Festival Cultural Tours in Nepal

Festival and Cultural Tours in Nepal

Nepal's festival calendar is one of the richest in Asia. Hinduism and Buddhism – the two dominant religious traditions – both maintain festival cycles of extraordinary diversity and spectacle, and the Newari, Gurung, Tamang, Sherpa, Rai, Limbu and other ethnic communities each add their own distinct celebrations to the calendar. Timing a Nepal holiday to coincide with a major festival adds a dimension to the travel experience that cultural sightseeing alone cannot provide: you see the ancient temple not just as an architectural monument but as the living centre of a community celebration that has been happening on the same site for centuries.

Nepal's Major Festivals

Dashain (September/October): Nepal's most important Hindu festival, lasting 15 days. Family reunions, temple worship, kite flying, animal offerings and the blessing of vehicles, tools and machinery across the country. The most socially significant celebration in the Nepali calendar. Tihar (October/November): The five-day Festival of Lights. Five distinct days of celebration honouring crows, dogs, cows, Laxmi (goddess of wealth) and the bond between brothers and sisters. Oil lamps illuminate every building; the goddess Laxmi puja produces extraordinary illuminated street scenes. Indra Jatra (September): The most spectacular festival of Kathmandu city: the living goddess Kumari appears in her golden chariot, the enormous mask of Bhairav reveals itself above a crowd scene, and traditional masked dances (Mahakali and Kumari dances) perform in the Durbar Square. Mani Rimdu (October/November): The most significant Buddhist festival of the Khumbu, celebrated at Tengboche Monastery with elaborate masked dances by monks enacting the triumph of Buddhism. Combining EBC trekking with Mani Rimdu timing is one of Nepal's finest combined experiences.