Government holiday list · Provisional dates marked · Updated October 3, 2026
Nepal festival calendar, October 2026 to October 2027
Dashain 2026 tika is Wednesday 21 October and Tihar runs Friday 6 to Wednesday 11 November, with Bhai Tika on the 11th: both fixed by Nepal’s government holiday list. For 2027, Dashain tika is expected on Saturday 9 or Sunday 10 October and Tihar from 27 to 31 October, but those are calculated dates until Nepal publishes its official calendar for the year 2084, usually in January or February. Every festival below shows which kind of date it is and what it does to flights, buses, permit desks and treks. For what each festival is and whether it is worth the trip, read our Nepal festivals guide.
October 2026 to April 2027, fixed by the government
Dashain
ConfirmedSunday 11 October to Sunday 25 October 2026 · tika (Vijaya Dashami) Wednesday 21 October
Nationwide
Ghatasthapana 11 Oct, Fulpati 17 Oct, Maha Ashtami 18 Oct, Maha Navami 20 Oct, Vijaya Dashami 21 Oct, Kojagrat Purnima 25 Oct. Government offices close on 11 Oct and from Saturday 17 to Friday 23 October.
For trekkers: Permit desks close with the government. Collect permits by Friday 16 October or after Saturday 24 October, and book buses and domestic flights early for the days either side of the tika.
Mani Rimdu
Await official datePublic dance days widely reported as 26–28 October 2026, not yet confirmed by the monastery
Tengboche Monastery (3,867 m), Everest region
Masked chham dances and a public blessing, timed by the Tibetan lunar calendar. No government publishes this date; Tengboche sets it.
For trekkers: Confirm with us before you fix Lukla flights. If the days hold, start an Everest Base Camp trek around 19–20 October to pass Tengboche on the dance days.
Tihar (Deepawali)
ConfirmedSaturday 7 November to Wednesday 11 November 2026 · Laxmi Puja Sunday 8 November · Bhai Tika Wednesday 11 November
Nationwide
Kaag Tihar opens it on 7 Nov, Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja share 8 Nov, Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja (Nepal Sambat new year) fall on 10 Nov, and Bhai Tika on 11 Nov. Government offices close Sunday 8 to Thursday 12 November.
For trekkers: A smaller travel crunch than Dashain, around Bhai Tika. Finish your trek by 7 November to be in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur or Pokhara for the lamps.
Chhath
ConfirmedSunday 15 November 2026
Terai, biggest in Janakpur
Sun worship at rivers and ponds, with offerings to the setting and the rising sun. A national public holiday.
For trekkers: No effect in the hills. Worth a detour if you are in Chitwan or crossing overland to India that week.
Tamu Lhosar
ConfirmedWednesday 30 December 2026
Pokhara and Gurung villages
The Gurung new year, a national public holiday, with processions in traditional dress in Pokhara.
For trekkers: Winter is quiet on the trails. A good day to be in Pokhara before a short Annapurna foothills trek.
Sonam Lhosar
ConfirmedSunday 7 February 2027
Boudhanath and Tamang communities
The Tamang new year, a national public holiday.
For trekkers: Low season, so lodges are easy to find; high passes are snowbound.
Maha Shivaratri
ConfirmedSaturday 6 March 2027
Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu
The night of Shiva, with sadhus and bonfires around Pashupatinath. A national public holiday.
For trekkers: Traffic around Pashupatinath and the airport road is heavy; allow extra time for a flight that day.
Gyalpo Lhosar
ConfirmedTuesday 9 March 2027
Boudhanath, Sherpa and Tibetan communities
The Sherpa and Tibetan new year, a national public holiday. Prayer flags are renewed at Boudhanath in the morning.
For trekkers: Early spring, before the main trekking season.
Holi (Fagu Purnima)
ConfirmedSunday 21 March 2027 in Kathmandu and the hills · Monday 22 March 2027 in the Terai
Basantapur Durbar Square, Pokhara Lakeside
The colour festival on the Phalgun full moon. The government lists separate days for the 56 hill and mountain districts and the 21 Terai districts.
For trekkers: Start of the spring season. Keep cameras and phones in a dry bag that morning.
Ghode Jatra
ConfirmedTuesday 6 April 2027
Tundikhel, Kathmandu
Horse races and parades on the Tundikhel parade ground. A holiday in the Kathmandu Valley only.
For trekkers: Valley offices close; outside the valley nothing changes.
April to October 2027, provisional until the 2084 calendar
These fall in the Nepali year 2084, whose official calendar and holiday list are not out yet. Dates marked “expected” are astronomical calculations for Kathmandu and can move by a day; in 2026 the calculated Dashain tika and Bhai Tika both ran a day ahead of the official dates. We update this page when the official calendar appears.
Nepali New Year 2084 & Bisket Jatra
ConfirmedWednesday 14 April 2027 (Baisakh 1, a solar date)
Nationwide · Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur
New Year in Bikram Sambat 2084. In Bhaktapur, Bisket Jatra peaks with a chariot tug of war and the raising of a giant pole.
For trekkers: Spring season is in full swing; rhododendrons are out on the lower trails.
Buddha Jayanti
Await official dateExpected Thursday 20 May 2027 (Baisakh full moon, calculated)
Lumbini, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath
The Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, marked on one full moon.
For trekkers: Late spring. Lumbini accommodation fills; book ahead.
Tiji
Await official dateUsually May; the 2027 days are set by the monastery in Lo Manthang
Lo Manthang, Upper Mustang
Three days of masked dances re-enacting Dorje Jono driving out a demon of drought.
For trekkers: Needs the Upper Mustang restricted-area permit (US$50 a day) and a licensed guide, so it is a planned trip.
Janai Purnima & Krishna Janmashtami
Await official dateExpected 17 August 2027 (Janai Purnima) and 25 August 2027 (Janmashtami), calculated
Gosaikunda and Kumbheshwar · Krishna Mandir, Patan
Sacred-thread renewal and the Gosaikunda pilgrimage, then Krishna’s birthday at Patan Durbar Square.
For trekkers: Monsoon. Gosaikunda is crowded with pilgrims on Janai Purnima.
Teej & Indra Jatra
Await official dateTeej expected around 3 September 2027 · Indra Jatra in mid-September 2027, day set by the 2084 calendar
Pashupatinath (Teej) · Kathmandu Durbar Square (Indra Jatra)
Women fasting and dancing in red at Pashupatinath, then Kathmandu’s eight-day chariot festival of the Living Goddess Kumari.
For trekkers: End of the monsoon; the autumn season opens around Indra Jatra.
Dashain 2027
Await official dateGhatasthapana Thursday 30 September 2027 · tika (Vijaya Dashami) expected Saturday 9 or Sunday 10 October 2027
Nationwide
Calculated calendars agree on Ghatasthapana and differ by a day on the tika. In 2026 the calculated tika ran a day ahead of the official one, so treat both days as possible until the official calendar appears.
For trekkers: About eleven days earlier than in 2026, so the holiday crunch lands in the first half of October, the busiest trekking fortnight. Book Lukla and Pokhara flights early.
Tihar 2027
Await official dateExpected Wednesday 27 to Sunday 31 October 2027 · Laxmi Puja around Friday 29 October · Bhai Tika around Sunday 31 October
Nationwide
Calculated for Kathmandu. Like the 2027 Dashain tika, these days can move by one when Nepal’s calendar committee publishes the BS 2084 calendar, usually in January or February.
For trekkers: Falls in the heart of autumn 2027. Book changeable fares for internal flights until the official dates are out.
Why the dates move every year
Nepal runs on the lunisolar Bikram Sambatcalendar: months track the moon, with periodic corrections to stay aligned with the solar year. Hindu festival days are fixed by lunar phase (Dashain’s Tika day falls on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin), so their Gregorian dates drift by up to three weeks between years. Sherpa and Tibetan Buddhist festivals — Mani Rimdu, Losar, Tiji — follow the Tibetan lunar calendarinstead, with dates fixed by each monastery. The official dates are fixed by Nepal’s calendar committee (Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Bikas Samiti), which published the 2083 calendar in February 2026, and the Ministry of Home Affairs publishes the public holidays in the Nepal Gazette. Until both are out, any exact date for the following year is a calculation.
Citing this calendar
Bloggers and publishers are welcome to use these dates with attribution:
Source: “Nepal festival calendar, October 2026 to October 2027”, Travel Himalaya Nepal — travelhimalayanepal.com/nepal-festival-calendar
Time your trek to a festival
Mani Rimdu on an Everest itinerary, Tiji behind the walls of Lo Manthang, or Tihar’s lamplight in Pokhara before the trail — tell us your dates and we will build the trip around the moment.