Travel style · Nepal
Festivals in Nepal
Masked dances, fairs and harvest days
Tshechus in Bhutan, Hemis in Ladakh, Losar across the Buddhist Himalaya, Kullu Dussehra, Ziro's music festival and the Black-necked Crane festival. Planned around lunar dates that move every year.
Photo: Saroj Pandey · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsMost Himalayan festivals follow lunar calendars, so their dates move by weeks from year to year. We confirm dates with monasteries and organisers before you book, and you should check current status before you travel.
Nepal is the easiest big Himalayan trip for Indians: no visa, an open land border, the rupee pegged at 1 INR = 1.6 NPR. Come for the Newar cities of the Kathmandu valley, the lake town of Pokhara, teahouse treks to Poon Hill and Everest Base Camp, and the walled town of Lo Manthang. October–November and March–April are best.
Trips
Festivals trips in Nepal
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Kathmandu valley heritage on a saver budget
Local buses, microbuses and shared taxis
4 places
Where to go
Photo: Saroj Pandey · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Bhaktapur
Potters, pagodas and the king of curds
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kathmandu
Stupas, a living goddess and the start of every trek
Photo: Nirojsedhai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lo Manthang
The walled capital of the old Kingdom of Lo
Photo: Clemensmarabu · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Patan (Lalitpur)
The city of bronze casters and Buddhist courtyards
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Goutam1962 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Juju dhau tasting and Pottery Square
Watch Bhaktapur's potters at work, try the wheel, then taste the city's famous juju dhau curd set in the same clay bowl…
Photo: Hari Paudyel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Morning puja at Nyatapola and Taumadhi
See Taumadhi Square wake up: puja trays at the Bhairab temple, vegetable sellers, tea stalls, and Nyatapola's five roof…
Photo: Greg Willis from Denver, CO, usa · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Dattatreya Square and the woodcarvers
Walk to Bhaktapur's oldest square, Dattatreya, to see the carved peacock window and the workshops where Newar carvers s…
Photo: Nabin K. Sapkota · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dawn kora at Swayambhunath
Climb the eastern stairway to Swayambhunath at first light and walk the circuit with the morning pilgrims. You see Newa…
Photo: Sumitbhatt222 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Butter lamps and kora at Boudhanath
Walk the evening circuit of Boudhanath with the Tibetan community, light butter lamps and climb to a rooftop for the st…
Photo: Artha at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Durbar Square and the Kumari Ghar
A morning in Kathmandu's royal square with a licensed guide: the Hanuman Dhoka palace, Kasthamandap, the Kumari's house…
Photo: Samdesherpa · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Murals of Jampa Lhakhang and Thubchen
With your guide and a caretaker monk, visit the two great gompas inside Lo Manthang's walls, whose centuries-old wall p…
Photo: Jmhullot · CC BY 3.0 · Commons
Ride or hike to the Chhoser sky caves
Head north from Lo Manthang by horse, jeep or on foot to Chhoser, where ochre cliffs are cut with hundreds of man-made …
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Budget
Zostel Kathmandu
The Indian hostel chain's Kathmandu property, down a quiet alley off Paknajol Marg a few minutes' walk from Thamel…
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Kathmandu Guest House (KGH Thamel)
Thamel's original guesthouse, open since 1968 in a former Rana-era building, with a garden courtyard in the middle…
Photo: BhattaraiAbhishek · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Dwarika's Hotel
Kathmandu's best-known heritage hotel at Battisputali, built around a collection of carved Newar windows, doors an…