Tihar 2026 in Nepal: Dates, Laxmi Puja, Holidays and Trekking

Last checked 4 October 2026. Festival dates come from the Hamro Patro calendar for Kartik 2083 and the holiday dates from the Nepal Gazette notice for 2083. Where I could not find a source, I say so.

Tihar 2026 runs for five days, from Saturday 7 November (Kaag Tihar) to Wednesday 11 November (Bhai Tika), and Laxmi Puja, the night of lights, is on the evening of Sunday 8 November. The government holiday is not the same as the festival: it covers Sunday 8 to Thursday 12 November, which is five days and ends a day after Bhai Tika. If you are trekking in early November, Tihar will barely touch the trail, but it will change Kathmandu, and it is worth planning one evening for.

Travel pages disagree about these dates. Some say 7 to 11 November, others 8 to 12 November, and a few say 6 to 10. They are not all wrong. They mix up the festival and the holiday. This page sorts out which is which, then covers what each day is, what closes, what to see, how it fits with a trek and what to avoid.

When is Tihar in 2026?

Here are the five festival days with the government holiday alongside.

Date (2026)	Day	Festival day	Government holiday?
7 November	Saturday	Kaag Tihar (day of the crow), day 1	No
8 November	Sunday	Kukur Tihar (day of the dog) and Laxmi Puja in the evening, days 2 and 3	Yes, starts
9 November	Monday	Gai Puja (the cow)	Yes
10 November	Tuesday	Govardhan Puja and Goru Puja (the ox), Mha Puja for the Newar community, first day of Nepal Sambat 1147	Yes
11 November	Wednesday	Bhai Tika (brothers and sisters), day 5	Yes
12 November	Thursday	Festival over	Yes, last day

The sources are these. The holiday notice for the year 2083, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and published in the Nepal Gazette (dated 18 Falgun 2082), sets the Tihar holiday at Kartik 22 to 26, which is 8 to 12 November 2026. The Hamro Patro calendar lists Kaag Tihar on 7 November, Kukur Tihar and Laxmi Puja on 8 November, Gai Puja on 9 November, Govardhan Puja, Mha Puja and the start of Nepal Sambat 1147 on 10 November, and Bhai Tika on 11 November. Wikipedia's description of the festival agrees on the order of the days.

One note on the calendars. Days two and three of Tihar can overlap, so some calendars place the dog day and Laxmi Puja on the same date, and the cow worship on the next morning. The one date every source I checked agrees on is the evening of 8 November for Laxmi Puja. If a family in a village says the cow day is a day earlier or later than my table, they are not wrong.

At the time of writing, the Nepal Tourism Board festival page for Tihar still carries a date range from an earlier year in its heading (19 to 23 October). The description underneath is useful, but do not take dates from that heading. Check them against the Gazette notice.

What are the five days of Tihar?

Day 1, Kaag Tihar. Crows are fed on rooftops and in the street. In Hindu belief they carry messages for Yama, the god of death, and feeding them is a way of asking for a year without grief.

Day 2, Kukur Tihar. Dogs, pets and strays alike, get food, a tika on the forehead and a garland of marigolds. You will see dogs in Kathmandu wearing flowers. The story behind it is that Yama has guard dogs, and in the Mahabharata a dog stands at the gate of heaven with Yudhishthira.

Day 3, Gai Tihar and Laxmi Puja. In the morning the cow is honoured. In the evening, Laxmi, goddess of wealth, is welcomed to houses that have been cleaned and decorated with marigold garlands. Laxmi Puja falls on the new moon night, the darkest night of the lunar month, so oil lamps, candles and strings of electric lights go on to bring in the light. The tourism board notes that the goddess is invited by a path of footprints leading into the house, and that doors and windows stay open. This is the most important day.

Day 4, Goru Puja and Mha Puja. The ox is worshipped, and some Vaishnav devotees make offerings for Govardhan Puja. The Newar community of Kathmandu Valley holds Mha Puja, a ritual in which a person worships the self, and this day usually marks the Nepal Sambat new year. This year that is Nepal Sambat 1147.

Day 5, Bhai Tika. Sisters put a seven-colour tika on their brothers' foreheads, walk around them with holy water and oil, and place a garland made from the makhamali flower (Gomphrena globosa), chosen because it lasts. Brothers then give gifts and touch the sisters' feet with their foreheads. Cousins can take part. It ends with a feast.

Is Tihar as disruptive as Dashain?

Less. Wikipedia calls it the second-biggest Nepali festival after Dashain, and the government holiday is five days against Dashain's seven. I found no Tihar-specific transport figures. The Dashain numbers, with hundreds of thousands leaving the valley, come from a parliamentary committee report, and there is no equivalent for Tihar that I could find, so I will not invent one. If you want that picture, our Dashain guide has the numbers.

My practical advice for Tihar is simpler. Government offices are shut from 8 to 12 November, so anything that needs an official stamp should be done before 7 November. Many families go home for Bhai Tika, so expect busier roads and tighter seats around 10 and 11 November than in the rest of the month. That is my expectation from how the festival works, not a figure I can cite.

What is there to see in Kathmandu during Tihar?

The lights are the point, and you do not need a ticket. The tourism board says houses all over the country are lit with candles, oil lamps and electric lights, and that a fine view of lit-up Kathmandu can be had from the Swayambhunath stupa. A walk through the old streets of Kathmandu, Patan or Bhaktapur on the evening of 8 November is the best way to see it. Our guides to the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO sites, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu Durbar Square will help you pick a route.

Other things you will notice:

• Rangoli. Floors of courtyards and doorways are decorated with patterns made of coloured rice, flour or flower petals, as a welcome for the gods.
• Deusi and Bhailo. Groups of children and sometimes adults go from house to house in the evening, singing and dancing, and are given money and food in return. You may be asked too. Keep a few small notes ready, and do not feel you must give if you would rather not.
• Sel roti. This ring-shaped rice bread is among the traditional foods offered during Tihar, according to Wikipedia. Ask for it.
• Fireworks. The tourism board and Wikipedia both say the government has banned firecrackers, and both say they are still used. Expect noise in the evenings, and keep your distance from the street.

Can I trek during Tihar?

Yes. Tihar falls in the first half of November, which is the end of the autumn trekking season, and our EBC in November guide explains what to expect on the mountain: cold skies, clear views and thinner crowds. The festival touches Kathmandu and the lower villages most. In the high Khumbu, the Sherpa communities follow Buddhist traditions (the Nyingma school), so you will feel Tihar through Kathmandu and your Nepali crew more than through the village you sleep in.

If you are heading for the Annapurna Circuit or Langtang, check the current road and trail status first, because this season is not normal. Our November 2026 guide has route-by-route status.

The Lukla flight is the other point to know. The fixed-wing Lukla flights run from Manthali Airport in Ramechhap, not Kathmandu, from roughly 25 September to 30 November, which covers the whole of Tihar. The drive is about 130 km, four to five hours, and for a morning flight you leave Kathmandu around 1am. Our Ramechhap versus Lukla guide has the detail.

Can a visitor join in on Bhai Tika or Laxmi Puja?

You can watch from the street, and you may be invited in. Laxmi Puja is a family evening at home, so do not walk into a house uninvited, however bright the doorway looks. If a Nepali friend, host or guide invites you, accept. Bhai Tika is a ritual between brothers and sisters, and cousins can take part too, so a visitor will usually be a guest at someone else's ceremony rather than a participant. If you are there, you may be given a tika. The brother's tika has seven colours. Bring fruit or sweets as a gift, take your shoes off at the door, and ask before photographing people at prayer. That is common courtesy, not a rule I can quote from a source.

How does Tihar compare with Dashain for a visitor?

	Dashain 2026	Tihar 2026
Festival days	15 days, 11 to 25 October	5 days, 7 to 11 November
Government holiday	7 days, 17 to 23 October	5 days, 8 to 12 November
Main day	Vijaya Dashami and tika, Wednesday 21 October	Laxmi Puja evening, Sunday 8 November, and Bhai Tika, Wednesday 11 November
Mood	Family reunions, blessings, sacrifices to the goddess	Lights, flowers and animals honoured, songs from door to door
Best thing to see	Fulpati parade at Tundikhel, Taleju temple on Nawami	Lit-up streets on the night of Laxmi Puja, dogs with garlands
Transport pressure	Very high, 600,000 to 1 million leaving the valley by the committee estimate	I found no figure, and expect it to be lower
Effect on a trek	Trailhead transport and flights; trails open	Little on the trail; offices shut for five days

If I had to pick one for a first visit, I would pick Tihar for the beauty and Dashain for the depth. Tihar is easier on the logistics. Dashain gives you the bigger sense of a country going home.

What should I eat and photograph?

Sel roti, a ring-shaped rice bread, is among the traditional foods offered at this time, so ask for it in a local restaurant or from a family. For photographs, the best light is in the hour after dusk on 8 November, when the lamps and strings of lights are on and there is still colour in the sky. Marigold garlands go on doors, gates and the dogs of Kukur Tihar, so the daytime of 8 November is the time for those pictures. Fireworks are officially banned but still go off, so mind your ears and your camera. Our Kathmandu travel guide will help you plan a route.

Do permits and offices close during Tihar?

The government does, from 8 to 12 November. For our standard treks we arrange your TIMS card and the park and municipality entry for you, so you do nothing. Peak climbs and restricted areas are different. Those permits need 48 hours in government working days, and none of the five holiday days counts. I would want such an application lodged by Tuesday 3 November, so that the 48 hours are used before the closure. For fees, see our trekking permits guide.

How should I plan a trek around Tihar?

Your trek starts	What to expect	What we would do
Before 6 November	Normal Kathmandu. You are on the trail for the festival.	Go. If you pass through Kathmandu on 8 November, keep that evening free to see the lights.
7 to 12 November	Festival and government holiday. Kathmandu quieter in the day and lit at night. Roads busier around Bhai Tika.	Possible. Add a spare day at the end of the trek for the flight home.
13 November onwards	Festival over, offices back.	Go. Colder at altitude and the Ramechhap window runs to 30 November.

Our 12-day Everest Base Camp trek is private, so we can move your start date by a day or two to suit Tihar, with no fixed group date to fit.

What do other guides not tell you about Tihar?

The holiday outlasts the festival by one day. Bhai Tika is on 11 November but the holiday ends on 12 November. I expect that last day to be a travel day for people returning from their home villages, though I have no figure for it.

Laxmi Puja is the first day of the holiday. The biggest evening of the festival is also the start of five closed days, so do your errands the day before.

The 48-hour permit rule meets a five-day closure. This only matters for peaks and restricted areas, but it catches people.

Tihar is a good festival to be flexible about. If your plans cannot move at all, you will spend its best evening in a hotel lobby. If you can keep one evening free, you will see Kathmandu at its most beautiful.

The honest trade-off is that Tihar is lovely to look at and awkward if your schedule is tight. The mountains do not care about it, but the roads and offices do.

What if Tihar 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.

Frequently asked questions

What date is Laxmi Puja in 2026?

The evening of Sunday 8 November 2026. It is the most important night of Tihar.

What date is Bhai Tika in 2026?

Wednesday 11 November 2026, according to the Hamro Patro calendar.

How many days is Tihar?

Five days of festival, 7 to 11 November 2026. The government holiday is 8 to 12 November, also five days.

Is Tihar the same as Diwali?

They are close relatives and share the lamps and Laxmi worship. In Nepal the festival is called Tihar, and Madhesh Province and Newar communities have their own names for it (Dipawali and Swanti).

Is Tihar a good time to visit Nepal?

For the lights and the culture, yes. For trekking, early November is the tail of the autumn season, with cold nights at altitude. See our festival calendar and festivals guide for the rest of the year.

Is the Lukla flight affected by Tihar?

I found no Tihar-specific flight data. Weather is the real risk, and a delay can leave a backlog of two to three days, so keep a spare day. Our domestic flights guide explains.

What are the Tihar 2027 dates?

I could not find an official 2027 holiday notice yet, so I will not guess. I will update this page when it is out.

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 Kartik 2083. Nepal Tourism Board, Tihar festival page (description of the days). Wikipedia, "Tihar (festival)" (rituals, Nepal Sambat, Deusi and Bhailo, firecracker ban). Wikipedia, "Sherpa people" (Nyingma tradition). Our own guides to the Lukla flight window, November trekking and the Everest region, 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.