The things that surprise visitors most in Nepal are usually old customs with a clear reason behind them. Dogs get garlands and tika on Kukur Tihar. Newar girls are married to a bel fruit and to the sun before they ever marry a man. A young girl is worshipped as the living goddess Kumari, and several communities each keep their own New Year. Add herders who drink fresh yak blood as medicine, a clock set to UTC+5:45, a calendar that reads 2083 and cows that own the road, and you have a country that runs on its own terms. Tihar falls on 7 to 11 November in 2026, so you can see the dog day for yourself this year.
- Kukur TiharDogs honoured during Tihar, 7 to 11 November 2026
- New YearsSeveral a year, some people count nine. Next national one: 2084 BS on 14 April 2027
- KumariA girl from the Buddhist Shakya clan, worshipped as the goddess Taleju
- Time zoneUTC+5:45 since 1986, 15 minutes ahead of India
- CalendarBikram Sambat, about 57 years ahead of the Western calendar
- Honey huntingGurung cliff harvests of the world’s largest honeybee, spring and autumn
- National animalThe cow. Killing one is a crime, so menus serve buffalo instead
Nepal is an absolutely beautiful country with varied diversities in culture, tradition, and nature. With diversity come customs that can surprise anyone not from Nepal, and most of them make perfect sense once you know the story behind them. From worshipping a dog to eloping at a village dance, here are eleven of the most unusual things you’ll see in Nepal, a few of which really do happen nowhere else.
Worshipping A Dog
Yes, you read it right!!! In Nepal, we have a special day for dogs during Tihar (another major festival in Nepal). During Kukur Tihar (dog worshipping day), almost all dogs are worshipped with flower garlands and tika. They are also offered food and treated like royalty for their loyalty and faithfulness.
Street dogs get the same marigolds and the same plate of food as pets, which is the part that stays with most visitors. Hindus see the dog as the messenger of Yama, god of death, and as the companion who follows the Pandavas to heaven in the Mahabharata. Nepali-speaking communities in Darjeeling and Sikkim keep the day too, but nowhere does it on Nepal’s scale. In 2026, Tihar runs from 7 to 11 November.
Up to 9 New Years in a Year
Few countries are as diverse as Nepal, and few celebrate so many new years. Count every community’s new year and some people get to nine. Here is how. 1st Baisakh is the official Nepali New Year and everyone celebrates it. Then come the Losars, the new years of Nepal’s Himalayan communities: Tamu Losar for the Gurung, Sonam Losar for the Tamang and Gyalpo Losar for the Sherpa and Tibetan communities.
Newar people have their own New Year, Nepal Sambat, which starts on Mha Puja during Tihar. People greet each other with "Nhu Daya Bhintuna", happy new year. Likewise, the Tharu and Limbu communities celebrate the new year at Maghi, on Maghe Sankranti in mid-January. Nepal’s Muslims mark the Islamic New Year, which moves about 11 days earlier each year because it follows the moon (it fell in mid-June in 2026). And then comes the English New Year on 1 January. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Here are the dates for the year ahead. Losar dates follow the Tibetan and Tamu calendars, so check a local calendar before you plan around one.
| New Year | Next date | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Nepal Sambat (Newar) | Mha Puja, 10 November 2026 (year 1147) | Newar towns of the Kathmandu Valley |
| Tamu Losar (Gurung) | About 30 December 2026 | Gurung villages, Pokhara |
| English New Year | 1 January 2027 | Kathmandu and Pokhara nightlife |
| Maghi (Tharu and Limbu) | Maghe Sankranti, 15 January 2027 | Tharu villages in the Terai |
| Sonam Losar (Tamang) | About 7 February 2027 | Boudhanath, Tamang villages |
| Gyalpo Losar (Sherpa, Tibetan) | Early March 2027 | Boudhanath, the Khumbu |
| Bikram Sambat (national) | 14 April 2027, year 2084 | Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur |
Blood Drinking Festival
In the high pastures of Mustang and Myagdi, herders hold yak blood drinking festivals. At gatherings such as the one above Marpha in Mustang and on Khopra ridge in Myagdi, held around the Baisakh and Shrawan months, people drink the fresh yak blood with the belief that drinking fresh blood of yak treats gastritis, acidity, jaundice, muscle sprain, body swelling, and other bowel-related diseases as the yaks feed on valuable herbs like yarshagumba (Cordyceps), jatamasi( Spikenard), panchaaunle ( Dactylorhiza Hatagireha), among others growing in the highland pasture. As part of the festival, a part of the yak’s neck is pierced for the blood to gush out, and a tumbler is placed under to collect the fresh blood, which is then drunk. Organisers say the cut heals and the animal goes back to the herd. There is no medical evidence for the cures, so treat it as a local belief, and raw blood carries a real infection risk if you’re tempted to try it.
Related tour packages: Upper Mustang Tiji Festival, Mountain Biking in Mustang
Eloping
Eloping or runoff marriage sounds fun, right? Well, not for most of the castes in Nepal, where families still arrange most marriages. However, there is an older and freer version in Gurung, Limbu, Magar and some other communities. Young people meet at village dances and gatherings, such as the Limbu dhan nach (paddy dance) or the Gurung rodhi, the evening house where boys and girls sing and talk. A couple who fall for each other can elope without asking their families first, and the families usually accept the match afterwards with a ceremony of their own.
Two rules apply today. Both partners have to agree, and Nepal’s law sets the minimum age for marriage at 20, so a child marriage is a crime even when custom allows it.
Bride of Bel and the Sun
There are different versions of marriage all over the world. In the Kathmandu Valley, young Newar girls are married to a bel fruit and then to the sun. People from Newar communities hold the Ihi, the bel (wood apple) marriage, usually between the ages of five and nine, and the Bahra, the marriage to the sun, before a girl’s first period.
The fruit stands for the bridegroom, Suvarna Kumar, a golden form usually identified with Lord Vishnu. Families see the marriage as protection for the girl’s whole life. Because her first husband is a god who never dies, tradition holds that she can never truly become a widow, even if her human husband dies. For the Bahra, she spends 12 days out of the sun and away from men, then comes out to be married to the sun itself.
Living Goddess
Yes, a living goddess, alive and real. In Nepal, you can see the Kumari (the living goddess). This extraordinary culture is a perfect example of the peaceful co-existence of religions which Nepal is known for. The Royal Kumari of Kathmandu is chosen from the Buddhist Shakya clan, yet Hindus and Buddhists alike believe she carries the goddess Durga, in her form as Taleju Bhawani, in the body of a young girl. She is worshipped as the Kumari until her first period or until she loses blood through a serious injury, and then a new Kumari is chosen.
Several towns in the valley have their own Kumari. The Kathmandu Kumari lives in the Kumari Ghar on Durbar Square, built in 1757, and sometimes appears at its upper window. You can photograph the courtyard but not her. Our story of Taleju and the Kumari explains how the tradition began.
Collecting Yarshagumba (Cordyceps)
Yarshagumba (Ophiocordyceps sinensis, long known as Cordyceps sinensis) is a rare fungus that traditional medicine prizes as a tonic, and some sellers claim it cures diseases like cancer. No clinical trial has shown that. Its Tibetan name, yartsa gunbu, means summer grass, winter worm. Spores of the fungus infect ghost moth caterpillars that live underground. The fungus grows inside the caterpillar until it dies, then sends a thin brown stalk up through the soil in spring. Creepy, right?
Yarshagumba is not cultivated. It grows wild in high pastures above about 3,500 m, on government land and inside national parks, and collectors need a local permit and pay a royalty. And the most interesting part is, during the May and June picking season, schools in districts such as Dolpa empty out or close as students and teachers move up to the high meadows. One good piece can sell for more than a day’s wage. Imagine how important this fungus is!
Related packages: Khaptad National Park Trek, Saipal Himal Expedition
A Time Zone 15 Minutes From Everyone Else
Nepal runs on UTC+5:45. The only other official time zone ending in 45 minutes belongs to New Zealand’s Chatham Islands. Nepal moved to it from UTC+5:30 in 1986, setting its clock by the 86.25° E meridian, which passes near Gauri Shankar. The 15 minutes ahead of India reliably wreck the first day of every new arrival’s calendar. Set your watch at the border and double-check your flight times.
The Calendar Says 2083
Nepal's official calendar, the Bikram Sambat, runs about 57 years ahead of the Gregorian one, so 2026 in your passport is 2082-2083 on every Nepali document, newspaper, and public holiday list. The new year arrives in mid-April in the middle of Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur, where two neighbourhoods fight a tug of war with a giant chariot, and in nearby Bode a man has his tongue pierced for the town’s good fortune. Year 2084 starts on 14 April 2027. And yes, every Nepali keeps two dates in their head at all times.
Since April 2026, government offices and schools close on both Saturday and Sunday. For years Nepal had a one-day weekend on Saturday alone, and you’ll still find many shops and businesses open on Sunday, so check before you plan an office visit.
Honey Hunting on Cliffs
In spring and autumn in the foothills, Gurung honey hunters climb down bamboo rope ladders on sheer cliffs, through smoke and swarms of the world’s largest honeybee (Apis laboriosa), to cut combs of wild honey. Some of the spring honey is the famous "mad honey". Rhododendron nectar gives it grayanotoxins, which cause dizziness in small doses and can send you to hospital in larger ones. Honey hunting is one of the oldest and most dangerous harvests in the Himalaya, and it still happens in hill villages within a day’s drive of Pokhara. Swotah’s Wild Honey Hunting in Nepal trip, 9 days from USD 1,350 per person on a group departure, takes you to watch one. Our article on Nepal's red honey tells the full story.
Cows Have Right of Way
The cow is Nepal’s national animal and legally protected, so slaughtering one is a crime and beef is absent from traditional menus. Restaurants serve buffalo instead, sold as "buff" in your momos. The practical street-level consequence amuses every visitor: a cow asleep in the middle of a Kathmandu intersection simply redirects the traffic around it, indefinitely, and nobody honks at her twice.
A Few More Things That Surprise Visitors
None of these made the main list, but you’ll notice them within a day or two.
| What you’ll see | What’s going on |
|---|---|
| A head wobble instead of a nod | A side-to-side tilt usually means yes, okay or I understand |
| A flag that isn’t a rectangle | Two stacked pennants, the only non-rectangular national flag, in its current form since 1962 |
| A cow parade in August | Gai Jatra, when families who lost someone that year walk in procession, often in costume (expected mid-August 2027) |
| Eating with the right hand | The left hand is kept for washing, so pass food and money with the right |
| Walking clockwise round a stupa | Buddhists always keep the stupa on their right, and you should too |
See Nepal’s Traditions for Yourself with Swotah
Most of this list is easier to believe once you’ve watched it happen. Prices are the cheapest upcoming group departure, per person.
| Trip | Days | What you’ll see | From (group departure) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Honey Hunting in Nepal | 9 | A Gurung cliff honey harvest | USD 1,350 |
| Best of Nepal Tour | 12 | Kumari Ghar, Durbar Squares, Pokhara and Chitwan | USD 1,010 |
| Himalayan Food Exploration Tour | 11 | Newar food, homestays and buff momos | USD 2,999 |
| 10 Days Upper Mustang | 10 | Mustang’s high villages and herding country | USD 1,600 |
Swotah can arrange any of these as a private trip, timed to a festival like Tihar or Bisket Jatra, and our groups are never bigger than eight people. Every Swotah guide is licensed, trained and certified. If you ask, we try to match your guide to you by experience, language, gender or age.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Nepalis really worship dogs?
Yes, for one day a year. On Kukur Tihar, the dog day of Tihar, people put marigold garlands and red tika on pet and street dogs and give them a good meal. In 2026 Tihar runs from 7 to 11 November.
Why is Nepal’s time zone UTC+5:45?
Nepal sets its clocks by the 86.25° E meridian near Gauri Shankar. It used UTC+5:30, like India, until 1986, when it moved 15 minutes ahead.
Why does Nepal’s calendar say 2083?
Nepal’s official calendar is the Bikram Sambat, which runs about 56 years and 8 months ahead of the Western calendar. Year 2083 began in April 2026 and 2084 begins on 14 April 2027.
Can tourists see the Kumari?
Yes. The Kathmandu Kumari sometimes appears at the window of the Kumari Ghar on Durbar Square, and she rides in a chariot during Indra Jatra, usually in September. Photographing her is not allowed.
Is it safe to eat mad honey?
Only in very small amounts, and not at all if you have heart or blood pressure problems. Its grayanotoxins slow the heart and drop blood pressure, and people end up in hospital every year after eating too much.
Did you know about any of these unusual things in Nepal? Did we miss any? Comment in the box below and let us know.
