Bisket Jatra

What: The ‘fes­ti­val after the death of ser­pent’ Bisket Jatra marks the start of the ancient Nepalese solar New year – and is Nepal’s nois­i­est, chaot­ic, and row­di­est fes­ti­val.

While the cel­e­bra­tions offi­cial­ly last nine days  the fes­ti­val real­ly kicks into gear on the four days pre­ced­ing New Year’s eve with a series of sweet parades, tongue pierc­ing and cel­e­bra­tions pre­ced­ing a spe­cial bless­ing of the com­ing New Year in an ancient tem­ple on New year’s eve, before a 25ft totem pole – with cloths rep­re­sent­ing the ser­pents is erect­ed in the cen­tre of Bhak­ta­pur.

This is then fol­lowed on the day of New Year’s, with the high­light of the cel­e­bra­tions when the two gods Bhairav and Bhadrakali will be placed on spe­cial­ly designed 20ft char­i­ots and pulled through the cheer­ing crowd in the main square, to the base of the pole where a tug of war takes place which brings the Totem Pole crash­ing down and into the watch­ing crowd mark­ing the begin­ning of the New Year.   

When:  Bisket Jatra takes place in the mid­dle of April to coin­cide with the Nepalese solar New Year, while the fes­ti­val offi­cial­ly lasts nine days, the best days to wit­ness Bisket Jatra are the new year eve and the day of the New Year itself, where the pro­ces­sion and tug of war events take place.

Where: The fes­ti­val takes place in Bhak­ta­pur, Nepal, with the best place to wit­ness it being in the square near the Bagh Bhairab tem­ple in Tau­mad­hi Tole in Khal­na Tole, Bhak­ta­pur.

Dura­tion: Bisket Jatra lasts for nine full days, includ­ing the day of the New year itself. The five days pre­ced­ing the fes­ti­val are filled with sweet parades, and tongue pierc­ing and cel­e­bra­to­ry events.

The best time to wit­ness the Jatra is on the day of new years eve – when a spe­cial rit­u­al in the tem­ple of Tau­mad­hi Tole takes place, fol­lowed by the set-up of the poles, clothes and tug of war ropes. This will then be fol­lowed the fol­low­ing day of New Years Eve in mid-morn­ing by the pole being top­pled in a tug of war match (make sure you’re not in the line of fire) fol­lowed by the parad­ing of the char­i­ots of Lord Bhaira­vanath – as the New Year offi­cial­ly begins as the cel­e­bra­tions last­ing well into the evening.

Tick­ets: Entry to the fes­ti­val is free, as is the view­ing of the tug of war, the parad­ing of the char­i­ot and the tongue pierc­ing cer­e­mo­ny – expect to pay a small fee or make a char­i­ta­ble dona­tion if vis­it­ing the Bagh Bhairab tem­ple.

Need to Know: Be Care­ful ! – Injuries includ­ing loss of life fre­quent­ly occur at the Bisket Jatra due to the falling totem poles – the square around the Bagh Bhairab tem­ple gets full quick­ly with crowds flock­ing to mark Bisket Jatra – it’s also advised to arrive ear­ly and keep your valu­ables close by and safe dur­ing the course of the cel­e­bra­tions.