In the week before Phulpati, well over a million people leave the Kathmandu valley — recent traffic-police counts put it at two million or more. They go by bus, microbus, motorbike and anything else with wheels, on a road network that has three practical exits. A week later they all come back.
For a visitor this is the part of Dashain that needs the most thought, and it is entirely a question of timing. The same road that takes eleven hours on the Thursday before the festival takes five on the tika day. This guide is about choosing the right day. The festival dates are in our Dashain calendar.
The Shape of the Migration
Three highways carry almost everything: the Prithvi Highway west toward Pokhara and, via Mugling, south to Chitwan and the Terai; the Araniko and BP highways east toward Dolakha, Sindhuli and the eastern hills; and the road north to Trishuli and Langtang. All of them leave the valley over a rim of hills on roads with few places to pass.
The flow has a direction. Before the festival it runs out of Kathmandu, and to a lesser extent out of Pokhara, toward the villages. After the tika it reverses. If you travel with it you sit in it. If you travel against it — into Kathmandu while everyone leaves, out while they return — the road ahead is nearly empty.
When the Roads Are Worst
| Period | 2026 dates | Leaving Kathmandu | Entering Kathmandu |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early build-up | 11 – 13 October | Busy | Normal |
| Peak exodus | 14 – 17 October | Very slow; jams at the valley rim and at Mugling | Clear |
| Main festival days | 18 – 21 October | Clear; almost no public transport on the 21st | Clear |
| First return | 22 – 24 October | Clear | Slow, building each day |
| Peak return | 25 – 27 October | Clear | Very slow |
| Back to normal | From 28 October | Normal | Normal |
Two rules follow. If you must drive out of Kathmandu before the festival, go before the 14th or leave at four in the morning. And if you are returning from a trek in the last week of October, allow a full day for a journey that normally takes six hours.
Buses
Tourist buses between Kathmandu and Pokhara, and to Chitwan and Lumbini, keep running on most days of the festival, with seats that must be reserved. They are slower than usual in the peak days because they share the road. Most do not run on the tika day.
Local buses and microbuses are a different matter. Advance tickets for the days before Phulpati go on sale about two weeks ahead and sell out; vehicles are overloaded; and on the tika day and the day before there are hardly any, because the drivers are at home. For the trailhead routes that only local buses serve — Syabrubesi, Dhunche, Soti Khola, Jiri — plan on a private vehicle instead.
Night buses are best avoided at any time, and especially now. Drivers are working long shifts on crowded roads, and the festival period sees more road accidents than any other fortnight of the year.
Private Vehicles and Jeeps
A car or jeep booked in advance is the dependable way to move by road during Dashain. It leaves when you choose, which lets you use the quiet hours, and it will run on days when buses do not. Expect to pay more than the usual rate for journeys on the tika day and the day either side: the driver is giving up his festival, and the vehicle comes back empty.
Arrange it with the trip rather than on arrival. A jeep found on the morning of the eighth day costs whatever its owner decides.
Domestic Flights
Flying removes the problem, and for the long legs it is worth the fare. Flights operate every day of the festival, the tika day included.
| Route | Flight time | By road | At Dashain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu – Pokhara | 25 minutes | 6 – 8 hours; 10 or more in festival traffic | Sells out days ahead; book with the trip |
| Kathmandu – Bharatpur (Chitwan) | 20 minutes | 5 – 6 hours | Full in the outbound week |
| Kathmandu – Bhairahawa (Lumbini) | 35 minutes | 8 – 9 hours | Full in the outbound week |
| Manthali – Lukla | 20 minutes | No road | Peak season; the drive to Manthali is the weak link |
| Pokhara – Jomsom | 20 minutes | 7 – 8 hours | Full; morning flights only, weather permitting |
Seats are the constraint. Nepalis flying home fill the outbound flights before Phulpati and the return flights after the tika, and fares sit at the top of the permitted range. Weather still applies: mountain flights to Lukla and Jomsom are cancelled in cloud and wind, festival or not. Our domestic flights guide covers baggage limits, delays and which side to sit on.
Reaching the Trailheads
| Trek | Trailhead | From Kathmandu | Dashain advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everest Base Camp | Lukla, via Manthali airport | 4 – 5 hours' drive, then a flight | The road east is a main exodus route. Leave earlier than usual or sleep in Manthali — see our Lukla flight guide |
| Langtang | Syabrubesi | 7 – 8 hours | Private jeep; avoid the tika day |
| Manaslu Circuit | Machha Khola | 8 – 9 hours | Private jeep; the Prithvi Highway section is the slow part |
| Annapurna Circuit | Besisahar and beyond | 6 – 7 hours | Leave before the 14th or during the main festival days |
| Poon Hill, Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal | From Pokhara: 1 – 3 hours | Fly to Pokhara | Book the jeep from Pokhara with the trek |
| Upper Mustang | Jomsom | Fly via Pokhara, or drive | Flights full; the road up the Kali Gandaki is quiet |
A helicopter avoids the road altogether on the Everest side — see the Kathmandu to Lukla helicopter flight — and for a party of four or five the cost per seat is less than people expect. More in trekking in Nepal during Dashain.
In the Cities
Taxis and ride-hailing motorbikes are plentiful before the festival and scarce on the tika day, when a driver who is working at all will name his price. Hotels can book a car the evening before. For airport transfers on the main festival days, arrange the pickup in advance rather than relying on the rank.
The compensation is that Kathmandu without traffic is a different city: Thamel to Boudhanath in fifteen minutes, and streets you can walk in the middle of. See Kathmandu during Dashain.
Breaking the Journey
If the road is unavoidable, make it a feature. The Kathmandu–Pokhara drive passes the put-in for rafting on the Trishuli, the cable car to Manakamana and the hill town of Bandipur; a night in any of them splits a long day in two and takes you off the highway for its worst hours. Our Kathmandu & Pokhara Tour and Best of Nepal Tour are built with these stops and can swap a road leg for a flight.
If You Must Travel on the Tika Day
- Fly if a flight exists. Airports run normally and the roads to them are empty.
- Book a private vehicle days ahead and confirm it the evening before.
- Carry food and water. Highway restaurants are closed.
- Fill the tank beforehand. Not every fuel station opens.
- Expect an easy drive. It is the emptiest road day of the year — the difficulty is finding the vehicle, not the journey.
What else runs that day is listed in what is open and closed during Dashain.
