Dashain 2026 in Nepal: Dates, Closures, Transport and Trekking

Last checked 4 October 2026. Dates come from the Nepal Gazette holiday notice and the Hamro Patro calendar. Transport numbers come from a parliamentary committee report published on 30 September 2026. I say where each fact came from, and where I could not find one, I say that too.

Dashain 2026 runs from Sunday 11 October (Ghatasthapana) to Sunday 25 October (Kojagrat Purnima), and the big family day, Vijaya Dashami with the tika, is Wednesday 21 October. The government holiday is shorter than the festival: offices are closed from Saturday 17 October to Friday 23 October. If you want to know whether Dashain will ruin a trek, the short answer is no, but it will change how you get to the trail. The trails stay open. Kathmandu empties, the buses fill, and the week either side of tika is the worst time of the year to improvise.

This page covers the dates, what closes, what a trekker should expect on the road and in the air, who should plan around it and who should not, and what our guides think you should do with a tight schedule. Today is 4 October, so Ghatasthapana is a week away.

When is Dashain in 2026?

Most pages give you one range and leave it there. There are really two, and they answer different questions. The festival span tells you when the rituals happen. The government holiday tells you when offices are shut. Here are both, day by day.

Date (2026)	Day	What it is	What it means for a visitor
11 October	Sunday	Ghatasthapana, day 1. Barley seeds are sown in a sacred pot at home.	The festival begins and the first departures from Kathmandu start.
17 October	Saturday	Fulpati, day 7. Government holiday starts.	The biggest day for people leaving the Kathmandu Valley. Parade at Tundikhel.
18 October	Sunday	Maha Ashtami, day 8.	Temples busy, night worship of Kali.
19 October	Monday	Holiday day with no major named ritual on the calendar I read.	Government closed.
20 October	Tuesday	Maha Nawami, day 9.	The Taleju temple in Kathmandu Durbar Square is open to the public on this day, according to the tourism board.
21 October	Wednesday	Vijaya Dashami, day 10. The main tika day.	Families visit elders. Most places are shut.
22 and 23 October	Thursday and Friday	Tika continues. Last two government holiday days.	Return journeys start. Government offices reopen after 23 October.
25 October	Sunday	Kojagrat Purnima, the full moon that ends the festival.	Festival over.

Where do these come from? The holiday dates come from the Nepal Gazette (Nepal Rajpatra) notice of public holidays for the year 2083, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and dated 18 Falgun 2082. It sets the Dashain holiday at 17 to 23 October. The festival days come from the Hamro Patro calendar for Ashoj 2083, which lists Fulpati on 17 October, Maha Ashtami on 18 October, Maha Nawami on 20 October and Bijaya Dashami on 21 October. Local newspapers and several travel companies give the same 11 to 25 October span.

One warning. At the time of writing, the Nepal Tourism Board festival page for Dashain still shows a date range from an earlier year (22 September to 2 October) in its heading. The text under it is fine as a description of the festival, but do not use that heading to book anything. If a travel page gives you dates, check them against the Gazette notice.

Also note that Hindu festival days follow the lunar calendar, and a ritual day can straddle two calendar days. If a family in a village says Ashtami is a day earlier or later than the table, they are not wrong.

What closes during Dashain?

Government offices are closed from 17 to 23 October by the Gazette notice. Treat banks and most offices as shut as well, and do your money changing and any paperwork before 16 October. Expect many small shops and restaurants in Kathmandu to close around tika so the owners can go home. The tourism board says the population of Kathmandu is greatly reduced at this time, and it is: the city is quieter, and the roads in the valley are often easy.

Trek lodges mostly stay open, but I would not plan on finding a particular restaurant, a particular tailor, or a particular shop for last-minute gear open between 17 and 23 October. Buy what you need before you fly.

Is Dashain a bad time to trek in Nepal?

No. October is the start of the best trekking season in Nepal, and Dashain does not change the mountains. The festival affects three things: transport to the trailhead, how many trekking staff are free, and how busy the lodges are. Our own October guides say the same: most lodge staff stay through Dashain, some smaller teahouses run on skeleton staff or close briefly for tika, and many Nepali trekkers use the holiday to walk themselves, so domestic traffic adds to the international wave. I would add one honest point. The teahouses along the busiest routes will fill whether or not it is Dashain, so read our guide to booking teahouses in October alongside this one.

If you are already on the trail when Dashain begins, it can be a lovely time. In lower villages you may be offered tika and a blessing, and you will see swings put up and families coming home. High in the Khumbu, the Sherpa communities follow Buddhist traditions (the Nyingma school), so you feel Dashain there mostly through Kathmandu, the lower trails and the Nepali members of your crew, not through village festivities.

How bad is the transport rush?

Bad enough to plan around. A report submitted to the government by the Infrastructure Development Committee of the House of Representatives, reported by Onlinekhabar on 30 September 2026, estimates that 600,000 to 1 million people will leave the Kathmandu Valley for their home districts during Dashain, and the transport operators think the real number could be higher. The numbers below come from that report, which is built on traffic police data from earlier years.

Day	Estimated departures from the valley
Ghatasthapana (11 October)	45,000 to 68,000 people
Fulpati (17 October)	Up to 113,000 people, with more than 7,000 vehicles. The report puts Fulpati at 13 to 20 per cent of all Dashain departures.
Dashami (21 October)	About 4 per cent of the total

The same report says the rush peaks between 6am and 9am (busiest hour 7 to 8am) and again from 6pm to 9pm (busiest hour 8 to 9pm). About 27 per cent of vehicles leaving through Nagdhunga are expected to take the Pokhara road, so the Kathmandu to Pokhara highway is the most crowded corridor. Large buses carry nearly half of passengers. The committee also says there should be enough seats overall, but that people still struggle to get tickets because demand is uneven by day and destination, and because bad roads stop vehicles getting back in time to carry the next group. Last year, 19,671 vehicles left the valley on Fulpati alone.

What the report does not tell you is the return rush. It covers departures only. I found no forecast for the journey back, so my advice is to assume that buses into Kathmandu are full from about 22 to 25 October and to avoid travelling by public bus on those days if you can.

This is why a trekking group on a private vehicle behaves very differently from someone who turns up at a bus park. A private vehicle is still on the same road, and the road is slower, but you are not queuing for a seat.

What happens to flights, including the Lukla flight?

I could not find a published source on Dashain flight schedules, so I will not give you a number. What I can tell you comes from our own flight guides. In peak trekking weeks, the Lukla flights run from Manthali Airport in Ramechhap, not Kathmandu, between roughly 25 September and 30 November, which covers the whole of Dashain. The drive from Kathmandu to Ramechhap is about 130 km and takes four to five hours, and for a morning flight that means leaving Kathmandu around 1am. Our Ramechhap versus Lukla guide explains the logistics, and our domestic flights guide covers the backlog that follows a weather closure.

Two points matter at Dashain. First, domestic flights as a whole carry more Nepali passengers than usual around tika, and our October guide flags the Ramechhap to Lukla runs as under their heaviest pressure of the year in the days either side of tika. Second, a weather delay at Lukla leaves a backlog of two to three days, and in a week when seats are already tight that backlog is harder to clear. If you are flying to Lukla between 16 and 25 October, build in at least one spare day at each end of the trek. Do not book an international flight home the day after your planned return to Kathmandu.

Can I get permits during Dashain?

For our standard treks we arrange your TIMS card and the park and municipality entry for you, so you do nothing. The one place where the holiday really bites is climbing and restricted-area permits. Those need 48 hours in government working days, and the government is closed from 17 to 23 October, so none of those seven days counts. I would want any such application lodged by Wednesday 14 October, so that the 48 hours are used up before the closure starts. If you want a peak climb or a restricted area starting in late October, tell us weeks before, not days.

For fees and what each permit costs, see our trekking permits guide.

What should a visitor see in Kathmandu during Dashain?

You do not need to book a special tour. Walk, look, and be respectful. The days that matter are these.

Ghatasthapana (11 October). Families sow barley seeds in a sacred pot, the kalasha, which represents the goddess Durga. The room where it stays, the Dashain Ghar, is traditionally closed to outsiders, so do not expect to be shown it unless you are invited. By the tenth day the seeds have grown into yellow shoots called jamara.

Fulpati (17 October). On the seventh day a national Fulpati bundle (the sacred pot, banana stalks, jamara and sugar cane tied in red cloth) is carried to Kathmandu by Magars from Gorkha, a three-day walk of about 169 km, and received at Tundikhel with an army parade. The president attends. In towns across Nepal, local Fulpati processions pass through the streets.

Maha Ashtami and Maha Nawami (18 and 20 October). These are the animal sacrifice days. Temples across the country hold sacrifices of buffaloes, goats, hens and ducks, and the tourism board notes that a large number of animals are officially sacrificed at Hanuman Dhoka during Nawami. I mention it so that it is not a surprise. You can choose not to watch, and nobody will ask you to. Taleju temple, normally closed, is open to the public on Nawami,.

Vijaya Dashami (21 October). Elders put a tika on the foreheads of younger relatives: a mark of red vermilion mixed with yoghurt and rice, with a blessing. People wear new clothes, travel to relatives and eat a great deal. If a family you know invites you for tika, say yes. Bring fruit or sweets and take your shoes off at the door.

After tika. Families keep visiting each other for several days, and the festival ends with the full moon on 25 October.

For temples and historic squares that stay worth seeing, our guides to the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO sites and Kathmandu Durbar Square are a good start.

How should I plan a trek around Dashain?

It depends on your start date. This is our advice, based on the dates and transport numbers above.

Your trek starts	What to expect	What we would do
Before 11 October	Normal conditions. You are on the trail while Dashain builds.	Go. The cleanest option.
12 to 15 October	The first rush is under way (45,000 to 68,000 departures on 11 October). Government offices are still working.	Leave Kathmandu early in the morning, before the 7am to 8am bus peak, by private vehicle.
16 to 22 October	The most disrupted days. Government closed, roads and flights under pressure, many Kathmandu businesses shut.	Possible, but add a spare day, avoid public buses, and buy everything first. Not the week for a peak permit.
23 to 25 October	Return journeys. Quieter in Kathmandu again, government offices reopen after 23 October.	Good for treks that start after tika. Flights may still be heavy.
After 26 October	Back to normal autumn season.	Go.

If you are coming for the Everest region, our 12-day Everest Base Camp trek is private, so we can move the start date to suit Dashain. You do not have to take a fixed group date. For what October looks like on the ground, see Trekking Nepal in October 2026, and for what comes next, our November 2026 guide covers Tihar, the road repairs and the flood-affected routes.

What do other guides not tell you about Dashain?

These are the points I think matter and that I rarely see written down.

The festival is not the holiday. Most travel pages quote 11 to 25 October and leave it there. The government is closed for 17 to 23 October, and that is the week to plan around.

The outbound peak is Fulpati, not tika day. Older advice says do not travel on the day before tika. The committee's own numbers put the peak at Fulpati, with up to 113,000 departures against 45,000 to 68,000 on Ghatasthapana, and only about 4 per cent leaving on Dashami. The return rush is a gap in the data, which is why I suggest a buffer on both ends.

The 48-hour permit rule meets a seven-day closure. This only matters for peak climbs and restricted areas, but it catches people out.

The 1am drive does not stop for the festival. If you have a Ramechhap flight, the early start is the same. Kathmandu is simply emptier on the way out.

Be honest about trade-offs. Dashain is a wonderful time to see Nepal, but it is a poor time to be inflexible. If your schedule has no slack, choose another week. If you can stay flexible, it is one of the most memorable weeks of the year.

Is it worth staying with a family during Dashain?

If you are invited, yes. If you want to ask us about a homestay, our family homestay is US$15 per person per night. Ask us about availability before you count on it for Dashain week, because I have not confirmed it for those dates. Kathmandu hotels are not included in our trek prices, so you pay for them separately, and in the week around tika some will be full while others will have empty rooms. Book early either way.

What if Dashain disrupts my plans after I have booked?

Our rule is the same all year. The deposit is non-refundable, but you can reschedule for free with at least 72 hours' notice (seven days for restricted areas, Tibet and Kailash) to any date within one year. If we cannot run your trip, we refund what you paid less taxes, bank and card charges and money already spent on permits or flights. This is not a Dashain exception. It is how we work.

Frequently asked questions

What date is Dashain tika in 2026?

Wednesday 21 October 2026, which is Vijaya Dashami, the tenth day. The Hamro Patro calendar lists it as Bijaya Dashami.

How many days is Dashain?

Fifteen days, from Ghatasthapana to the full moon, according to Wikipedia and the tourism board's description of a two-week festival. In 2026 that is 11 to 25 October. The government holiday is seven days, 17 to 23 October.

Are the trails closed during Dashain?

No. The trails are open, and most lodges stay open. Some smaller teahouses run with fewer staff or close briefly for tika.

Is it safe to travel in Nepal during Dashain?

The main risks are practical: crowded roads and full buses. Our latest road and flood updates are in our late September 2026 travel update. Check it before you go, because conditions on some roads changed this season.

Can tourists take part in Dashain?

You can watch the public events and you may be invited to receive tika. Dress modestly, take your shoes off at the door of a home, and ask before photographing a ritual.

Should I come for Dashain or Tihar?

If you want the biggest family festival and can accept slack in your schedule, Dashain. If you want lights, music and a calmer road, Tihar, which falls in early November (our Tihar 2026 guide has the dates). Our festival calendar and festivals guide cover the rest of the year.

What are the Dashain 2027 dates?

I could not find an official publication of the 2027 festival dates or the 2027 government holiday notice yet, so I will not guess. Once the Gazette notice is out, I will update this page.

Sources

Nepal Rajpatra (Nepal Gazette), Ministry of Home Affairs, notice of government and public holidays for the year 2083, dated 18 Falgun 2082. Hamro Patro, Nepali calendar for Ashoj and Kartik 2083. Nepal Tourism Board, Dashain festival page (description of the rituals). Onlinekhabar English, "Kathmandu Valley braces for Dashain exodus of up to 1 million passengers", 30 September 2026. Wikipedia, "Dashain" (ritual details). Wikipedia, "Sherpa people" (Nyingma tradition). Our own guides to the Lukla flight window and October trekking, linked above.

If you want to talk through dates before you book, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300. I answer it myself.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation Himalayan guide. TAAN Member #1586.