DigiNepal · festivals
Gyalpo Lhosar (Tibetan New Year) (ग्याल्पो ल्होसार (Nepali), རྒྱལ་པོ་ལོ་གསར (Tibetan)). Region: Nepal (Sherpa, Hyolmo, Bhote communities), Tibet, Bhutan, Ladakh, Tibetan diaspora. Tradition: Tibetan Buddhist. Calendar: Tibetan lunisolar (first tithi at dawn after the new moon that starts the Chinese lunar year). Dates: Nepal 2026: Wednesday 18 February 2026 (BS 2082 Falgun 6; वि.सं. २०८२ ६) [official, source NP]; Nepal 2027: Sunday 7 February 2027 (BS 2083 Magh 24; वि.सं. २०८३ २४) [official, source NP]; Nepal 2028: Saturday 26 February 2028 (BS 2084 Falgun 14; वि.सं. २०८४ १४) [official, source NP]. History and significance: Gyalpo Lhosar, the king's new year, is the Tibetan new year celebrated by Sherpa and other Himalayan Buddhist communities. It traces back to pre Buddhist winter incense festivals and was formalised under the Tibetan kings. Celebrations last up to fifteen days, with the first three most important, and Boudhanath stupa in Kathmandu becomes the centre of festivities. It is a public holiday in Nepal. Key rituals and foods: House cleaning, new prayer flags, monastery rituals and lama dances, visiting relatives; foods include guthuk soup, khapse fried pastries and butter tea. Date basis: official = matches a government gazetted holiday list; computed = calculated from the calendar system (tithi astronomy with skyfield and JPL DE421, Hijri Umm al-Qura, Chinese, Korean and Hebrew calendar libraries, or the fixed rule); expected = Umm al-Qura projection pending moon sighting. Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA, CC0) and government holiday lists, summarised in our own words.