Dashain and Tihar 2027 in Nepal: dates, closures and travel

The 2027 dates, and how sure they are

Nepal counts its years in the Bikram Sambat calendar, and its Ministry of Home Affairs publishes the public holidays one Nepali year at a time in the Nepal Gazette. The list for 2083, which runs to mid-April 2027, is out; the list for 2084, which covers Dashain and Tihar 2027, was not yet on the ministry's holidays page on 27 October 2026. The ministry put the last four lists online in February or March, a few weeks before each new year, so expect the 2084 list around then.

Until then, the dates below are expected. Both festivals follow the moon (Dashain ends on the full moon of Kojagrat Purnima), and the dates are those that Drik Panchang, a calendar publisher, calculates for Kathmandu. Nepal's own calendar committee has the final word on the ritual days, and a day can move.

Shrines and families mark more days than the table shows. Our Nepal festival calendar places Dashain and Tihar in the rest of the 2027 year, including Chhath, which follows Tihar in early November.

Dashain day by day: from the barley jar to the tika

The Nepal Tourism Board calls Dashain the longest Hindu festival in Nepal, traditionally two weeks of prayers and offerings to the goddess Durga, and the great harvest festival of the year. On Ghatasthapana families sow barley seeds in a sacred jar, the kalash, kept in the prayer room; over the next ten days the seeds grow into the shoots called jamara, which elders place with the tika on Vijaya Dashami. For the first ten days, the board says, pilgrims go to river confluences early in the morning and to shrines in the evening.

The festival gathers pace with Fulpati, the seventh day, and Maha Ashtami, when Durga is worshipped across the country. On Maha Navami a large number of animals are sacrificed at Hanuman Dhoka in Kathmandu, attended by officials, invitees and visitors, and the Taleju Temple, normally closed, opens to the public for its one day of the year.

Vijaya Dashami, the tenth day, is the one everybody waits for. People in new clothes visit their elders to receive tika, a dab of red vermilion mixed with yoghurt and rice, with jamara and a blessing, and spend the day feasting from house to house. The visits go on until Kojagrat Purnima, the full moon. Kite flying and village swings are part of the season too, along with new clothes and grand feasts.

For a visitor, Dashain is mostly a private festival: the tika happens at home. What you see in public is the build-up, the temple crowds of Ashtami and Navami, the kites over the rooftops and the streets full of people in their best clothes on Vijaya Dashami.

Tihar day by day: crows, dogs, lamps and Bhai Tika

Tihar, the festival of lights, honours Yama, the god of death, while the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, dominates the five days. On Kag Tihar people set out leaf plates of rice for crows, Yama's messengers, and on Kukur Tihar dogs, his agents, get garlands of marigolds, a red tika and treats.

The third day is the high point. In the morning the cow is worshipped; in the evening families welcome Lakshmi with a path of footprints leading into the house, every light on and the doors and windows open. Houses all over the country are lit with oil lamps, candles and strings of electric lights, and the tourism board recommends the hill of Swayambhunath for the view of the lit city below.

On the fourth day oxen are honoured, and the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley performs Mha Puja, the worship of one's own body and soul. Bhai Tika closes the festival: sisters put a tika on their brothers' foreheads and pray to Yama for their long lives, brothers bring gifts, and the day ends in a feast.

In the evenings, groups go from house to house singing Tihar songs and giving blessings, and the residents reward them with money. Fireworks fill the sky as well, although, as the tourism board notes, firecrackers are banned by the government.

Where to be: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur

Stay in Kathmandu for both festivals. On Navami, go to Kathmandu Durbar Square, also called Hanuman Dhoka, where the Taleju Temple, the tallest structure on the square, built by King Mahendra Malla in 1549, opens for its one day. The square costs NPR 1,000 for foreign visitors, NPR 500 for SAARC nationals and NPR 1,000 for Chinese nationals, with children under 10 free, on the Nepal Tourism Board's heritage-fee table checked on 27 October 2026. The sacrifices of Navami take place at Hanuman Dhoka too; if you would rather not see them, visit the square on another day. Our Kathmandu guide covers the rest of the square and the city's other sacred sites.

For Lakshmi Puja night, climb to Swayambhunath, NPR 200 for foreign visitors on the same table, and watch the valley light up below; then walk back through the lanes, where rows of lamps line the windows and doors.

Patan and Bhaktapur are the valley's two other royal cities. The tourism board calls the Newars the native people of the Kathmandu Valley, with rituals and festivals unique to them, and Mha Puja on the fourth day of Tihar is theirs. Patan Durbar Square, including Patan Museum, costs NPR 1,000 for foreign visitors, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square USD 18 or NPR 1,800, on the same fee table. Both make an easy day from Kathmandu; see the Patan guide and the Bhaktapur guide for the squares and how to get there.

The tall swings of Dashain go up where there is open ground, on the edges of the valley and in the villages; ask at your hotel where the nearest one stands.

What closes, and for how long

The government's holiday list applies to all government offices and public bodies. In the 2083 list, the most recent one, Dashain gives them a day off for Ghatasthapana and then a holiday from Fulpati to Dwadashi, two days after Vijaya Dashami; Tihar gives them a holiday from Lakshmi Puja to the day after Bhai Tika. Saturday is the weekly holiday all year.

If the 2084 list follows that pattern, government offices will close on Thursday 30 September and from Wednesday 6 to Tuesday 12 October, and again from Friday 29 October to Monday 1 November. These are expected dates; check the new list when it is out.

This matters most for visas. The tourism board names the Immigration Department in Kathmandu and in Pokhara as the places where tourist visas are extended, and both are government offices, so extend before Fulpati or after the holiday. The visa rules are in our entry guide.

The heritage squares stay open: Kathmandu Metropolitan City lists Kathmandu Durbar Square and Swayambhunath as open 24 hours. Museums and shops follow their own schedules; with so many people out of town, expect fewer open doors on Vijaya Dashami and the days around it.

Buses and flights in the festival rush

Dashain is the year's great journey home. In October 2026, the Kathmandu Post reported that around 2 million people leave the Kathmandu Valley for Dashain each year, by bus, private car, hired vehicle and plane. That year, advance bus bookings for the festival opened on 9 October, two days before Ghatasthapana, at Gongabu's New Bus Park, Kalanki, Balkhu, Koteshwar and Chabahil and through the online platforms eSewa, Khalti and BusSewa, according to the Department of Transport Management, and long- and medium-distance buses were allowed to run on any route from Ghatasthapana to the end of the festival.

The tourist buses that most visitors use leave from Kantipath, not from the New Bus Park, the tourism board says, but they share the same roads. Travel on Ghatasthapana, Fulpati or the days after Vijaya Dashami only if you have to, buy the ticket as soon as you know your date, and keep the transfer in daylight. Our transport guide has the routes, airlines and road advice.

Part of the exodus goes by air, so book the Pokhara, Bharatpur and Bhairahawa legs on the airlines' own sites as soon as your plan is fixed, and choose a fare you can change.

Trekking in festival season

Dashain coincides with the opening of the autumn trekking season: the Nepal Tourism Board gives October to November as the best season in Sagarmatha National Park, around Everest. Summit Air says that in its high seasons, which include October to December, all flights to Lukla are rerouted to Ramechhap, served by Manthali Airport, a four-hour drive from Kathmandu. Plan that road transfer away from the main Dashain travel days and sleep near Manthali before the flight; our Everest Base Camp trek guide explains the transfer.

Guides and porters have families too. On the routes that require a licensed guide, the agency arranges the guide, so ask it how the main days of Dashain fit into your trek before you choose your start date. The permits and the guide rule are in the trekking permits guide.

Etiquette and safety during the festivals

Dashain tika is a family rite. If a Nepali family invites you to receive tika, you are being given the elders' blessing, the heart of the festival. Ask before photographing people at a temple or a family ceremony.

The tourism board notes that you will often be asked to take off your shoes before entering a temple or a house, that some temples are closed to non-Hindus, and that the right hand is used to give and receive. At Tihar, step around the footprints and lamps at the doors of houses and shops, which are laid out for Lakshmi.

The crowds bring pickpockets. Germany's Federal Foreign Office says petty crime such as pickpocketing and bag-snatching becomes more frequent during the festival season from September to November, especially in tourist areas. Keep your phone and wallet close in the temple queues and the bus parks.