In the coldest week of the Nepali winter, Gurung families in the Annapurna foothills start a new year. Tamu Lhosar is that new year. In 2026 it falls on Wednesday, December 30, the 15th of Poush, two days before the English New Year, and it is the day Gurung dress, dance and food come out together in public.
Tamu Lhosar 2026 date
The festival is tied to the Nepali (Bikram Sambat) month, not to the moon. Poush 15 fell on December 30 in 2024 and 2025, and does so again in 2026 (it can land on the 31st in some years). Nepal's government has announced a public holiday for it in recent years (NEPSE, the stock exchange, shut on December 30, 2025), so banks and offices are likely closed on the day. Check the official holiday list in December, because it is published each year.
If you are planning travel, this is the same week as the holiday rush described in Christmas and New Year in Nepal. Book rooms in Pokhara and Kathmandu early.
What Tamu Lhosar means
The Gurung call themselves Tamu. "Lho" means year and "sar" means change, so the festival is the changing of the year. The Gurung calendar runs in a cycle of 12 years, each named after an animal, and Tamu Lhosar is when one year hands over to the next. Sources differ on the order of the animals and on which animal each new year takes, so this page does not name one for 2026.
It also marks the start of the Tamu Sambat calendar, and by tradition it comes when the sun's first rays reach Gurung settlements in Lamjung, Gorkha, Tanahun, Syangja, Manang, Kaski and Parbat. The religion behind it blends Bon shamanism, Buddhism and older village beliefs. Families visit monasteries for blessings, then spend the day visiting each other.
Two other Himalayan communities have their own new years: Tamang Sonam Lhosar comes in Magh (usually late January or February) and Sherpa Gyalpo Lhosar in Falgun (usually February or March). See Nepal in January for what else is on in the cold season.
Food, dress and dance
The day opens with a welcome. Plates of sel roti and achar are handed round, and guests are expected to take some. Khapse, a fried festival biscuit, follows. In Kathmandu, community food stalls cook Gurung dishes at the main gathering.
Ghandruk, one of the Gurung villages where families mark the new year at home and in courtyards
Dress is the visual draw. Men wear a kachhad (a short wrapped lower garment) and a bhangra, a white garment wrapped across the chest. Women wear a velvet blouse and a wrapped ghalek, tied with a patuki (waist cloth), with heavy gold earrings and gemstone necklaces. For the wider range of Nepali costume, see traditional Nepali dress.
Singing and dancing run through the day. The Ghatu and Sorathi dances are often named as central, and in villages people dance in courtyards while elders pass history and customs to the young.
Where to see it
| Place | What happens | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Tundikhel, Kathmandu | Procession and a large community gathering with dance, music and food | First-timers, photographers |
| Pokhara | Gurung community programmes and gatherings (details vary each year) | Combining with a lake stay |
| Ghandruk, Ghale Gaun, Bhujung, Dhampus | Family and village celebrations | A trek or village stay with a local host |
| Boudhanath and Swayambhunath | Prayer flags and monastery visits | Quiet observers |
Tundikhel is the easiest to attend: it is the open ground in central Kathmandu where the main community gathering has been held in recent years. Check the programme and times in Nepali news the day before, because they change.
Pokhara has a large Gurung population, but this page found no published programme for a Pokhara event, so ask your hotel or the local Tamu community office in December instead of relying on a fixed venue.
Visiting a Gurung village for the new year
Villages are where the festival is most personal, and also the least public. The villages around Ghandruk and Dhampus are within a day of Pokhara. For the walks, see short treks from Pokhara and the Australian Camp and Dhampus hike; the Annapurna region page covers longer routes.
Winter nights at village altitude fall close to freezing, so pack warm layers (what to wear in Nepal). Ask before photographing anyone in a private courtyard, and if you are invited in, accept the sel roti. Reserve ahead for the 29th to 31st, as it is also a busy week for travel.
Related festivals
Tamu Lhosar sits in the same calendar as bigger national festivals. If you are building a winter trip around dates, Dashain and Tihar come earlier in the year, and the broader customs are covered in Nepali culture and traditions. The festival calendar for 2083 has every date in BS and AD.
