Best Time to Visit Nepal

Trekking is the reason most people come, and the trekking calendar is simple: go in October and November for the best views and most stable weather, or in March, April and early May for warmer nights and flowers. Late September works if you accept the last monsoon showers, and early December is a good compromise: still clear, noticeably colder and far quieter.

• Everest Base Camp and the Khumbu: October and November give the clearest views from Kala Patthar, with night temperatures at Gorak Shep around -10 to -15°C (5-14°F). April and May are warmer and bring the expedition tents to base camp itself. December to February is possible with a serious sleeping bag, as nights fall to -20°C (-4°F) and some high lodges close.
• Annapurna Circuit: the crossing of Thorong La at 5,416 m is safest from October to November and March to April. Heavy snow can close the pass for days between December and February, and in spring a late storm is always possible, so build in a spare day at Thorong Phedi.
• Poon Hill, Ghandruk and Annapurna Sanctuary: the lower Annapurna trails peak with the rhododendrons in March and April and with the clearest skies over Machapuchare in October and November. They also stay walkable in winter, since Ghorepani sits at 2,860 m.
• Langtang and Gosaikunda: same seasons as Annapurna; the Gosaikunda lakes at 4,380 m can freeze and see snow from December. Gosaikunda draws thousands of Hindu pilgrims at the Janai Purnima full moon in August.
• Manaslu Circuit and Kanchenjunga: restricted-area treks that are best in October and November or late March to May. The Larkya La (5,106 m) on Manaslu is regularly snowed in from December.
• Upper Mustang and Dolpo: they lie in the rain shadow north of the main Himalaya, so they are the monsoon treks. June to September is dry and dusty there, though getting to Jomsom by road or air still means crossing the wet zone.

On every trail the timing that matters most is daily: clouds build from late morning in almost every season, so the great views happen between dawn and about 10am. Plan your viewpoints for sunrise.

Wildlife needs its own note. Chitwan and Bardiya are comfortable from October to March, but the tall elephant grass is only cut from late January into February, so sightings of rhino and tigers improve from then until the heat and the first rains arrive in May and June. Bardiya, in the far west, has the best tiger odds in Nepal, and the hot months of April and May, when animals gather at the rivers, are the prime time for serious watchers. Most jungle lodges stay open in the monsoon but some trails flood and jeep drives are cut back.

Nepal climbs from 70 m on the Indian border to 8,849 m on Everest in under 200 km from south to north, so the same date can mean very different weather depending on where you stand.

• The Terai (Chitwan, Lumbini, Janakpur, Biratnagar): subtropical lowland. November to February brings mild 20-25°C (68-77°F) days and thick morning fog that can delay flights and buses until mid-morning. From April it is hot, with 38-40°C (100-104°F) common in May and June, and the monsoon brings humidity, mosquitoes and occasional flooding.
• The middle hills (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bandipur, Nagarkot): temperate. Kathmandu at 1,400 m has warm summers around 28-29°C (82-84°F) and cold winter nights near freezing. Pokhara is lower and wetter: it is one of the rainiest towns in Nepal, with more than 3,500 mm a year, most of it in July and August.
• The high Himalaya (above 3,000 m): alpine. Even in October, a sunny day at Namche Bazaar can reach 15°C (59°F) and drop well below freezing after dark. Snow can fall in any month above 4,500 m.
• Trans-Himalaya (Mustang, Manang, Dolpo): cold desert with strong afternoon winds. It gets a fraction of the rainfall of Pokhara, which sits only 70 km to the south.

• Peak (October to mid-November): the main lodges at Gorak Shep, Lobuche and Ghorepani fill every night, Lukla flights are booked weeks ahead and Thamel hotels hit full rates. Dashain and Tihar add a surge of domestic travel: buses out of Kathmandu sell out days before Dashain, and many offices and some shops close for the main days. Book flights and your guide by August.
• Spring (March to May): almost as busy on the Everest and Annapurna trails, with the Everest expedition season filling Khumbu lodges in April and early May. Hotel rates in Kathmandu and Pokhara are close to autumn levels.
• Winter (December to February): a quieter season. Teahouses below 4,000 m stay open, prices for rooms and private transport soften, and the Christmas and New Year week is the only busy period, mostly in Pokhara and Chitwan.
• Monsoon (June to mid-September): discounts of 30-50% on hotels in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan, and empty trails. Trekking agencies cut their rates too, and you will often have a temple courtyard in Bhaktapur to yourself in the early morning.

Teahouse room prices on the trails barely move with the season, since the lodges make their money on meals. What changes is availability: at peak times arrive early in the afternoon, or have your guide call ahead.

Most Nepali festivals follow the lunar Bikram Sambat calendar and move each year, so check dates with the Nepal Tourism Board before you plan around one. The dates below are the government holiday dates.

• January: Maghe Sankranti (around 15 January), with ritual bathing at river confluences. Sonam Losar, the Tamang New Year, fell on 19 January 2026 and is on 7 February 2027.
• February: Gyalpo Losar, the Tibetan and Sherpa New Year, was 18 February 2026 and is expected around 5 March 2027, with butter lamps and dances at Boudhanath. Maha Shivaratri (15 February 2026, 6 March 2027) fills Pashupatinath with sadhus and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims.
• March: Holi, the festival of colours, is played a day earlier in the hills than in the Terai: 2 March 2026 (3 March in the Terai) and 22 March 2027 (23 March in the Terai). Ghode Jatra, the horse festival on Kathmandu’s Tundikhel, falls in March or April.
• April: Nepali New Year on 14 April (2026 and 2027), with Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur, a week of chariot-pulling around the New Year. Rato Machhindranath’s chariot starts its weeks-long procession through Patan from April or May.
• May: Buddha Jayanti (1 May 2026, 20 May 2027) at Lumbini, Boudhanath and Swayambhunath. Tiji, a three-day masked dance festival in Lo Manthang, Upper Mustang, usually falls in May.
• August: Janai Purnima and the Gosaikunda pilgrimage, and Gai Jatra, the cow festival, in the Kathmandu Valley.
• September: Teej (14 September 2026, 3 September 2027), when women dress in red, fast and dance at Pashupatinath. Indra Jatra (25 September 2026, 14 September 2027) brings masked dances and the living goddess Kumari’s chariot to Kathmandu Durbar Square.
• October: Dashain, the biggest festival of the year, lasts 15 days. The main days in 2026 ran from Phulpati on 18 October to Vijaya Dashami on 21 October; in 2027 Phulpati is 6 October and Vijaya Dashami 10 October. Expect bamboo swings in villages, kites over Kathmandu, goat sacrifices at temples and closed offices.
• November: Tihar, the five-day festival of lights, with oil lamps, marigold garlands and the day of the dogs. Laxmi Puja is 8 November 2026 and 29 October 2027; Bhai Tika is 11 November 2026 and 31 October 2027. Chhath (15 November 2026, 4 November 2027) is the big Terai festival, best seen at Janakpur’s ponds. Mani Rimdu at Tengboche monastery in the Khumbu usually falls in October or November.
• December: Vivaha Panchami at Janaki Mandir in Janakpur (late November or December) and Tamu Losar, the Gurung New Year, on 30 December, best seen around Pokhara.

• Autumn and spring treks: layers rather than bulk. A down jacket, fleece, thermal base layers, a waterproof shell, a warm hat and gloves, plus a sleeping bag rated to -10°C (14°F) for treks above 4,000 m. Sunscreen and sunglasses matter more than people expect: UV at 5,000 m burns in minutes.
• Winter: add a heavier down jacket and a -15 to -20°C (5 to -4°F) bag for high routes. Kathmandu hotels often have no central heating, so a warm layer for evenings indoors helps. Bring a mask for winter smog in the city.
• Monsoon: a good rain jacket and pack cover, quick-drying clothes, leech socks or salt for lower trails, sandals for the city, and dry bags for electronics.
• The Terai in hot season: loose cotton clothing that covers shoulders and knees, insect repellent and a hat; days at 38°C (100°F) are normal from April.
• Everywhere: modest clothing for temples, slip-on shoes, a headlamp for power cuts and dark lodge corridors, and water purification tablets or a filter bottle, since tap water is unsafe.

Down jackets and sleeping bags are easy to rent in Thamel and Pokhara Lakeside for a few hundred rupees a day, so there is no need to fly them in for one trek.