When exactly does Dashain begin in 2026, and how many of the dates that follow it are actually fixed? That question arrives in Nepali inboxes every August, from travelers booking flights and from families abroad planning leave. Nepal’s festival season runs on lunar reckoning inside the Bikram Sambat calendar, so the Gregorian dates move each year and a few are confirmed only weeks in advance. Below are the Nepal festival dates 2026 for the Dashain to Lhosar window, drawn from current Nepali calendar sources and the Nepal Rastra Bank holiday schedule for BS 2083. Where a date depends on a late announcement, we say so.
The 2026 festival season at a glance
Festival season in Nepal is not one block. It is four distinct observances spread across roughly five months, belonging to different communities and different calendars.
| Festival | 2026 / 2027 dates (AD) | Bikram Sambat | Primary observers | Date certainty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dashain | Oct 11 to Oct 25, 2026 | Ashoj 25 to Kartik 8, 2083 | Hindu households nationwide, weight varies by community | Confirmed |
| Tihar | Nov 7 to Nov 11, 2026 | Kartik 21 to Kartik 25, 2083 | Hindu and many Newar households | Confirmed |
| Chhath | Nov 13 to Nov 16, 2026 | Kartik 27 to Kartik 30, 2083 | Madhesi and Terai communities, and Terai-origin families in the hills | Confirmed |
| Tamu Lhosar | Dec 30, 2026 | Poush 15, 2083 | Gurung (Tamu) community | Confirmed, effectively fixed |
| Sonam Lhosar | Feb 7, 2027 | Magh 2083 | Tamang community | Listed as a public holiday |
| Gyalpo Losar | Mar 9, 2027 | Falgun 2083 | Sherpa, Tibetan-heritage and several Himalayan communities | Listed as a public holiday |
Read that table once more and notice what it does not say. No single festival belongs to everyone in Nepal. Traditions vary by community and region, and a date that empties offices in Kathmandu may pass quietly in a Himalayan village.
Dashain 2026: October 11 to October 25
Dashain runs fifteen tithis, or lunar days, ending at Kojagrat Purnima. Because tithis do not map cleanly onto calendar days, some compress and the gaps look uneven on a Gregorian calendar. That is normal, not an error.
| Day | 2026 date | BS 2083 | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghatasthapana | Sunday, Oct 11 | Ashoj 25 | Jamara barley is sown in a room set aside for it. Dashain begins here. |
| Phulpati | Saturday, Oct 17 | Ashoj 31 | Seventh day. Ritual offerings are brought in. Public holidays generally start around now. |
| Maha Ashtami | Sunday, Oct 18 | Kartik 1 | Kalratri. The night of heaviest ritual observance, including sacrifice in households that practice it. |
| Maha Navami | Tuesday, Oct 20 | Kartik 3 | Vishwakarma Puja for tools, vehicles and workshops. |
| Vijaya Dashami | Wednesday, Oct 21 | Kartik 4 | Tika day. Elders apply tika and jamara to younger relatives. Travel peaks. |
| Kojagrat Purnima | Sunday, Oct 25 | Kartik 8 | Full moon. Dashain closes. |
For planning purposes, one date matters more than the rest: October 21. Tika is given over several days afterward, so households keep receiving visitors well past Dashami, but October 21 is when the country is most thoroughly at home.
What the fifteen days mean for a visitor
Dashain is largely domestic. Much of it happens inside houses, not on the street. Travelers expecting processions on the scale of Indra Jatra tend to be surprised by how quiet the public city feels. Our guide to Dashain covers the ritual sequence in full.
Tihar 2026: November 7 to November 11
Tihar follows about two weeks later and is the more visible festival of the two. Oil lamps, marigold garlands and rangoli patterns appear on doorsteps across the Kathmandu Valley and in towns nationwide.
- Kaag Tihar, Saturday November 7 (Kartik 21): crows are fed on rooftops.
- Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja, Sunday November 8 (Kartik 22): dogs receive garlands and tika in the morning. Homes are lit and cleaned for Laxmi in the evening. Two observances fall on one calendar day in 2026 because of tithi compression.
- Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja, Tuesday November 10 (Kartik 24): cattle are honored. In Newar households, Mha Puja is a rite of self-worship.
- Bhai Tika, Wednesday November 11 (Kartik 25): sisters apply a seven-color tika to brothers. Tihar ends.
Mha Puja also marks Nepal Sambat New Year in the Newar calendar, a separate reckoning from Bikram Sambat. Not every Nepali celebrates it, and not every Newar family observes it identically. Our Tihar guide and our piece on Laxmi Puja rituals go deeper on the individual days.
Chhath 2026: November 13 to November 16
Chhath is observed most widely in the Terai and by Madhesi communities, and increasingly at riverbanks in Kathmandu by families with Terai roots. It is a four-day observance built around fasting and offerings to the sun.
- Nahay Khay, Friday November 13: ritual bathing and a single simple meal.
- Kharna, Saturday November 14: a day-long fast broken after sunset.
- Sandhya Arghya, Sunday November 15: offerings to the setting sun, standing in water. Nepal Rastra Bank lists this as the Chhath public holiday for 2083.
- Usha Arghya, Monday November 16: offerings to the rising sun. The fast ends.
Between Kharna and Usha Arghya, primary observers, most often women, keep a nirjala fast without food or water for roughly thirty-six hours. Calling Chhath colorful misses the point of it entirely. Discipline is the point.
The three Lhosar dates, and why they are not one festival
Nepal marks three separate new years in the winter months, and grouping them is a common error in travel writing. Each belongs to a different community and a different calendar.
| Observance | 2026 / 2027 date | Community | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tamu Lhosar | Wednesday, Dec 30, 2026 | Gurung (Tamu) | Falls on Poush 15 most years, so it is close to fixed. |
| Sonam Lhosar | Sunday, Feb 7, 2027 | Tamang | Lunar. Celebrations can extend for several days. |
| Gyalpo Losar | Tuesday, Mar 9, 2027 | Sherpa, Tibetan-heritage and several Himalayan communities | Follows the Tibetan lunar calendar. |
Public celebrations concentrate in Kathmandu at Tundikhel and Boudha, in Pokhara for Tamu Lhosar, and in the home districts of each community. Among several Himalayan communities, monastery observances matter more than public gatherings, and the visible part of the festival lasts a day while the private part runs longer.
Why some dates are announced late
Bikram Sambat months begin on solar transitions, but festival days are set by lunar tithis calculated by panchanga astrologers. A tithi can start mid-afternoon and end mid-morning, which is why two observances sometimes share a Gregorian date and why auspicious tika timings are published to the minute rather than the day.
Nepal’s public holiday list for each Bikram Sambat year is issued by the government, and bank holidays are published separately by Nepal Rastra Bank. Adjustments do happen. Treat the dates here as reliable for planning and confirm anything time-critical against the official list closer to the day.
What these dates mean for travel planning
Three windows deserve attention on a 2026 itinerary.
October 17 to 23. Banks close for roughly seven consecutive days across this stretch, and government offices follow the public holiday schedule. Domestic flights and long-distance buses fill early. Advance air booking for Dashain opened in early September, with bus booking following in the second half of the month.
November 8 to 12. Bank closures return for Tihar. Shorter than Dashain, but the same booking pressure applies around Bhai Tika.
Trekking season overlap. October and November are peak trekking months in Nepal, and festival travel stacks on top of that demand. Lodges on the Annapurna and Everest routes run full, and domestic flights to Lukla, Pokhara and Tumlingtar sell out well ahead.
For a broader view of what falls when across the year, see our Nepal festivals calendar. For the official holiday schedule, Nepal Rastra Bank publishes its bank holiday list, and the Nepal Tourism Board posts visitor notices during festival weeks.
Whose festival is it? A note on regional variation
A national calendar can flatten a country, and Nepal resists flattening. In many Nepali households in the hills and the Kathmandu Valley, Dashain is the anchor of the year, the reason leave is taken and tickets are bought months out. In the Terai, Chhath carries comparable weight for Madhesi families, and in many Tharu households Maghi in mid-January is the larger observance. Among several Himalayan Buddhist communities, Lhosar is the new year that matters and Dashain passes with little ritual at all.
None of this is deviation from a standard. Nepal has no single festival standard. Traditions vary by community and region, and the same festival can look different two valleys apart. Within the Kathmandu Valley alone, Newar observance of Mha Puja and Nepal Sambat sits alongside Bahun-Chhetri Tihar practice in the same neighborhoods, on the same day, with different meaning.
For travelers, the practical consequence is simple. Where you are during festival season shapes what you actually see far more than the date does. A Dashain week in Bhaktapur, in Janakpur and in Namche Bazaar produces three different trips.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single most important date in Nepal’s 2026 festival season?
Vijaya Dashami on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Tika day is when most of the country is at home with family, and it is the hardest day of the year to travel domestically.
Are these dates the same in the Bikram Sambat calendar every year?
No. Festival days follow lunar tithis, so both the Gregorian and the Bikram Sambat dates shift from year to year. Tamu Lhosar is the closest to fixed, usually landing on Poush 15.
How long are banks closed during Dashain 2026?
Nepal Rastra Bank’s 2083 schedule lists roughly seven consecutive closure days, from Phulpati on October 17 through October 23. Confirm with your own bank, since branch practice varies.
Does all of Nepal celebrate Dashain?
No. Dashain is observed widely in Hindu households, but its weight varies considerably. Among several Himalayan Buddhist communities, and in some Tharu and Madhesi households, other festivals carry far more significance. Treating Dashain as universal is inaccurate.
Can tourists attend Chhath?
Riverbank observances are public, and visitors are generally not turned away. Behave as you would at any act of worship. Keep back from the water’s edge, do not photograph fasting women at close range, and ask before taking any picture of an individual.
Which Lhosar should I plan around?
It depends which community you want to spend time with. Tamu Lhosar on December 30, 2026 is the most accessible for visitors based in Pokhara. Gyalpo Losar on March 9, 2027 is the one to plan around in Solukhumbu and the Boudha area of Kathmandu.
Is October a bad time to visit Nepal because of Dashain?
It is a busy time, not a bad one. Weather in October is among the clearest of the year. Expect closures around Phulpati to Dashami, book transport early, and keep cash on hand.
Where can I confirm a date closer to the time?
Check the government’s published holiday list for BS 2083 and Nepal Rastra Bank’s bank holiday notice. Local Nepali calendar publishers update tika timings as astrologers confirm them.
Plan the rest of your Nepal year
Save this page and come back to it when you book. NepalVue publishes festival, culture and travel guides across the country, from Terai riverbanks to Himalayan valleys. Explore more of our Nepal coverage, and share this calendar with whoever is arguing with you about flight dates.
