Dashain 2026: Date, Meaning & Where to See It
Nepal's biggest festival: fifteen days honouring the goddess Durga, ending with tika and blessings from elders.
- Next
- 11–23 October 2026 On now
- Dates
- 11 October 2026 — Ghatasthapana
- 17 October 2026 — Phulpati (Dashain)
- 19 October 2026 — Astami (Dashain)
- 20 October 2026 — Nawami (Dashain)
- 21 October 2026 — Dashami (Dashain)
- 22 October 2026 — Ekadashi (Dashain)
- 23 October 2026 — Duwadashi (Dashain)
- Also called
- Bijaya Dashami, Vijaya Dashami
- Earlier years
- 22 September – 4 October 2025 · 3–13 October 2024 · 15–25 October 2023 · 26 September – 7 October 2022 · 7–16 October 2021
Dashain starts with Ghatasthapana, when barley seeds (jamara) are sown in every home, and builds to Phulpati, Maha Ashtami and Navami, when temples such as Dakshinkali and the Kathmandu Durbar Square Taleju see big crowds and animal sacrifices. On Vijaya Dashami families gather to receive red tika and jamara from their elders.
For visitors it means bamboo swings (ping) and kites over every town, packed buses as people head home, and many offices and shops closed for about a week around Dashami. Book transport early and expect quieter cities.
Where to see it
Dakshinkali and Pharping
Kathmandu, Bagmati ProvinceA goddess temple in a forest ravine where sacrifices are offered, and nearby Pharping's caves of Guru Rinpoche.
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Kathmandu Durbar Square
Kathmandu, Bagmati ProvinceThe old royal palace of Hanuman Dhoka and its temple squares, home of the Kumari, the living goddess.
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Manakamana
Gorkha, Gandaki ProvinceA wish-fulfilling goddess temple on a ridge above the Trishuli, reached by Nepal's first passenger cable car.
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Gorkha Durbar
Gorkha, Gandaki ProvinceThe hilltop palace-fort where Prithvi Narayan Shah was born and began the unification of Nepal.
Read more →Quick answers
- When is Dashain in 2026?
- 11–23 October 2026.
- What is Dashain?
- Nepal's biggest festival: fifteen days honouring the goddess Durga, ending with tika and blessings from elders.
- Where is the best place to see Dashain?
- Dakshinkali and Pharping, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Manakamana, Gorkha Durbar.
Other festivals
Dates from the public Holidays in Nepal calendar (Google Calendar), checked daily. Local festivals not in that calendar show their usual month; lunar dates can shift by a day locally.