Nepal Festival Calendar 2026: Events & Things to Do in Kathmandu

Nepal runs on two calendars at once. Everyday life uses the Bikram Sambat (BS) calendar — currently about 57 years ahead of the Gregorian year — while most religious festivals are timed by the lunar cycle. That's why a festival like Dashain or Holi lands on a different Gregorian date every year: it's fixed to a phase of the moon, not to a day in October or March.

The festival year peaks in autumn. Dashain and Tihar arrive back to back in October and November and effectively pause the country — offices close, people travel home, and Kathmandu goes quiet on the holiest days but buzzes in the run-up. Winter brings the Losars — three separate Himalayan new years for the Gurung, Tamang and Sherpa/Tibetan communities. Spring closes the cycle with Holi and the solar Nepali New Year on Baisakh 1.

For visitors and locals alike, festivals are the best time to see Kathmandu at full voltage — chariot processions, masked dances, temple queues, and after dark, the concerts and parties that organisers throw around each occasion. This calendar tracks both sides: the tradition and the nightlife.