What's on in Kathmandu, Nepal through the year

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Valley smog season (15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Holi

  3–4 MarMajor festivalCrowded

  Basantapur and Thamel take the brunt of it and nobody walks through dry. Wear what you would throw away and keep the camera in a bag. Source ↗

Still on: Valley smog season (15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Holi

• Season

  Spring trekking season

  1 Mar – 15 MayTrail seasonCrowdedBook early

  The second of the two trekking windows, warmer and hazier than autumn, and the one the climbing expeditions use. Lodges on the popular routes fill from mid-March.

• Nature

  Rhododendron in the hills

  15 Mar – 30 Apr · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The mid-hill forests above the valley go red and pink from around 1,500 metres up, which is why April is the month people trek the Annapurna foothills. Source ↗

Still on: Holi (3–4 Mar)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Spring trekking season

• Festival

  Bisket Jatra

  9–18 Apr · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Bhaktapur's new-year festival, an hour out of the city: chariots hauled through the lanes by hand and a pole raised and dropped in the square. Rougher and better than anything in Kathmandu. Source ↗

Still on: Spring trekking season (1 Mar – 15 May), Rhododendron in the hills (15 Mar – 30 Apr (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Spring trekking season

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Spring trekking season (1 Mar – 15 May)

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Landslide season on the hill roads

  15 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyMonsoonClosures

  The monsoon closes hill roads for days at a time and delays the mountain flights that everything else depends on. Build slack into any trek that starts with a drive. Source ↗

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Landslide season on the hill roads (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Indra Jatra

  19–27 SepMajor festivalCrowded

  Masked dances and the living goddess pulled through Durbar Square on a chariot, over about a week. The oldest thing on the Kathmandu calendar and still mostly for locals. Source ↗

Still on: Landslide season on the hill roads (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Indra Jatra

• Holiday

  Dashain

  11–25 OctSchool holidaysClosuresCrowded

  Nepal's longest holiday. The city empties as families go home, many shops and offices close for a fortnight, and every bus and domestic flight out is full. Source ↗

Still on: Landslide season on the hill roads (15 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Indra Jatra (19–27 Sep)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dashain

• Season

  Autumn trekking season

  1 Oct – 30 NovDry seasonCrowdedBook early

  The monsoon has washed the air and the peaks are visible from the valley rim. It is also when every teahouse on the Everest and Annapurna routes is full, so book the flights early.

• Festival

  Tihar

  8–11 NovDiwali

  Five days of oil lamps, marigold garlands and doorway patterns, with a day each for crows, dogs and cows. Quieter than Dashain and far better to look at. Source ↗

Still on: Dashain (11–25 Oct)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Autumn trekking season

• Hazard

  Valley smog season

  15 Nov – 28 Feb · usuallySmoke season

  Cold air sits in the bowl of the valley and holds in kiln smoke, vehicle exhaust and field burning from the plains. Mornings are the worst of it; the mountains stay sharp above it. Source ↗

Still on: Autumn trekking season (1 Oct – 30 Nov), Tihar (8–11 Nov)

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Valley smog season (15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))