Dashain Exodus: 207,000 Leave Kathmandu as Peak Rush Nears
More than 207,000 people left Kathmandu's New Bus Park between October 3 and 11, and 56,809 left the valley in the latest 24 hours. The peak Dashain rush runs October 15 to 20, before Tika on October 21.
Key points
- KATHMANDU: The Dashain exodus is building across Nepal, and the numbers at the capital's main bus park show the scale.
- Dashain is Nepal's main Hindu festival, a time when workers and students in the capital return to ancestral homes for family gatherings and the Tika blessing.
- Pankaj Malla, general manager of Lhotse Multipurpose Pvt.
KATHMANDU: The Dashain exodus is building across Nepal, and the numbers at the capital's main bus park show the scale. A total of 207,251 passengers left Kathmandu's New Bus Park between October 3 and October 11, heading to home districts for the country's biggest festival, according to the park operator. Another 56,809 people left the Kathmandu Valley through its checkpoints in a single recent 24 hour period, traffic police said on Tuesday. The peak travel days are still ahead.
Dashain is Nepal's main Hindu festival, a time when workers and students in the capital return to ancestral homes for family gatherings and the Tika blessing. This year the festival began with Ghatasthapana on October 11. Phulpati falls on October 17 and Vijaya Dashami, the main Tika day, falls on Wednesday, October 21.
The count so far
Pankaj Malla, general manager of Lhotse Multipurpose Pvt. Ltd., which operates the New Bus Park, told the National News Agency, RSS, that departures rose through the period. The bus park recorded 18,729 departures on October 3, then 19,530 on October 4 and 23,016 on October 5. The count reached 29,602 on October 6, 22,288 on October 7 and 25,201 on October 8, before the busiest day so far, October 9, when 31,235 people left from the park. Departures dipped to 16,970 on October 10 and came back to 29,380 on October 11. The park covers 161 ropanis and can handle up to 800 buses on long and short routes.
The valley wide count for the latest 24 hours, given by Deputy Superintendent of Police Rabindra Khanal of the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, was 56,809 people leaving through all checkpoints. The largest flows went through Nagdhunga, at 27,649 people, and Bhaktapur, at 20,615. Pharping recorded 5,510 departures. The rest left through Tinpiple, Bhattedanda, Sankhu, Bhimdhunga and Thankot.
Earlier planning coverage had projected that up to one million people could leave the valley across the full festival period. The daily counts so far show the movement gathering pace well before the peak.
Key numbers
- Total departures from New Bus Park, October 3 to 11: 207,251
- Busiest single day at the park: October 9, with 31,235 departures
- Departures on October 11: 29,380
- People who left the valley in the latest 24 hours: 56,809
- Via Nagdhunga checkpoint: 27,649. Via Bhaktapur: 20,615
- Festival dates: Ghatasthapana October 11, Phulpati October 17, Tika October 21
Roads are the hard part
Getting a seat is only half the trip. Deknath Gautam, general secretary of the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs, said road conditions have complicated the rush. A road subsidence at Galaundi in Dhading, on the Prithvi Highway, hit on October 9, the day advance ticket bookings opened, and left buses stranded. Gautam said various national highways are damaged ahead of the festival, which makes it hard to reach destinations on time and in comfort. The federation has urged passengers to travel only with a proper ticket, pay the fixed fare, and check the condition of the vehicle before boarding.
Transport operators say managing passengers has been difficult with highways obstructed in places. Travelers on the main routes out of the valley should expect delays and build time into their plans.
How to travel this week
The pattern of past years, set out in route guides for this Dashain, is simple. Bookings surge from October 11 to 14, while seats still exist. The peak outbound rush runs from October 15 to 20, in the days before Tika. Roads go quiet on Tika day itself, October 21. Then the return rush runs from October 22 to 27, and it catches people out every year.
The practical advice follows from that pattern. Book both legs at the same time, the trip out and the trip back, instead of leaving the return to chance. Buy from the counter or an official channel and keep the ticket. Pay the fixed fare and ask if anyone offers a lower off ticket price, because that saving can vanish with the bus. Check the vehicle before you board, and leave early for the bus park on peak days, when queues form long before departure.
What it means beyond Kathmandu
The exodus empties the capital and fills the districts. Shops and offices in Kathmandu thin out as staff leave, while hill towns and Terai bazaars take in families, remittances in hand, for the largest reunion of the year. For diaspora readers, the dates that matter are the same ones. Phulpati on October 17 and Tika on October 21 are when families gather, and when anyone flying in needs to have landed by. The counts at the bus park will keep rising until then. We will update this story as new departure figures are released.
Timeline
- Oct 3, 2026Departures from Kathmandu's New Bus Park begin the counted period at 18,729 for the day, rising through the week.
- Oct 9, 2026The busiest day so far at the park, with 31,235 departures. A road subsidence at Galaundi on the Prithvi Highway disrupts buses the same day.
- Oct 11, 2026Ghatasthapana opens Dashain. The park records 29,380 departures, taking the October 3 to 11 total to 207,251.
- Oct 17, 2026Phulpati, in the middle of the peak outbound travel window of October 15 to 20.
- Oct 21, 2026Vijaya Dashami, the main Tika day. The return rush to Kathmandu follows from October 22 to 27.