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Festivals in Nepal
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For a small country, Nepal has a full diary of festivals. Just don't wear your favourite clothes to some of them.
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Festivals in Nepal - Annapurna Circuit - January/February - Annapurna peaks, Himalayas Join 10,000 other trekkers making the 300 kilometre annual trip, which takes you past jungles, waterfalls, hot springs, gorges and an unbelievable number of plants. The views aren't bad, either!
Festivals in Nepal - Losar (Tibetan New Year) - February (3 days) - Bodnath Stupa, Kathmandu Valley The dome-shaped shrine in Bodnath is decorated with flags, parades pass through the streets and prayer cymbals ring in Tibetan New Year. There's no shortage of food or alcohol and flour fights make things even more interesting.
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Festivals in Nepal - Shivaratri - February (14 days after Losar) - Pashupatinath Pilgrims come from miles around to pray at the Pashupati temple and cleanse themselves in the Bagmati River, which is full of petals. Unfortunately, it's often filled with sewage, too, so think twice before jumping in. Look out for the evening's freak show, where you could learn the art of lifting weights with your penis.
Festivals in Nepal - Holi - March - countrywide If you've experienced Holi in India, you'll know what to expect and won't wear clothes you want to wear again. The coming of spring is celebrated by throwing paint over anyone and everyone. Red seems to feature predominantly.
Festivals in Nepal - Buddha Jayanti - May - countrywide, particularly good in Kathmandu Statues of Buddha are paraded through the streets, to the flickering of candlelights. It's really three celebrations rolled into one - Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. |
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Festivals in Nepal - Mani Rimdu - full moon in May (three days) - Thami Gompa monastery (hike from Namche, Khumbu) Monks tell the story of Buddhism and perform elaborate prayer rituals by moonlight - their costumes alone are worth the trek. On the last night, the dancing goes into the early hours of the morning, and Sherpas - members of Himalayan tribes - join in the fun. Festival cuisine includes momos, which are stuffed dumplings.
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Festivals in Nepal - Gai Jatra - August/September - Kathmandu Gai Jatra, or festival of the cow, sees said animals pouring into the streets, accompanied by men who have lost a loved a lost one in the preceding year. Although the festival is based around mourning, there's a fair amount of jokes and laughter - possibly because libel isn't illegal on cow festival day.
Festivals in Nepal - Teej - September - Pashupatinath Hindu women make a colourful bid to secure their husband's health and happiness for another year. Dressed in glorious red saris, they fast, dance, pray and wash themselves meticulously in the river. |
Festivals in Nepal - Dashain - September/October (15 days) - countrywide Dashain is Nepal's biggest and most important festival - but it does come with a distressing amount of bloodshed. On the eighth day, thousands of chickens, sheep, goats, ducks and other animals are slaughtered as part of the long celebrations. More stomachable rituals include kite flying, dancing, parades and the dubbing of heads with red rice, a process known as tika.
Other celebrations centre on holy water vessels representative of the goddess Durga, who is believed to have slain the evil demon Mahisasur. At a precise astrological moment, the vessel is covered with cow dung, which then has seeds sown in it.
Festivals in Nepal - Tihar - October - countrywide A five-day ceremony that celebrates Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and Yama, the lord of death, with a beautiful abundance of lights and candles. Each of the five days is dedicated to something different - crows, dogs, cows and family and friends. There's much present-giving and firecracker-throwing - and humans and dogs (!) are given the red tika spot.
Take a look out our Nepal gap programmes below and you could be checking out the festivals in Nepal in no time! |
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