Indra Jatra 2026: Kathmandu Dates, Events, and Visitor Guide

Quick Answer

Indra Jatra — Yenya in Nepal Bhasa — runs from Friday, September 25 to Friday, October 2, 2026. It is an eight-day street festival centred on Kathmandu Durbar Square and the old city lanes around Hanuman Dhoka. It opens with the raising of the Yosin pole, builds to three days of chariot pulling with the living goddess Kumari, and closes when the pole is lowered.

Use the September 2026 calendar for date browsing and the canonical Indra Jatra page for the full festival entity, elements, and photographs.

2026 Dates

Festival	Start	End	Nepali calendar
Indra Jatra 2026 (Yenya)	Friday, September 25, 2026	Friday, October 2, 2026	Ashwin 9-16, 2083 BS

Nepal festival dates follow the lunar Bikram Sambat calendar, so the Gregorian dates move every year: Indra Jatra began on September 17 in 2024 and September 6 in 2025. Do not reuse the 2026 dates for a later trip — check the current Nepal festival calendar.

Indra Jatra 2027 is expected to begin on Tuesday, September 14, 2027 (Bhadra 29 - Ashwin 5, 2084 BS). Lunar dates are only final once the official 2084 BS patro is published, so confirm before booking around it.

The Eight-Day Shape

Indra Jatra is not one event but a week-long sequence layered over the same few streets. The broad arc is the same every year:

• Day 1 — the Yosin pole, a freshly felled pine, is raised at Hanuman Dhoka in the morning. The first chariot pull, Kwaneya, follows in the afternoon, and that evening the Kumari gives tika to Nepal's head of state at Basantapur. This is the single busiest day of the festival.
• Day 2 — the second chariot pull, Thaneya, through the northern bazaar.
• Middle days — no chariots, but the masked dances, the Bhairav displays, and the memorial processions run every evening.
• Late in the week — the third and shortest chariot pull, Nanicha. It is not the day after Thaneya: in 2025 the three pulls fell on September 6, 7, and 11.
• Final day — the Yosin pole is lowered, releasing Indra back to the heavens.

The exact calendar day and departure time of each chariot pull is announced locally shortly before the festival — Guthi Sansthan publishes the official route each year. Plan around the week, then confirm the days once you are in Kathmandu.

The Three Chariot Days

On three days of the week the chariots of Kumari, Ganesh, and Bhairav are pulled through a different quarter of old Kathmandu. The names are directional terms in Nepal Bhasa. Kwaneya and Thaneya fall on the first two days; Nanicha comes several days later. All three routes begin and end at Basantapur, and the chariots normally depart in the afternoon and may not finish until late evening.

Day	Quarter	Distance	Typical duration	Route highlights
Kwaneya (downward / south)	Southern old city	~2.2 km	4-6 hours	Maru, Chikan Mugal, Jaisidewal, Lagan Tole, Kohiti, Bhimsensthan
Thaneya (upward / north)	Northern bazaar	~1.8 km	3-5 hours	Makhan Tole, Indra Chowk, Asan Bazaar, Kel Tole
Nanicha (middle)	Central lanes	~1.2 km	2-3 hours	Kilagal, Maru

Kwaneya is the longest and most physically demanding, and includes Chikan Mugal — an alley barely wider than the chariot, where the wheels scrape the building foundations. Thaneya is the most crowded, passing through Asan, the busiest market intersection in the city. Nanicha is the shortest and the most neighbourhood-scale, with families watching from upper-floor windows.

Distances and tole sequences are approximate and vary slightly year to year. Full route detail is on Three Days of Pulling.

What To Watch For

• Kumari's Chariot — the three-storey chariot of the living goddess, rebuilt each year by the Manandhar community.
• Ganesh's Chariot — the smallest, pulled by children, leading the procession.
• Bhairav's Chariot — the fierce protector, pausing for extended puja along the route.
• Swet Bhairav — the great mask at Makhan Tole, unveiled for only eight days a year, with rice beer flowing from its mouth.
• Akash Bhairav — the silver head brought down to street level at Indra Chowk.
• Majipa Lakhey and Pulu Kisi — the crimson demon dancer and Indra's bamboo-framed white elephant, both out in the streets in the evenings.
• Masked dances — Mahakali, Mahalaxmi, and the Das Avatar, performed nightly by hereditary dancer lineages.
• Memorial processions — Upaku, where bereaved families carry oil lamps for the departed, and Dagin, Indra's mother searching for her son. The quiet counterweight to the chariot pulls.
• Samay Baji — the ritual Newar food platter shared through the festival.

The Festival Geography

Almost everything happens within a few hundred metres of old Kathmandu. These are the fixed points on the ground:

• Hanuman Dhoka — the old royal palace entrance at Kathmandu Durbar Square. The Yosin pole is raised and lowered here, and every chariot pull begins and ends at Basantapur just outside it.
• Kumari Ghar — the Kumari's ornate residence on the square, a few steps from where her chariot waits.
• Taleju Temple — the tutelary goddess of the Malla kings, whose main gate the Thaneya route passes at Makhan Tole.
• Swet Bhairav — the gilded screen at Makhan Tole, opened for only these eight days of the year.
• Kal Bhairav — the great stone Bhairav on the square, one of the city's Bhairavs drawing worship through the festival week.
• Akash Bhairav Temple — at Indra Chowk on the Thaneya route, where the silver head is brought down to street level.
• Naradevi Temple — on the inner-lane return leg of the Kwaneya route.
• Lagan Bahal — in Lagan Tole, one of the oldest quarters the long southern route threads through.

Indra Chowk, Asan, Makhan Tole, Maru, Kilagal, and Basantapur are street names rather than monuments — use the temples above to orient yourself.

How To Plan A Visit

Arrive in the old city early on chariot days. Basantapur and the lanes around Hanuman Dhoka fill hours before the chariots move, and once a pull starts it can be difficult to cross the route at all. Keep the plan simple: one primary viewing area, water, comfortable shoes, and enough time to leave slowly after the crowd disperses.

Rooftop cafés around Basantapur and Makhan Tole offer elevated views — ask ahead, and expect a cover charge during the festival.

If you are building a wider Kathmandu itinerary, pair the festival with nearby heritage sites on a different day rather than trying to move between monuments during a procession. Start with Kathmandu Durbar Square, whose palace complex at Hanuman Dhoka is where the Yosin pole rituals happen, then use the heritage collection for broader Valley context. Jatras of Nepal covers how chariots, guthi institutions, and ritual routes work across Newar festivals.

Visitor Etiquette

Indra Jatra is a living ritual, not a staged show. Keep distance from chariots and ropes, follow local barriers, ask before photographing people closely, and be especially careful around the Kumari. Photography restrictions may apply near the living goddess and inside palace areas.

Dress modestly, avoid blocking doorways or shrine fronts, and step aside when musicians, dancers, chariot teams, or family remembrance processions pass through.

Related Pages

• Indra Jatra festival page
• Three Days of Pulling
• September 2026 calendar
• Jatras of Nepal
• All Nepal festivals
• Kathmandu Durbar Square