Nepal is in the festival mode at the moment. The biggest Hindu festival in the country is happening in Nepal. Nepal celebrates several cultural and religious festivals throughout the year. Some of those festivals are celebrated in the mountains where you can also enjoy trekking adventure. You can enjoy the beautiful festival treks in Nepal if you plan the adventure accordingly.
Festival treks in Nepal will offer you a chance to observe the cultural celebration in addition to enjoying the trekking adventure. With the diversity in ethnicity and cultural beliefs, people celebrate different kinds of festivals in different regions in the mountains. These festivals fall at a certain time of the year. Going on one of the festival treks in Nepal is a wonderful way to understand the Nepalese culture while enjoying walking in the mountains.
There are certain times of the year when beautiful festivals occur in different trekking regions. From Everest to Upper Mustang, you can enjoy trekking adventure during the festival times. Let’s find out more about these beautiful festival treks in Nepal.
Mani Rimdu Festival in Everest
If you are planning to trek in Everest and also want to enjoy a cultural celebration, plan a trek during Mani Rimdu festival. This Buddhist Festival Celebration marks and celebrates cultural rituals for 19 days in the Everest region. The monasteries in Tengboche, Thame, and Chiwong observe various cultural rituals including masked dances and other performances.
The festival falls between October and November every year following the Tibetan Lunar Calendar. If you plan Everest Base Camp Trek or any other trekking adventures in the region, you can also enjoy the festival happenings. Everest region gets happening with a cultural celebration during the festival and you can also enjoy the cultural magnificence.
Tiji Festival in Lo Manthang
Another of the festival treks in Nepal is Tiji Festival Trek to Upper Mustang. This is another Buddhist cultural festival celebrated in Lo Manthang for three days. The festival marks the memory of Lord Buddha’s incarnation to save human beings from a demon.
Several cultural rituals are observed during the three-day festival. The monks at Choedhe monastery in Lo Manthang organize and perform various rituals. They perform dramatic story-telling of the Buddha’s incarnation and the battle with the demon to save human beings. The masked dance is one of the highlights of the celebration.
Trekking to Upper Mustang during the festival certainly gives you wonderful chance to witness and experience the festival.
Janai Purnima in Gosainkunda
Trekking to Gosainkunda in Langtang during Janai Purnima festival is another great cultural festival trekking in Nepal. This festival trek offers you an experience of Hindu and Shamanic belief and tradition. Although the festival is celebrated widely throughout the country by the Hindus, Gosainkunda sees a huge number of people for pilgrimage. Local residents of the area, as well as pilgrims from other parts of the country, also travel to Gosainkunda during the festival.
You will also see a number of shamans practicing their rituals during this full moon festival in the month of July. Although it is quite challenging to trek there in the heavy monsoon season, the experience is incredibly overwhelming.
The above-mentioned trekking adventures see the beautiful festival celebration in the mountains during the time. However, you can also travel to Nepal for trekking or cultural tour during the time of other interesting festivals. You can travel to Nepal to enjoy the color fun of the Holi festival in March or to observe the magnificence of the Dashain and Tihar festival in October.
The Nepali calendar has a number of festivals throughout the year and you can plan your travel to observe one of those festival times. Let us know if you want to go on a trekking adventure or on a cultural tour during the festival. We will create a perfect itinerary to suit your requirement.
Tags: Festival Treks in Nepal, Festivals in Nepal