Tihar festival in Nepal: 2026 dates, what clients see and how it affects operations

Tihar is Nepal's second biggest festival after Dashain, and in 2026 it lands in the first half of November, right in the middle of the autumn trekking and touring season. For a travel agent or tour operator that cuts both ways. Your clients get the most photogenic week of the year in the Kathmandu Valley, with oil lamps in doorways, marigold garlands and evening singing in the lanes. At the same time, government offices and banks close, much of the workforce travels home, and anything that depends on a counter being open has to be done before the holiday starts. This guide sets out the 2026 dates, what each day looks like from a client's point of view, and how we plan operations around it.

When is Tihar in 2026?

Tihar follows the lunar calendar, so the dates move every year. In 2026 (Bikram Sambat 2083) the five festival days run from Saturday 7 November to Wednesday 11 November. The Ministry of Home Affairs list of public holidays for 2083 sets the official Tihar holiday as Kartik 22 to 26, which is Sunday 8 November to Thursday 12 November 2026. Chhath, which follows a few days later, is a separate national public holiday on Sunday 15 November.

One quirk this year: because of where the lunar days fall, Laxmi Puja is observed on the evening of Sunday 8 November, the same date as Kukur Tihar, rather than on a day of its own. The new moon begins during the day on 8 November, so it is in force at dusk that evening. A few online calendars still list Laxmi Puja on Monday 9 November, but calendars that follow Nepal's official calendar committee, and the national holiday listings, place it on Sunday 8 November. If a client is building a trip around a specific ritual, confirm the timing with us nearer the date.

Date (2026)	Nepali date (BS 2083)	Festival day	What clients are likely to see
Sat 7 Nov	Kartik 21	Kag Tihar (crows)	Offerings of food left out for crows in the morning; markets busy with festival shopping
Sun 8 Nov	Kartik 22	Kukur Tihar (dogs) and Laxmi Puja	Dogs wearing marigold garlands and red tika; in the evening, lamps, coloured patterns at doorways and the busiest night of the week
Mon 9 Nov	Kartik 23	Gai Puja (cow worship)	Cows garlanded and fed in the morning; lights stay up; groups of singers go house to house in the evenings
Tue 10 Nov	Kartik 24	Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja	Newar households in the valley mark Mha Puja, which this year falls on the Nepal Sambat new year
Wed 11 Nov	Kartik 25	Bhai Tika	Family day: sisters give brothers a seven-coloured tika and garlands; many shops and offices closed
Thu 12 Nov	Kartik 26	Last day of the public holiday	Return travel begins; services start to recover

What happens on each of the five days?

Day 1: Kag Tihar

Crows, seen in Hindu tradition as messengers of Yama, the god of death, are fed grains and sweets. It is a low-key start for visitors. The bigger story on this day is the market: Asan, Indra Chowk and the old bazaars fill with people buying marigolds, lamps and sweets, which makes for good street photography but slow traffic.

Day 2: Kukur Tihar and, this year, Laxmi Puja

Dogs, both pets and street dogs, are honoured with tika, garlands and food. Clients love this day, and it is one of the easiest Nepali customs to explain to a Western audience. In 2026 the same evening is Laxmi Puja, the most important night of Tihar, when homes and shops are cleaned, lit with oil lamps and string lights, and decorated with coloured powder patterns to welcome Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. This is the evening to have clients in the old core of Kathmandu, Patan or Bhaktapur rather than in a hotel restaurant.

Day 3: Gai Puja

Cows, sacred in Hinduism, are fed and honoured with tika and garlands in the morning. With Laxmi Puja falling on Sunday this year, Monday 9 November is otherwise a quieter day in the city. Lights remain up and the house-to-house singing known as Deusi and Bhailo continues in the evenings. Groups of children and young people sing at doorways and are given money and food such as sel roti, a ring-shaped rice bread.

Day 4: Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja

Oxen are worshipped for their role in farming, and Vaishnav Hindus observe Govardhan Puja. In the Kathmandu Valley, Newar families perform Mha Puja, a ritual of worship of one's own body and self, which marks the first day of the Nepal Sambat new year. Clients staying in Newar towns such as Bhaktapur or Kirtipur may notice more activity than in central Kathmandu.

Day 5: Bhai Tika

Sisters honour their brothers with a seven-coloured tika and a garland of makhamali (globe amaranth) flowers, and brothers give gifts in return. It is a private family day. Expect many family-run shops and restaurants outside the tourist areas to be closed, and expect your own drivers, guides and hotel staff to want to be home.

How does Tihar affect operations on the ground?

From an operations desk point of view, Tihar is less about the festival and more about who is available and which counters are open. The main effects are below.

• Government offices close. Saturday 7 November is a weekly holiday (since April 2026 central government offices have closed on both Saturday and Sunday), and on the published list the Tihar holiday runs Sunday 8 to Thursday 12 November. Friday 13 November is then the only scheduled working day before Saturday 14 and the Chhath holiday on Sunday 15. Any permit, licence or document that needs a government office should be finished before the holiday.
• Banks and money changers. Banks follow the public holiday list. ATMs in Thamel and the main hotel areas usually keep working, but advise clients to carry enough Nepali rupees for tips and small purchases before the weekend of 7 to 8 November.
• Road travel out of Kathmandu is busy. Large numbers of people leave the valley to celebrate at home. In 2025, Kantipur reported 44,509 people leaving the valley through checkpoints as Tihar began, with 31,120 coming in. Expect full public buses and slower highways on the days before Laxmi Puja and again after Bhai Tika.
• Staff availability. Guides, porters, drivers and hotel staff all have families. Bhai Tika in particular is a day almost everyone wants at home. A reliable DMC will have rostered this weeks in advance, but last-minute bookings for those dates are harder to staff.
• Shops and restaurants. Tourist-facing businesses in Thamel and Lakeside Pokhara mostly stay open. Local shops, smaller restaurants and workshops often close for one or more days, especially on Bhai Tika.

Is Tihar a good time for clients to visit Nepal?

For most clients, yes. November is already one of the clearest and most settled months for trekking and sightseeing, and Tihar adds a cultural layer that cannot be staged at other times of year. The trade-offs are practical rather than serious: a few closures, busier roads, and the need for more careful scheduling of anything bureaucratic.

Tihar suits:

• Culture-led tours of the Kathmandu Valley, where Laxmi Puja evening and Kukur Tihar are highlights in themselves. See our tours for programmes that can be dated around the festival.
• Photography and small-group special-interest trips.
• Trekkers who start or finish in Kathmandu during the festival week. A trek that leaves before 7 November and returns after 12 November mostly avoids the disruption on the roads. Browse current trekking itineraries.
• Families with children, for whom the dog garlanding and the lamps are memorable.

It suits less well itineraries with no slack, programmes that depend on visiting government offices or institutions, and clients who want quiet, empty heritage sites.

How do you plan a Nepal itinerary around Tihar?

We work back from the festival evenings and forward from the holiday close. A practical sequence:

1. Fix the cultural evening first. Put clients in Kathmandu, Patan or Bhaktapur on the evening of Sunday 8 November for Laxmi Puja. If they can only be in the valley for one evening of the week, this is the one.
2. Move road transfers off peak days. Schedule long drives, such as Kathmandu to Pokhara or Chitwan, either before Friday 6 November or after Thursday 12 November where possible, or use domestic flights for those legs.
3. Do the paperwork early. Permits and any document that needs an office should be complete before the holiday. Our planning timeline for agents sets out general lead times.
4. Add a buffer day on either side of the trek. November flights in the mountains are generally reliable, but a festival week is the wrong time to have no spare day, because rebooking help is thinner.
5. Confirm restaurant and activity openings. Ask your DMC to reconfirm cooking classes, workshops and family-run restaurants specifically for 8 and 11 November.

For travel agents: how to package it

Tihar is a selling point if you name it clearly in the product and set expectations honestly.

• What to include: one guided evening walk in Kathmandu's old bazaar or Patan on Laxmi Puja night; a morning in a neighbourhood on Kukur Tihar; a short briefing from the guide on the meaning of each day; and a Bhaktapur or Kirtipur visit around Mha Puja for clients interested in Newar culture.
• Buffers: at least one flexible day in Kathmandu either side of a trek, and no long road transfer on the two days before Laxmi Puja or the day after Bhai Tika.
• Who it suits: first-time visitors on cultural tours, photographers, families, and trekkers whose trek dates bracket the festival week.
• Upsells: a private guided Laxmi Puja evening with dinner, a Newar culture day in Bhaktapur, or a short soft-adventure add-on from our activities after the holiday ends.
• What to tell clients in advance: some shops and offices will be shut, roads will be busy, and staff will be with their families on Bhai Tika. Clients who know this in advance tend to enjoy the week far more.

If you are building Tihar departures for 2026 or planning ahead for 2027, our desk can propose dated programmes with net rates. Become a partner to receive our trade rates, or read how a Nepal DMC partnership works. Common questions are also answered in our FAQ.

What should clients know about etiquette during Tihar?

• Ask before photographing family rituals, especially Bhai Tika, which takes place inside homes.
• Do not step over or on the coloured patterns and lamps placed at doorways.
• If Deusi or Bhailo singers come to a hotel or guesthouse, a small cash gift is customary; the guide can advise on an appropriate amount.
• Evenings can be loud in some neighbourhoods, with singing groups and occasional firecrackers, so warn clients travelling with young children or who are sensitive to noise.
• Treat dogs wearing garlands with the same caution as any street dog; the garland does not mean the dog is used to strangers.

Where do the dates come from?

The holiday dates in this guide come from the Ministry of Home Affairs list of public holidays for 2083, as reproduced by the Nepali law firm Pradhan Law. The festival day mapping comes from published Nepali calendars that follow Nepal's official calendar committee, the Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Bikas Samiti, which fixes festival dates. Auspicious times for Laxmi Puja and Bhai Tika are announced closer to the festival, so if a client is planning around an exact ritual time, confirm it with us shortly beforehand.