2083 BS · October – November 2026
Three festivals, one month
The full calendar of Dashain, Tihar and Chhath for 2026, including the days before I arrive and after I leave, and what each day means.
दशैं
Dashain
11 – 25 October 2026
Dashain celebrates the goddess Durga's ten-day battle with Mahishasura, a buffalo demon who could not be defeated by any god. Many families also remember Ram's victory over Ravana. Either way, it is the victory of good over evil.
It is the biggest holiday of the year. Schools and offices close for about a week, and millions of people travel from the cities to their home villages. Families clean and decorate their homes, buy new clothes and cook large meals, and the elders give blessings to the young.
11Oct · Sun
Ghatasthapanaघटस्थापना
A sacred vessel, the kalash, is filled with water and placed in the prayer room. Barley seeds are sown in sand around it and kept in the dark to grow the yellow jamara.
Before I arrive12–16Oct · Mon
Navaratriनवरात्री
Nine nights of worship, one for each form of Durga. The jamara is watered each day and temples stay busy from dawn.
Before I arrive17Oct · Sat
Fulpatiफूलपाती
Sacred plants arrive from Gorkha at Hanuman Dhoka with an army salute at Tundikhel.
My day plan →18Oct · Sun
Maha Ashtamiमहाअष्टमी
The most intense day of Durga worship, with offerings at temples and the Kal Ratri night.
My day plan →20Oct · Tue
Maha Navamiमहानवमी
Vehicles and tools are blessed. Taleju temple opens to Hindu worshippers for its one day of the year.
My day plan →21Oct · Wed
Vijaya Dashamiविजया दशमी
Tika day. Elders give tika, jamara and blessings to younger relatives.
My day plan →25Oct · Sun
Kojagrat Purnimaकोजाग्रत पूर्णिमा
The full moon ends Dashain. Families stay awake for Laxmi.
My day plan →
तिहार
Tihar
6 – 11 November 2026
Tihar is also called Yamapanchak, the five days of Yama. In the story, Yama, the god of death, visited his sister Yamuna. She gave him tika and a garland and asked him not to take her brother until the garland wilted. She chose makhamali, which never wilts, and that is where Bhai Tika comes from.
Each day honours someone different: crows, dogs, cows and oxen, Laxmi, and finally brothers and sisters. At night the streets fill with lamps, fireworks and groups singing Deusi and Bhailo from door to door.
6Nov · Fri
7Nov · Sat
8Nov · Sun
Kukur Tihar & Laxmi Pujaकुकुर तिहार · लक्ष्मी पूजा
Dogs get garlands and tika. In the evening, Laxmi is welcomed with lamps and Bhailo singing.
My day plan →9Nov · Mon
10Nov · Tue
Govardhan Puja & Mha Pujaगोवर्धन पूजा · म्ह पूजा
Oxen and Govardhan hill are honoured. Newars worship their own bodies and celebrate Nepal Sambat New Year 1147.
My day plan →11Nov · Wed
Bhai Tikaभाइटीका
Sisters give their brothers a seven-coloured tika and a makhamali garland.
My day plan →
छठ
Chhath
13 – 16 November 2026
Chhath honours Surya, the sun god, and Chhathi Maiya, a goddess who protects children. It is the main festival of the Mithila region in southern Nepal and northern India, and communities from the Terai now celebrate it in Kathmandu too.
It is a festival of strict fasting and purity. Devotees, mostly women, go without food or water for about 36 hours and make offerings to the sun at sunset and at sunrise, standing in rivers and ponds.
13Nov · Fri
14Nov · Sat
Kharnaखरना
A day-long fast, broken at night with kheer. Then the fast without water begins.
My day plan →15Nov · Sun
16Nov · Mon
Usha Arghyaउषा अर्घ्य
Offerings to the rising sun, and then the fast ends. I will have flown home by then.
After I leave
Festival dates follow the lunar calendar and are fixed each year by the Nepal Panchang Nirnayak Samiti. The auspicious times (saait) for tika are announced a few days before. Check a current patro before planning around a specific hour. How the Nepali calendar works →