Regional & Local Jatras of the Kathmandu Valley: A Directory

A jatra (जात्रा) is a public procession or festival of the Newar people, the indigenous community of the Kathmandu Valley. Most jatras carry a deity through the streets of a town — either on a towering wheeled chariot (rath or khat), in a portable palanquin, or embodied by masked dancers — so that the whole community can receive the god's blessing. The word derives from the Sanskrit yatra, meaning journey or pilgrimage.

The valley's jatra calendar is dense because each of its historic towns — Kathmandu, Lalitpur (Patan), Bhaktapur, Kirtipur, Khokana, Hadigaun and many smaller settlements — has its own guardian deities, temples and lunar festival cycle. Many jatras are agrarian in origin, marking the pre-monsoon planting season or the post-harvest period, while others petition rain, ward off epidemics or renew the community's bond with a protective mother goddess (Ajima).

This directory documents eight regional and local jatras that are less internationally famous than Indra Jatra but remain living traditions. Because dates follow the lunar Bikram Sambat (BS) calendar and are often fixed by astrologers, the Gregorian (AD) dates shift each year; the months below are indicative, so confirm exact dates locally before visiting.

The Seto Machhindranath Jatra, also called Jana Baha Dyah Jatra, is Kathmandu city's great spring chariot festival. It honours Seto (White) Machhindranath, worshipped as Karunamaya or Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, whose small silver-white image is kept at the Jana Bahal courtyard near Asan. The festival falls in the Nepali month of Chaitra (March–April) and runs for about five days. The chariot is pulled from Jamal through Ratna Park, Bhotahiti and Asan, then to Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu Durbar Square), Maru, Jaisideval and Lagan, where it circles the shrine of the deity's mother before the image is returned to Jana Bahal.

The distinct but related Rato (Red) Machhindranath Jatra takes place in Lalitpur (Patan) and is the longest chariot festival in Nepal, running for weeks in Baishakh–Jestha (April–June). Its climax is the Bhoto Jatra. "Bhoto" means vest or waistcoat, so Bhoto Jatra is literally the "festival of the vest." On the final day, at the Jawalakhel open ground, a government official climbs the chariot and holds up a jewel-studded black vest to the crowd from all four sides.

The legend explains the meaning: a Jyapu (Newar farmer) once cured the eye ailment of the serpent-god Karkotaka Naga's wife and received the jewelled vest as a reward. He later lost it, then spotted a stranger wearing it at the festival. Because neither could prove ownership, it was decided the vest would stay in the safekeeping of Bunga Dyah (Rato Machhindranath) and be displayed publicly each year so the rightful owner might one day come forward — which is why the vest is shown to this day.

Sithi Nakha (also Sithi Nakah, or Kumar Shashthi) is a Newar festival that falls on the sixth day (shashthi) of the bright fortnight of the Nepali month of Jestha (May–June), just before the monsoon. "Nakha" means festival in Nepal Bhasa, and "Sithi" derives from the Sanskrit shashthi, "sixth." Religiously it marks the birthday of Kumar (Kartikeya), the war-god son of Shiva and Parvati and commander of the divine army.

Sithi Nakha's most celebrated feature is its environmental character: on this day communities traditionally clean their wells, stone spouts (dhunge dhara / hiti), ponds and other water sources. The timing is practical — it is the driest point of the year, when water levels are lowest and the sources are easiest to scour before the monsoon rains would otherwise wash contaminants in. In Newar belief the nagas (serpent water-guardians) temporarily leave the wells at this time, making it the right moment for cleaning.

Households also perform Dewali or Kul Puja, worship of the lineage deity, and prepare festive foods such as bara (lentil patties) and chatamari (rice-flour crepe). Culturally, Sithi Nakha signals the start of the rice-planting season, blending public health, water conservation and agriculture into a single observance that is often cited today as an early example of community-led environmental stewardship.

Shikali Jatra (also spelled Sikali or Shikhali) is the signature festival of Khokana, a Newar town in southern Lalitpur famous for its mustard-oil tradition. It is dedicated to the goddess Shikali — identified with Rudrayani, a fierce mother-goddess and female manifestation of Rudra (Shiva) who is believed to protect the village from disease and calamity. Unusually, Khokana does not celebrate the nationwide Dashain festival; instead the community observes Shikali Jatra during the same Dashain period in the month of Ashwin (September–October).

The festival lasts about five days and centres on the Shikali (Rudrayani) temple set amid the fields outside the settlement. Performers wearing masks and following tantric ritual take on the roles of a set of gods and goddesses, and a wooden chariot or palanquin of the goddess is carried in procession through the town before being installed at the temple. As a post-harvest festival it is also a time of communal feasting and rejoicing.

Khokana's residents trace the custom to the reign of a medieval Malla king and regard it as a marker of their distinct identity. For visitors, Shikali Jatra is one of the best places in the valley to witness authentic masked tantric dance in a rural setting rather than a tourist-oriented one. The search phrase "Shikali Jatra Khokana" points squarely to this single, place-specific tradition.

Indrayani is one of the valley's Ajimas, or protective mother goddesses. Two distinct jatras carry her name. In Kathmandu, an Indrayani Jatra is held around the Luti Ajima (Indrayani) shrine, traditionally beginning in late Marga (November) and running about eight days. In Kirtipur, southwest of Kathmandu, a colourful three-day Indrayani Jatra is celebrated to propitiate the goddess at her two shrines — one in the town centre and one at the edge of the old settlement.

During the Kirtipur festival, a procession with musical bands first carries the goddess's image to a secondary shrine in the town centre, where devotees pay homage for two days, before she is escorted back to her main shrine — accompanied by the palanquin of Ganesh, the god of good fortune. Both Buddhist and Hindu residents take part together, a hallmark of Newar religious life.

The Kirtipur observance forms part of the larger Nhegan Jatra (Satgaule Jatra), literally the festival of "seven villages," which links Kirtipur with neighbouring settlements such as Panga, Nagaon, Satungal and Machhegaon in a shared cycle of processions. This regional linkage is a good example of how a single deity's jatra can bind an entire cluster of towns rather than just one.

The Navadurga Jatra is Bhaktapur's celebrated cycle of masked tantric dance dedicated to the Nava Durga — the nine forms of Durga (Parvati as Shakti). It is performed by the Banmala (Gatha) caste, whose dancers don vividly painted masks to embody the goddesses and their attendant deities. Traditionally attributed to the medieval Malla period, the tradition is unique to Bhaktapur and its surrounding localities.

The Navadurga are usually enumerated as Mahakali, Kumari, Barahi, Brahmayani, Maheshwari, Vaishnavi and Indrani — seven forms shown publicly — while Mahalaxmi and Tripurasundari are held to be present but not visually represented. The dancers are believed to become the living embodiment of the goddesses during performance, and the rhythmic music is thought to drive away evil and bring peace and prosperity to the community.

The dance cycle spans much of the year, beginning around Dashain (Ashwin–Kartik, September–October) and ending months later at Bhagasti (in Jestha), when the masks are ritually cremated near the Brahmayani shrine by the Hanumante River. Their ashes are preserved and mixed into the clay for the next season's masks, symbolising the goddesses' continual death and rebirth. For visitors, seeing the Navadurga perform in Bhaktapur's squares is among the valley's most striking living-heritage experiences.

Hadigaun (Handigaun), one of the oldest inhabited areas of Kathmandu, hosts an unusual night-time jatra that takes place on the last night of Dashain. Locally it is called the "kahi nabhako jatra" ("the jatra found nowhere else"). Three khats (chariot-litters) are brought out from separate toles — traditionally said to represent Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar (or, in another telling, a cursed woman, her child and her husband) — and are circled around the old town three times after priestly worship. Hadigaun is separately known for the Gahana Khojne ("jewellery-searching") Jatra of the goddess Tundaldevi.

Pachali Bhairav is a fierce, powerful form of Bhairav (Shiva) enshrined at an open-air riverside shrine in the Teku area of southern Kathmandu, and is one of the city's most important guardian deities. The most spectacular event tied to him is the Pachali Bhairav Khadga Siddhi Jatra, historically held only once every twelve years, in which masked dancers embody various deities. "Khadga" means sword and "siddhi" means attainment or power; the ritual centred on a ceremonial exchange of the sword, once performed with the head of state, symbolising the transfer of divine protection.

A more frequent annual observance associated with Pachali Bhairav is the Tepa Jatra / Khadga Jatra, held around Dashain, during which the deity's symbolic khadga (sword) and the god Ajima (Betal) are carried in procession. Because the twelve-yearly Khadga Siddhi Jatra is so rare, its occurrence draws large crowds and heavy media coverage when it falls.

Use the at-a-glance facts table and the per-jatra sections above to match a festival name to its town, deity and season. Because these are lunar festivals — and several (like Bhoto Jatra) have dates set by astrologers each year — always cross-check the exact Gregorian date against the Nepal Tourism Board's event listings or a Nepali calendar (patro) close to your travel dates.

These jatras are religious observances first and spectacles second. Visitors should dress modestly, ask before photographing rituals or masked dancers, keep clear of chariot-pulling ropes and crowds, and follow the directions of local organisers. Several of these festivals — notably Shikali Jatra in Khokana and the Navadurga dances in Bhaktapur — are best experienced with a local guide who can explain the tantric symbolism respectfully.

The valley holds many more local jatras beyond these eight; this page will be expanded over time. The FAQ below answers the most common questions about the Seto Machhindranath Jatra, Bhoto Jatra, Shikali Jatra and Sithi Nakha.