Celebrate the extraordinary festival of colors and share love, unity, and harmony in a traditional manner.
Holi is one of the most anticipated festivals in Nepal. On this day, the streets are filled with people splashing colored water on each other and playing with bright-colored powders with joy. Due to the vibrant atmosphere of the celebration, the Holi festival is also known as the “festival of colors”. It surely is one of the best festivals to experience in Nepal!
There are various stories as to why Holi is celebrated; all tracing back to Hindu legends. Mahabharata, an Indian epic, explains the legend of King Hiranyakashyap and his son Prahlad. The king disallowed the worship of Lord Vishnu in his kingdom. However, his son Prahlad was a wholehearted devotee of Vishnu and opposed the rules of his father.
To punish his son, the king orders his sister Holika, to set the prince on fire. While following the orders of the King, Holika sets Prahlad on fire. But Prahlad is protected by the blessings of Vishnu and is unscathed by the fire but Holika is burnt into ashes. When Prahlad walks out of the fire, people shower him with colorful water and celebrate the victory of good over evil. Thus, Holi is celebrated to recall this victory and spread blessings and good wishes to everyone.
Holi, in Nepal, lasts for a week with the main celebration being on the last day. The festival starts with the tradition of erecting a bamboo stick (Lingo) wrapped with colored cloths (Chir) in the Basantapur Durbar Square. On the eve of the main day, the Lingo is taken down and the clothes are burnt.
This ceremony is known as Chir Haran or Holika Dahan. The final day is the most vibrant day of the entire festival. People gather with their family and friends and play with colors and water and enjoy good food and dance. The people put the colored powders in each other’s faces and splash water onto one another.
In Nepal, Holi celebrates for two days. The main day of Holi occurs during the full moon day of the second last Nepali month (Falgun). Holi festival in Nepal occurs on the 6th of March in Kathmandu and other hilly regions and on the 7th in the Terai region in 2023. If you are set to come to visit Nepal during this time, you are sure to witness one of the most exciting festivals in Nepal. During your visit to Nepal, you can organize city tours like Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara, and Lumbini tours and enjoy the most exciting and enjoyable Holi festivals in Nepal.
The day of the Holi festival is a public holiday, and most people come out to the streets and celebrate it with great enthusiasm and joy. In Kathmandu, in most places including Thamel, and Basantapur people organize music events, they will dance to music and play with colors all throughout the day. come to get together. Water and colors are the themes of Holi and you can find everyone either wet or decorated in shades of different colors. Many foreign travelers will come and enjoy the festival with a tour around the heritage site in Kathmandu. We recommend you wear comfortable clothing, especially white in color. To protect your belongings from water and being damaged, you can carry around a plastic ziplock or a waterproof bag.
The festival of Holi brings the whole Nepalese together for the celebration. And many foreigners have also found the celebrations of Holi to be quite surreal. You can witness an atmosphere of joy with colors and smiles everywhere around you. With water and colors spread across the city, Kathmandu welcomes you to participate in this unique celebration.
Holi Festival is celebrated in different parts of Nepal on different dates, in the Terai region people celebrate Holi on the second. The Terai Holi Festival is specifically held in the southern part of Nepal and involves traditional dances, the singing of Holi songs, and the throwing of colored water and powder at each other. As the day progresses, people gather around bonfires in the evening to enjoy food and drinks together.
Overall, the Holi festival is a time of joy and fun celebration in Nepal, where people come together to share food, and enjoy each other's company.
