Over 576,000 Leave Kathmandu Valley for Dashain, Police Say

More than 576,000 people have left the Kathmandu Valley for Dashain, the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office said on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. The office put the total at 576,578 people in 79,676 vehicles since Ghatasthapana, the first day of the 10-day Dashain festival. NTV World, reporting the figures from the RSS news agency, said the number leaving the capital this year is lower than in the past.

Who left, in the police count

SSP Suresh Prasad Kafle, chief of the Valley Traffic Police, gave the breakdown behind the total. Of the 576,578 people who left, 348,823 were men and 227,755 were women. The count covers travel out of the valley since Ghatasthapana, as people who live in the capital for study, work and business head back to their hometowns.

Dashain is Nepal's biggest festival. Families mark it together, and the days around it bring a yearly return home for many people who spend most of the year in Kathmandu. The festival runs for 10 days from Ghatasthapana, and the travel out of the valley builds across that period.

Where the roads were busiest

Police named the main exit points where traffic ran heavier as people left the valley. They are Nagdhunga, Pharping, Thankot, Bhimdunga, Tinpiple and Sankhu. Those points carry much of the road traffic out of the valley, and they draw the heaviest pressure when large numbers of people travel on the same days.

The traffic police said they have stepped up monitoring on the roads. Staff have been deployed round the clock to manage the rush and to cut accidents during the festival travel period. With so many vehicles moving at once, officers are working to keep traffic flowing at the exit points and on the routes beyond them.

A safety appeal to drivers and passengers

Kafle urged drivers and passengers to take care before and during long trips. He asked them to check the condition of their vehicle before setting out. He also urged people to stay fit for the journey and to avoid driving for excessively long hours on long routes.

That appeal fits the pattern of this travel period. Long road trips home are a central part of Dashain for many families, and the same routes carry heavy traffic in both directions around the festival. Police say checks on vehicles, rest for drivers and steady monitoring on the roads can lower the risk of crashes when the volume is this high.

The figure of 576,578 people in 79,676 vehicles is a count of those who had left by Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. It is, as the headline count makes clear, a large movement of people, even as reports say the number is lesser this year than before. For the families travelling, the trip is the start of Dashain at home, with relatives gathering in towns and villages across Nepal after months spent in the capital for study, work and business.