Festivals & Events

Dashain 2026: What Closes in Nepal — Banks, Offices, Permit Desks and How to Plan Around It

Government offices, banks and permit desks close for days around Vijaya Dashami (21 October) — arrive with cash drawn and permits sorted.

By Laxman Rawal · Aug 25, 2026

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If you are flying into Kathmandu in October 2026 for an autumn trek, you are arriving in the middle of Nepal's biggest event of the year. Dashain is the country's longest and most important festival — fifteen days built around families travelling home to be…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What closes — and what to do about it

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Cash is the one that catches people out

The single most common Dashain surprise for a new arrival is money. Banks observe the holiday, and in the days around Tika the ATMs in Thamel, Pokhara's Lakeside and the trailhead towns are drained faster than they are refilled. Card payment is patchy once…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Permits and paperwork

Trekking permits — TIMS, plus the national-park or conservation-area entry fees — are issued by government and tourism-board offices that keep the public holiday. Around the main days those counters may close or run reduced hours, and the online options still…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

It is a wonderful time to be here

Read the list above and Dashain can sound like an obstacle. It is the opposite. This is the warmest, most generous fortnight in the Nepali year — homes strung with lights, kites over the rooftops, marigolds and jamara everywhere, and an open-door hospitality…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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