Nepal Festival Calendar 2027: Dates and Where to See Each Festival from Kathmandu

This Nepal festival calendar 2027 lists the year's biggest celebrations, with dates, what happens and where to see each one from Kathmandu. Nepal has more festivals than days off, and planning a trip around one is the best way to see the country at its most alive. We are a family homestay in Budhanilkantha, and we help our guests plan festival days every year.

Most Nepali festivals follow the lunar calendar, so their dates move every year and can shift by a day between calendars. The dates below were checked against published Nepali calendars in November 2026; we update this page when the government confirms them.

Nepal festival dates 2027 at a glance

Before the new year, two more celebrations close 2026: Haribodhini Ekadashi at Budhanilkantha Temple on Friday 20 November, and Tamu Lhosar on Wednesday 30 December.

Winter festivals: January to March

Sonam Losar and Gyalpo Losar

Nepal celebrates several new years. Sonam Losar, the Tamang new year, falls on 7 February 2027, and Gyalpo Losar, the Tibetan and Sherpa new year, on 9 March. Boudhanath Stupa is the place to be for Gyalpo Losar: new prayer flags, butter lamps, families in their best clothes and monks chanting in the monasteries around the stupa.

Maha Shivaratri

On 6 March 2027, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and sadhus (holy men) gather at Pashupatinath Temple for the night of Lord Shiva. Bonfires burn along the Bagmati River through the night. It is also Nepal Army Day.

Holi

The festival of colours falls on 21 March 2027 in Kathmandu and the hills, and a day later in the Terai. Expect coloured powder and water balloons in the streets, music and dancing, especially around Kathmandu Durbar Square and Thamel.

Spring festivals: April and May

Nepali New Year and Bisket Jatra

Nepal's official calendar, Bikram Sambat, starts the year 2084 on 14 April 2027. The most spectacular celebration is Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur, a week-long festival of chariot pulling and the raising and felling of a giant ceremonial pole.

Buddha Jayanti

The birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha are celebrated together on the full moon of 20 May 2027. Swayambhunath and Boudhanath fill with pilgrims and butter lamps, and Lumbini, the Buddha's birthplace, holds its biggest day of the year.

Autumn festivals: Dashain and Tihar

Dashain and Tihar are Nepal's two biggest festivals, and both fall in October 2027. Dashain lasts about two weeks: families gather, elders give blessings with red tika and jamara (barley shoots), and kites fill the sky. A few weeks later, Tihar lights up every home with oil lamps and marigold garlands, with days to honour crows, dogs and cows, the goddess Laxmi and the bond between brothers and sisters. Exact days follow Nepal's official 2084 calendar, and we will add them here as soon as they are published.

Christmas and the end of the year

Christmas is a public holiday in Nepal, and Kathmandu's churches, hotels and restaurants celebrate it. December also brings Tamu Lhosar, the Gurung new year, on 30 December, and New Year's Eve is a lively night in Thamel.

Planning a festival trip from Budhanilkantha

Our homestay is in Budhanilkantha, on the quiet northern edge of the valley. On festival days that is a real advantage: you can see the celebrations and then come back to a calm neighbourhood and a good night's sleep. We can arrange a driver for early starts at Pashupatinath or Boudhanath, and Budhanilkantha Temple's own festival days are a short walk away.

Book direct and offers combine: 5% off stays of 3 nights or more (6% for 7 nights or more), 5% off when you book 14 or more days ahead (6% for 30 or more days), and an extra 1% in big festival months. The booking form adds every offer you qualify for.