---
title: "Dashain for Visitors: Nepal's Biggest Festival Explained"
canonical: "https://lokoon.com/blog/dashain-for-visitors"
author: "Lokoon"
published: "2026-11-15T04:38:02.638690+00:00"
modified: "2026-11-15T04:38:02.638847+00:00"
kind: "blog"
---

# Dashain for Visitors: Nepal's Biggest Festival Explained

> For fifteen days in autumn, the whole country goes home. What Dashain celebrates, what you will see and how it affects travel plans.

If you are in Nepal in late September or October and notice that Kathmandu has emptied, the buses are bursting and children are flying kites from every rooftop, Dashain has arrived. It is the longest and most important festival in the Nepali calendar, a time for family reunions, blessings and feasting, and it coincides with the best trekking weather of the year.
What it celebrates
Dashain honours the goddess Durga and her victory over a buffalo demon who had terrorised the gods, a story of good overcoming evil. For many it also recalls the triumph of the god Ram over the demon king Ravan. Beyond the mythology, it is a harvest-time festival that renews family and community bonds.
The festival lasts fifteen days in the lunar month of Ashwin, from the new moon to the full moon. Dates shift each year, so check the calendar for the year you are travelling.
The key days
Day 1: Ghatasthapana. Households set up a sacred water vessel in a prayer room and sow barley seeds in a bed of sand. Kept in the dark and watered daily, the seeds sprout into pale yellow shoots called jamara.
Day 7: Phulpati. A ceremonial offering of flowers, leaves and sugarcane is carried in procession to the old palace in Kathmandu, with a military parade.
Days 8 and 9: Maha Ashtami and Maha Navami. The days of sacrifice. Goats, buffaloes, chickens and ducks are offered to the goddess at temples and in courtyards, and the meat is shared in family feasts. On the ninth day, tools, vehicles and machinery are blessed, and you may see cars and motorbikes daubed with red powder.
Day 10: Vijaya Dashami. The heart of the festival. Elders place tika, a paste of rice, yoghurt and red powder, on the foreheads of younger relatives, tuck jamara shoots behind their ears and give blessings along with a small gift of money. People dress in new clothes and travel from house to house over several days to receive tika from every senior family member.
Day 15: Kojagrat Purnima. The full moon closes the festival with worship of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth.
What you will see
- Kites filling the sky in the weeks beforehand.

- Bamboo swings. Tall four-poled swings are erected in villages and neighbourhoods, and everyone is expected to leave the ground at least once.

- Goats tethered outside houses and travelling on bus roofs.

- Red tika on almost every forehead after the tenth day.

How it affects travellers
Transport. In the week before the tenth day, vast numbers of people leave Kathmandu for their home villages. Buses and domestic flights are heavily booked and roads are jammed. After the main day, the flow reverses. Reserve tickets early and avoid travelling out of the capital in the two or three days before tika day if you can.
Closures. Government offices, banks and many businesses close for about a week around the main days. Arrange permits, money and any official paperwork beforehand. ATMs can run short of cash.
Kathmandu. The city becomes unusually quiet and pleasant, with light traffic. Many local restaurants and shops shut, but hotels and most tourist-area businesses stay open.
Trekking. Lodges on the main trails operate as normal, since autumn is their peak season. Some guides and porters prefer to be home for tika, so confirm your crew in advance and be understanding if dates need adjusting.
Sacrifices. If you would rather not witness animal slaughter, avoid major Durga and Kali temples on the eighth and ninth days.
Taking part
Nepalis are generous in including visitors. If you are staying with a family or in a small guesthouse on the tenth day, you may well be offered tika and jamara. Sit or kneel, lower your head slightly, accept the blessing and say thank you. A small gift for the household, such as fruit or sweets, is appreciated.
Who celebrates
Dashain is principally a Hindu festival, though people of many backgrounds mark it as a national holiday. Some communities observe it differently or not at all, and a few indigenous and Buddhist groups have chosen in recent years to emphasise their own festivals instead. In the Kathmandu Valley, Newar families celebrate a parallel version with their own rituals.
Is it a good time to visit?
Yes, with planning. The weather is ideal, the countryside is green and gold with ripening rice, and the atmosphere is warm and festive. Book transport and rooms ahead, carry enough cash, and expect the pace of official life to stop entirely for a week.
The greeting for the season is "Dashain ko shubhakamana", best wishes for Dashain. Use it freely.

Source: https://lokoon.com/blog/dashain-for-visitors