collection
Kathmandu Valley Festival CalendarTwelve festivals that own the valley's streets, in calendar order — chariots, lamps, colors, and processions, with confirmed dates for the coming year.
12 stops
Editorial · reetu.fyifestivals · culture
PilgrimageKathmandu
Maha Shivaratri at Pashupatinath
A million pilgrims and an encampment of sadhus — the great night of Shiva at Pashupatinath, each February–March.
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PilgrimageKathmandu
Summary
On Maha Shivaratri, Pashupatinath becomes the center of the Shaiva world: hundreds of thousands of pilgrims queue through the night, and hundreds of sadhus — ash-smeared, some spectacularly painted — camp in the temple grounds and along the Bagmati ghats. Non-Hindus can usually watch everything except the inner sanctum, making this the single most intense spectacle in the valley's religious calendar.
Skip if
Skip if crowds, queues, and occasional sadhu photo fees bother you — this is pilgrimage at maximum intensity.
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