Upcoming Festivals in Nepal: 2026/2027 Dates
Nepal celebrates more than 50 festivals a year, and the biggest ones for the 2026/2027 season now have dates: Teej falls on September 14, 2026, Indra Jatra on September 25, 2026, Dashain runs October 11 to 21, 2026, and Tihar lights up the country from November 6 to 11, 2026. Looking further ahead, Maha Shivaratri lands on March 6, 2027 and Holi on March 22 and 23, 2027. Most Nepali festivals follow the lunar Bikram Sambat calendar, so dates move every year; the table below gives you the verified dates for planning a festival-timed trip.
Nepal Festival Calendar 2026/2027 at a Glance
| Festival | Date | Where to experience it |
|---|---|---|
| Janai Purnima & Gai Jatra | August 28–29, 2026 | Pashupatinath and Gosaikunda; Gai Jatra in Bhaktapur |
| Teej | September 13–16, 2026 (main day Sept 14) | Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu |
| Indra Jatra | September 25, 2026 (8 days) | Kathmandu Durbar Square |
| Dashain | October 11–21, 2026 (Vijaya Dashami Oct 21) | Nationwide; family homes, kites, bamboo swings |
| Tihar | November 6–11, 2026 (Laxmi Puja Nov 8–9, Bhai Tika Nov 11) | Every city; Kathmandu's lit-up old town |
| Chhath | Mid-November 2026 | Janakpur and the Terai riverbanks |
| Sonam & Gyalpo Losar | January–March 2027 | Boudhanath and the Himalayan communities |
| Maha Shivaratri | March 6, 2027 | Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu |
| Holi | March 22 (hills) & 23 (Terai), 2027 | Basantapur and Thamel, Kathmandu; Pokhara lakeside |
| Bisket Jatra | April 10–18, 2027 (New Year April 14) | Bhaktapur, Thimi, and Bode |
| Buddha Jayanti | ~May 20, 2027 (full moon) | Lumbini, Swayambhunath, and Boudhanath |
Lunar dates can shift by a day as the official Nepali calendar is finalised, so confirm against a current calendar when you book. Here is what each festival is actually like on the ground.
Teej | September 14, 2026
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. The festival runs September 13 to 16 in 2026, with the main fasting day on Sunday, September 14.
Indra Jatra | September 25, 2026
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. If you can only attend one Newari festival, this is the one.
Dashain | October 11–21, 2026
Dashain is Nepal's longest and most important festival: fifteen days honouring the goddess Durga, beginning with Ghatasthapana on October 11, 2026 and peaking 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.
Tihar | November 6–11, 2026
Tihar, Nepal's festival of lights, runs five days from November 6 to 11 in 2026. The sequence is uniquely Nepali: crows are honoured first, then dogs (Kukur Tihar, November 7, the day the internet falls in love with Nepal), then cows and Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, on Laxmi Puja (November 8–9), when every home glows with oil lamps and marigold garlands. 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.
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.
Holi | March 22–23, 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 March 22, 2027, and the Terai follows on March 23. 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 | April 10–18, 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.
Janai Purnima & Gai Jatra | August 28–29, 2026
The festival season opens in late August. On Janai Purnima (August 28, 2026), 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 found nowhere else in the Hindu world.
Chhath | Mid-November 2026
Six days after Tihar, 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. 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.
Losar | January–March 2027
Nepal's Himalayan communities celebrate three new years across the winter: Tamu Losar of the Gurung (late December), Sonam Losar of the Tamang (around late January or February 2027), and Gyalpo Losar of the Sherpa and Tibetan communities (around February or March 2027). Monasteries hold masked dances and prayer ceremonies, families feast, and the Boudhanath stupa, restrung with fresh prayer flags, draws Kathmandu's biggest public gathering.
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. The 2027 full moon falls around May 20; confirm the exact date on a current lunar calendar before planning around it.
Planning a 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. Around Dashain and Tihar, book flights and buses well ahead. Talk to our team to build a trip around any of these dates.
