Indra Jatra: Kathmandu's Great Street Festival

As the monsoon fades, the old heart of Kathmandu stages its most spectacular festival. Indra Jatra, called Yenya in the Newar language, fills the palace square and surrounding lanes with drums, masked demons, giant deity faces and the chariot of the Kumari, the young girl worshipped as a living goddess. It is one of the few times she is seen in public.

The legend

The story goes that Indra, king of heaven and god of rain, came down to the Kathmandu Valley disguised as an ordinary man to pick a particular white flower his mother needed for a ritual. The townspeople caught him stealing from their gardens and tied him up like a common thief. His mother descended to find him. When the people realised who their prisoner was, they released him, and in gratitude she promised them the morning mist and dew that ripen the autumn crops, and to lead the souls of those who had died that year to heaven.

The festival thanks Indra for the rains and remembers the dead.

When it happens

Indra Jatra falls in the lunar month of Bhadra, usually in September, and lasts eight days. The dates are set by the lunar calendar, so confirm them for your year.

The main events

Raising the pole. The festival opens with the erection of a tall ceremonial wooden pole in front of the old palace at Hanuman Dhoka. The tree is selected and cut in a forest east of the valley and dragged to the city by hand. Raising it upright with ropes, to the sound of music and cannon fire, is a tense and dramatic operation.

The Kumari's chariot procession. On three of the festival days, the Kumari is carried from her house and placed on a large wooden chariot. Two boys representing the gods Ganesh and Bhairav ride smaller chariots ahead of her. Teams of men pull them by rope along set routes through the old city, a different section each day, while crowds press in to catch a glimpse of her. Traditionally the head of state attends on the first day to receive her blessing.

The masked dances. Throughout the week, dance troupes perform in the squares and at crossroads:

• Lakhey. A demon with a fierce red face, fangs and a shaggy mane, who whirls through the streets to the beat of drums. He is the festival's most popular figure.

• Pulukisi. A white elephant, played by men under a cloth-and-bamboo frame, representing Indra's mount charging about in search of his master and scattering spectators.

• Sawa Bhakku. A group in blue and red masks portraying Bhairav and his attendants.

• Mahakali dance. Performers from Bhaktapur enacting stories of the goddess.

The faces of Bhairav. Large masks of the wrathful deity Bhairav are displayed around the city. The most famous is the huge gilded head of Seto Bhairav at Hanuman Dhoka, hidden behind a wooden screen for the rest of the year. On certain evenings, rice beer flows from a pipe in its mouth and men jostle to drink from the stream, which is considered highly auspicious.

Remembering the dead. Families who have lost someone during the year walk a route around the old city in the evening, carrying incense and placing small oil lamps along the way.

Where to watch

The focus is Kathmandu Durbar Square, particularly the area between the Kumari's house and the old palace. On chariot days it is extremely crowded.

• Arrive at least two hours before the procession is due to start.

• The tiered steps of the temples in the square fill early with spectators and give the best elevated view.

• An area has traditionally been set aside for foreign visitors near the palace; ask police or guides on the day.

• For the dances, the smaller squares north of the main one, around Indra Chowk and Kilagal, are less packed and more intimate.

Practical advice

• Keep clear of the chariots' path. They are heavy, hard to steer and stop for nobody. Stay behind the crowd line or up on a plinth.

• Watch your belongings in the crush. Carry only what you need.

• Photography. The Kumari may be photographed during the procession, though not inside her house at other times. Use no flash near performers at night.

Why it is special

Indra Jatra is not put on for tourists. It is a centuries-old civic ritual carried out by the Newar community of Kathmandu through a network of traditional associations, each responsible for a dance, a mask or a rope on the chariot. For a week, the old city behaves as it did under its medieval kings, and anyone standing in the square is part of it.