Festivals & Jatras
31 festivals to explore — living traditions of Nepal
Results for “Trekking”
Indra Jatra
- When
- September
- Where
- Kathmandu Durbar Square and old city
- Days
- 8 days
Kathmandu's most spectacular street festival celebrating the god Indra, featuring the living goddess Kumari's chariot procession.
Dashain (Vijaya Dashami)
- When
- October
- Where
- Nationwide
- Days
- 15 days
Nepal's longest and most auspicious festival spanning 15 days, celebrating the victory of goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasur.
Tihar (Deepawali)
- When
- October/November
- Where
- Nationwide
- Days
- 5 days
Nepal's five-day festival of lights honoring crows, dogs, cows, oxen, and siblings — a uniquely Nepali take on Diwali.
Swasthani Brata Katha
- When
- January/February
- Where
- Nationwide (major sites: Salinadi at Sankhu, Devghat)
- Days
- 31 days
A month-long religious observance where devotees — especially women — fast and listen to the 31 chapters of the Swasthani story read nightly, with holy bathing at sacred rivers.
Bisket Jatra
- When
- April
- Where
- Bhaktapur
- Days
- 9 days
Bhaktapur's thrilling New Year chariot festival with a dramatic tug-of-war pulling massive chariots through narrow medieval streets.
Holi (Fagu Purnima)
- When
- March
- Where
- Nationwide (especially Kathmandu, Terai cities)
- Days
- 2 days
The vibrant festival of colors where people drench each other with colored water and powder, celebrating the arrival of spring.
Buddha Jayanti (Buddha Purnima)
- When
- April/May
- Where
- Lumbini, Boudhanath, Swayambhunath
- Days
- 1 day
Celebration of the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama, centered on Lumbini and Buddhist sites across Nepal.
Teej (Haritalika Teej)
- When
- August/September
- Where
- Nationwide (especially Pashupatinath Temple)
- Days
- 3 days
Nepal's women's festival — three days of fasting, feasting, dancing in red saris, and praying for marital bliss at Pashupatinath.
Neku Jatra
- When
- April
- Where
- Old Kathmandu city wards
- Days
- 1 day
A fierce rain-invoking procession through old Kathmandu with sword-bearing men, historically a martial display tied to the protection of the city.
Mani Rimdu
- When
- October/November
- Where
- Tengboche Monastery, Khumbu
- Days
- 3 days
A spectacular three-day Sherpa Buddhist festival at Tengboche Monastery with masked dances against the backdrop of Everest and Ama Dablam.
Maha Shivaratri
- When
- February/March
- Where
- Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu
- Days
- 1 day
The Great Night of Shiva draws hundreds of thousands of devotees and sadhus to Pashupatinath Temple for an all-night vigil of prayer, fasting, and bonfires.
Chhath Puja
- When
- October/November
- Where
- Terai region and nationwide
- Days
- 4 days
An ancient Vedic sun-worship festival observed along rivers and ponds in the Terai, featuring 36-hour fasting, holy bathing, and offerings to the setting and rising sun.
Rato Machhindranath Jatra
- When
- April/May
- Where
- Patan (Lalitpur) streets, culminating at Jawalakhel
- Days
- 30 days
Nepal's longest chariot festival — a month-long procession pulling the towering chariot of Rato Machhindranath through the streets of Patan, culminating in the dramatic Bhoto Jatra showing of the sacred vest.
Seto Machhindranath Jatra
- When
- March/April
- Where
- Old Kathmandu (Asan, Indra Chowk, Hanuman Dhoka)
- Days
- 3 days
A three-day chariot procession of White Machhindranath through the old streets of Kathmandu, one of the city's most important Newar Buddhist festivals.
Gai Jatra
- When
- August/September
- Where
- Kathmandu Valley (Kathmandu, Patan, Bhaktapur)
- Days
- 1 day
The Kathmandu Valley's most unique festival — a colorful procession honoring the recently deceased, blending mourning with comedy, satire, and street theater.
Ghode Jatra
- When
- March/April
- Where
- Tundikhel parade ground, Kathmandu
- Days
- 1 day
Kathmandu's dramatic horse racing festival at Tundikhel, where galloping horses and military displays are believed to trample the demon Gurumapa and keep evil at bay.
Bala Chaturdashi
- When
- November/December
- Where
- Pashupatinath Temple and Sleshmantak Forest, Kathmandu
- Days
- 1 day
An all-night vigil at Pashupatinath where devotees scatter seven types of seeds through the sacred Sleshmantak forest to honor departed souls.
Krishna Janmashtami
- When
- August/September
- Where
- Krishna Mandir, Patan Durbar Square
- Days
- 1 day
The birthday celebration of Lord Krishna centered at the magnificent Krishna Mandir in Patan Durbar Square, with all-night devotional singing and thousands of oil lamps.
Yomari Punhi
- When
- December
- Where
- Kathmandu Valley (Newar settlements)
- Days
- 1 day
The beloved Newar harvest festival celebrating the new rice crop by making yomari — steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with chaku molasses or sweet khuwa.
Gunla
- When
- August/September
- Where
- Kathmandu Valley (Newar Buddhist communities)
- Days
- 30 days
The holy month of Newar Buddhism, when devotees make daily dawn processions to stupas and bahals, filling the valley with the sound of traditional gunla bajan music.
Matya
- When
- August
- Where
- Patan (Lalitpur)
- Days
- 1 day
Patan's extraordinary Buddhist pilgrimage-in-a-day — a single-day procession covering every major Buddhist shrine in the city, honoring the deceased.
Pahan Charhe
- When
- September/October
- Where
- Pachali Bhairav shrine (Teku) and south Kathmandu
- Days
- 1 day
A dramatic night-time chariot procession of Pachali Bhairav through south Kathmandu, accompanied by tantric rituals, animal sacrifice, and a flaming torch procession.
Samyak
- When
- varies
- Where
- Patan (Lalitpur) Durbar Square area
- Days
- 1 day
A grand Buddhist festival held once every five years in Patan, where Dipankara Buddha statues from bahals across the city are gathered in a single magnificent display.
Sithi Nakha
- When
- May/June
- Where
- Kathmandu Valley (all Newar settlements)
- Days
- 1 day
The Newar festival of water source purification, marking Kumar Shashthi with the annual cleaning of wells, stone spouts, and irrigation channels before the monsoon.
Chandeshwori Jatra
- When
- April/May
- Where
- Banepa, Kavrepalanchok
- Days
- 3 days
Banepa's most important festival celebrating Goddess Chandeshwori's victory over the demon Chandasur, featuring a grand chariot procession.
Bajrayogini Jatra
- When
- April
- Where
- Sankhu, Kathmandu
- Days
- 8 days
Sankhu's oldest jatra, when the goddess Bajrayogini is carried down from her hilltop temple into the ancient town in a major Newar-Tamang celebration.
Shikali Jatra
- When
- October
- Where
- Khokana, Lalitpur
- Days
- 9 days
Khokana's alternative to Dashain, a multi-day village festival dedicated to the goddess Shikali or Rudrayani with masked dances, processions, and tantric ritual.
Mahalaxmi Jatra
- When
- October/November
- Where
- Balambu, Chandragiri, Kathmandu
- Days
- 3 days
Balambu's grand 'Laa Tii Mar' festival following Nepal Era New Year, where Ganesh and Mahalaxmi chariots are danced through the streets by nine Guthis in bare feet.
Panauti Jya: Punhi
- When
- May/June
- Where
- Panauti, Kavrepalanchok
- Days
- 3 days
Panauti's major monsoon jatra, held around the full moon of Jestha, when the town's protective deities are taken out in procession before the farming season intensifies.
Sindur Jatra
- When
- April
- Where
- Thimi (Madhyapur Thimi), Bhaktapur
- Days
- 1 day
Thimi's vivid vermilion festival on Baisakh 2, when palanquins of local deities circle Balkumari amid music, torchlight, and clouds of sindur.
Janai Purnima
- When
- July/August
- Where
- Kumbheshwar Temple, Patan; Pashupatinath; valley-wide
- Days
- 1 day
The full moon of Shrawan when Hindu men renew their sacred thread and devotees of all faiths tie the protective Raksha Bandhan thread, centered on the sacred Kumbheshwar lake in Patan.
Month-by-month calendar
Plan around Nepal’s festival calendar — see what’s coming in every month of the year.
View calendar →Durbar Squares & Bahals
The ancient courtyards and palace squares where jatras, masked dances, and chariot processions come alive.
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