Official festivals Nepal

In the middle of summer, during the full moon, men of the upper castes, Chhetri and Brahmin, go to the Khumbeswar temple in Patan to change the sacred thread (janai) they wear across their torso. In Pashupatinath, they come to have a small cord blessed and tied to their wrist as a good luck charm. Tourists can also do it. This night also sees the pilgrimage to the lakes of Gosaikunda, in the mountains north of Kathmandu, where thousands of devotees gather.