ash-smeared sadhus to Pashupatinath, Nepal's holiest Shiva temple. Devotees keep an all-night vigil with bonfires and chants of "Om Namah Shivaya", and for photographers no other day at Pashupatinath comes close. In 2027 it falls on Saturday, March 6, which is also Nepali Army Day and a public holiday.

Holi: March 21 and 22, 2027

Holi, the festival of colours, welcomes spring on the full moon of Falgun, and Nepal splits it across two days: the hills, including Kathmandu and Pokhara, play on Fagu Purnima, March 21, 2027, and the Terai follows on March 22. Streets fill with coloured powder, water balloons, and music. Basantapur Durbar Square hosts the capital's biggest celebration. Wear clothes you can throw away and keep your phone in a dry bag, because spectating is not really an option.

Bisket Jatra: About April 10 to 18, 2027

Bisket Jatra is Bhaktapur's ferocious nine-day new year festival and the rare major celebration that follows the solar calendar, so its dates barely move: the chariot battles begin around April 10 and the Nepali New Year falls on April 14, 2027. Chariots carrying the god Bhairab are pulled through stone lanes in a tug-of-war between the city's halves, a 25-metre pole is raised and toppled, and neighbouring Thimi answers with the vermilion-throwing Sindur Jatra. Our complete guide to Bisket Jatra covers the full schedule.

Buddha Jayanti: May 20, 2027

On the full moon of Baisakh, Nepal marks the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha, born in Lumbini in the country's western Terai. Lumbini itself holds the largest ceremonies, while in Kathmandu the great stupas of Swayambhunath and Boudhanath fill with butter lamps and circumambulating pilgrims. In 2027 the full moon, and the public holiday, falls on Thursday, May 20. Confirm the exact date on a current lunar calendar before planning around it.

Looking Ahead: The 2027 Monsoon and Autumn Festivals

From August 2027 the big run of autumn festivals starts again, and it falls about two weeks earlier than in 2026. These dates are expected dates until the official Nepali calendar for 2084 BS is fixed, so treat them as a planning window rather than a booking date.

Janai Purnima and Gai Jatra: Mid-August 2027

The festival season opens in August. On Janai Purnima (August 28 in 2026, expected in mid-August in 2027), Hindu men renew the sacred thread, households across the country eat kwati, a soup of nine sprouted beans, and thousands of pilgrims climb to the holy lakes of Gosaikunda. The next day Bhaktapur erupts for Gai Jatra, the festival of cows, when families who lost someone in the past year join processions that mix mourning with licensed satire, costumes, and comedy. Kathmandu and Patan hold their own Gai Jatra processions the same day.

Teej: Early September 2027

Haritalika Teej is the great festival of Nepali women, three days of fasting, feasting, and dancing in the month of Bhadra. Married women in red saris gather at Shiva temples to pray for their husbands' long lives, unmarried women fast for a good match, and the crowds singing and dancing at Kathmandu's Pashupatinath Temple make it one of the most photogenic days of the year. In 2026 the festival ran from September 13 to 16, with the main fasting day on Monday, September 14. In 2027 the main day is expected around September 2.

Indra Jatra: Mid-September 2027

Indra Jatra is Kathmandu's biggest street festival, eight days of masked Lakhey dances, processions, and ritual around Kathmandu Durbar Square in honour of Indra, the god of rain. The centrepiece is the chariot of the Kumari, the living goddess, pulled through the old city over three evenings while butter lamps light the palace squares. In 2026 it began on September 25, and in 2027 it is expected in mid-September. If you can only attend one Newari festival, this is the one.

Dashain: Late September to October 2027

Dashain is Nepal's longest and most important festival: fifteen days honouring the goddess Durga. In 2026 it began with Ghatasthapana on October 11 and peaked on Vijaya Dashami, October 21, when elders place tika and jamara on younger relatives with blessings. Cities empty as millions travel home, kites fill the sky, and bamboo swings (ping) go up in every village. For travellers it is the deepest possible window into Nepali family life, but book transport early: buses and domestic flights sell out around the peak days. In 2027 Dashain comes earlier, with Ghatasthapana expected around September 30 and Vijaya Dashami around October 9.

Planning Your Festival Trip

The autumn festival season (Teej through Tihar) overlaps perfectly with Nepal's best trekking weather, so a festival can anchor a longer itinerary. Our guide to treks timed around local festivals pairs routes with the calendar, and the Everest region's Mani Rimdu falls in the same window, usually in October or November. Around Dashain and Tihar, book flights and buses well ahead. Talk to our team to build a trip around any of these dates.

Plan a Festival Trip With Swotah

Swotah's Best of Nepal Tour covers Kathmandu, Patan, Bhaktapur, Pokhara and Chitwan over 12 days, from USD 1,010 per person on the group departure. For photographers, the Photography Tour in Nepal runs 10 days from USD 1,099 per person on the group departure. Fixed departures rarely line up with a lunar festival date, so Swotah can arrange it as a private trip timed to Tihar, Holi, Bisket Jatra or Dashain, with hotels close to the main squares and a local guide for the busiest days.

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