Gai Jatra 2026: Date, Meaning & Where to See It
The cow festival of the Kathmandu Valley, when families who lost someone that year join a procession, followed by satire and comedy.
- Next
- Usually in August
- Usual month
- August
- Earlier years
- 10 August 2025
Children dressed as cows, or carrying cow masks, walk the old routes of Kathmandu, Patan and above all Bhaktapur, where the tall bamboo taha-macha and stick dances turn mourning into a street party.
The day after Janai Purnima, it is also Nepal's day for open political satire on stage and TV.
Where to see it
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur, Bagmati ProvinceThe best-preserved medieval city of the valley: the five-storey Nyatapola temple, the 55-Window Palace and potters' squares.
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Kathmandu Durbar Square
Kathmandu, Bagmati ProvinceThe old royal palace of Hanuman Dhoka and its temple squares, home of the Kumari, the living goddess.
Read more →Quick answers
- When is Gai Jatra in 2026?
- Usually in August. The exact date for the next one is not published yet.
- What is Gai Jatra?
- The cow festival of the Kathmandu Valley, when families who lost someone that year join a procession, followed by satire and comedy.
- Where is the best place to see Gai Jatra?
- Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Durbar Square.
Other festivals
Dates from the public Holidays in Nepal calendar (Google Calendar), checked daily. Local festivals not in that calendar show their usual month; lunar dates can shift by a day locally.