Every year around this time, we get the same message from people planning a trip: “I saw my dates overlap with Dashain — should I change them?”
Short answer: probably not. But it depends what you’re doing, and most of the advice floating around online doesn’t actually answer the question people are asking. So here’s the real version, covering what’s left of 2026 — August through December — written from the side of someone who runs treks through this exact window every year.
The Only Two Festivals That Actually Affect Your Trip
Nepal has dozens of festivals between now and New Year. Almost none of them touch a tourist’s plans in any real way. Two do: Dashain (11–25 October) and Tihar (8–11 November). Everything else on this page is genuinely worth knowing about, but won’t move your flight, close your teahouse, or change your itinerary.
So if you only read one section, read this one.
What actually happens during Dashain
Dashain is the one where the country goes quiet in a specific way — not shut down, but redirected. Everyone with family outside Kathmandu goes home to them. That includes some of our own guides and porters, so if your trek dates fall right in the main week (18–21 October), we plan staffing for that early — it’s not something you find out about at the airport.
What you’ll notice as a traveler:
- Domestic flights to Lukla and Pokhara get tight. Not cancelled, just full — book them a few weeks earlier than you normally would if your trip lands in that window.
- Kathmandu itself gets quieter. Shops close, streets empty out, traffic actually eases up, which honestly makes it a nice time to be in the city if you’re not trying to get anything official done.
- On the trail, nothing really changes. Teahouses stay open — trekking is one of the few things that doesn’t pause for Dashain, because tourism income doesn’t take a holiday even if everything else does.
The thing people don’t expect: trekking during Dashain can mean quieter trails, because a chunk of the usual domestic hiking crowd is home with family instead of in the hills. If you don’t mind a slightly emptier Everest Base Camp trail, this is actually a good window.
What actually happens during Tihar
Tihar is a different mood entirely — five days, and honestly the best one to be a visitor for. Nobody’s asking you to understand the religious meaning to enjoy it. Every house gets strung with lights, Laxmi Puja night (8 November) turns the old parts of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur into something that looks staged but isn’t, and it doesn’t come with the same travel disruption Dashain does.
Flights are a little tighter around it, same as Dashain, but nowhere near as tricky to book. If your trip has any flexibility, landing in Kathmandu for a night or two around 8–9 November is worth building in on purpose, not just tolerating because it happens to fall in your dates.
Everything Else Between August and December (Worth Knowing, Won’t Disrupt Anything)
Gai Jatra — 29 August
Kathmandu’s satire festival. Started as a way to process grief — families who lost someone that year lead a cow, or a child dressed as one, through the streets — and turned, somewhere along the way, into the one day a year Nepalis openly mock their politicians in public without consequence. If you’re in the city, it’s worth an afternoon.
Haritalika Teej — 14 September
Women across Nepal fast and pray for their husbands’ health, dressed head to toe in red. Pashupatinath Temple is where it’s most visible. It photographs beautifully, but go as a spectator, not a participant with a camera in someone’s face — this one means something to the people doing it.
Indra Jatra — 25 September
If you’re only going to build your trip around one cultural festival, make it this one. Eight days centered entirely on Kathmandu Durbar Square: the Kumari, Nepal’s living goddess, pulled through the old city in a wooden chariot; masked dancers performing after dark; the giant mask of Bhairava installed with a spout that pours rice beer to anyone brave enough to drink from it. This is Kathmandu’s own festival in a way Dashain and Tihar aren’t — it belongs to the Newar community specifically, and it hasn’t been smoothed over for tourists. Expect road closures around the old city for a few days. Book accommodation in Thamel or Patan ahead if you want to be close to it.
Chhath Parva — 15 November
Sun worship, mostly visible in the Terai and along Kathmandu’s riverbanks at sunrise and sunset. It’s regional rather than national, but if you happen to be near the Bagmati at the right hour, it’s a striking thing to watch.
Yomari Punhi — 24 December
The quiet one. A Newari harvest festival built around steamed dumplings filled with molasses and sesame, made at home with family. No crowds, no road closures — just a genuinely local moment if you’re in Kathmandu Valley around Christmas.
Tamu Lhosar — 30 December
New Year for the Gurung community, strongest in Pokhara and the Annapurna foothill villages. If your trip has you finishing a trek in Pokhara right around year-end, this is worth timing your last night around.
So Should You Change Your Dates?
Honestly — for almost everyone, no. The festivals that sound the most disruptive from a distance (Dashain especially) barely touch the trekking side of things once you’re actually here. The two things worth doing:
- If you’re flying into Lukla, Pokhara, or Jomsom within a week of 21 October or 8 November, book that flight sooner rather than later. That’s the one real bottleneck.
- If your trip has any flexibility and you want a cultural add-on, Indra Jatra and Tihar are both worth building a day around in Kathmandu, before or after your trek.
Everything else, you don’t need to plan around — you’ll just happen to see it.
What This Means If You’re Booking a Trek With Us
We run Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Base Camp, and Langtang treks straight through this entire window, Dashain and Tihar included. A few things we build into itineraries automatically when a trip overlaps with either:
- Guide and porter assignments confirmed early, so a Dashain-week trek doesn’t run into last-minute staffing gaps
- Flight bookings pushed forward when your trek starts or ends within a week of the main festival days
- The option to spend Dashain Tika or a Tihar evening with a local family instead of on the trail, if that’s something you’d actually enjoy — a fair number of guests ask for this once they know it’s possible
None of this needs you to reshuffle your trip. It’s just what we handle on our end so festival timing doesn’t become your problem.
If you’re planning Tibet or Bhutan travel connecting through Kathmandu in this window, the same flight-timing advice applies even though neither country follows Nepal’s festival calendar.
For the bigger picture on weather and trekking conditions across the year, see our best time to visit Nepal guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Teahouses on every major route stay open through both. The only real risk is domestic flights selling out if you’re flying in or out within about a week of the main dates.
Hotel and flight prices can tick up around Dashain and Tihar, mainly because of domestic travel demand, not tourism. It’s not a dramatic jump, but booking early avoids paying peak-week rates.
No — most follow the lunar calendar and shift by 10–15 days each year. The dates on this page are confirmed specifically for 2026.
Indra Jatra if you want something few foreigners see. Tihar if you want something visually stunning and easy to enjoy without context. Both are safe bets.
Yes, mainly during the core days — 18–21 October for Dashain, 8–11 November for Tihar. Tourist areas in Kathmandu, Pokhara, and along trekking routes stay far more active than the rest of the country.
Planning a Trip Around This Window?
If your dates fall anywhere near Dashain or Tihar and you want to know exactly what to expect — or you’d like a festival experience built into your itinerary — message us directly. We plan around these dates every single year.
[…] For a full list of events, see the Nepal Festival Calendar 2026. […]