Best Festivals in Nepal

1. Dashain

Nepal festival Dashain is the biggest festival of the country. It celebrated the victory of the Goddess Durga of Mahishasura. This period sees family gatherings and feasts all over the city. It is also celebrated as a celebration of land and harvest, to pray for better crops. There are ten days of celebration, with there being animal sacrifices on the eighth and ninth day, as well as the tenth day being meant for peace and meeting up with family and friends to exchange wishes and blessings. The Dashain Nepali Festival is one that attracts tourists from all over.

2. Bisket Jatra

The Bisket Jatra festival marks the slaying of serpents, which takes place in the Nepali Bisket month. There is a tug of war between the Western and Eastern part of the country to celebrate the occasion. A huge pole is raised by the river and eventually pulled down to mark the official new year.

3. Mahashivaratri

Monks congregate at the Shiva temples in Nepal to celebrate this festival. They offer prayers and holy leaves to Shiva, while the idols are washed with holy water. The monks dance, and there are also snake dances to celebrate this Nepal festival in the evening after an entire day of fasting.

4. Buddha Jayanti

Buddha Jayanti celebrates the birth of Lord Buddha with Buddhists from all over coming to Nepal on the day. They gather to pray and eat vegetarian food, while kheer is a staple in every house that night.

5. Tihar

Tihar Festival in Nepal is a five-day celebration which takes place a while after Dashain. It is the celebration of light and is the worship of Goddess Laxmi. Crows, Dogs, cows, and oxen are worshipped on the first four days, followed by the fifth day which is meant for Bhai Tika, where the sisters put a mark on their brothers' foreheads, praying for their long lives.

6. Teej

The importance of festivals in Nepal is extremely high due to the cultural significance of each celebration. The Teej festival is meant for women only and takes place over three days. On the first, the women have heavy food, followed by a day of fasting where married women pray for the health of their husbands, while unmarried ones pray for good husbands. The third day sees the fast broken by eating chokho and karkalo ki tarkari, made with ghee. It is celebrated with prayers, dances, and songs.

7. Lhosar

One of the major festivals in Nepal is the celebration of Lhosar. Lhosar translates to New Year and is of three types. Tamu Lhosar, Gyalbu Lhosar and Sonam Lhosar are all celebrated by different communities of Nepal. The festival is celebrated with dance, music, and the exchange of gifts and greetings.