Teej: Nepal's Women's Festival

Teej is Nepal's great women's festival — a vivid, joyful occasion when women dress in red, fast, sing and dance in celebration of womanhood, marriage and devotion to the goddess Parvati. Falling at the tail of the monsoon, it opens the country's busy autumn festival season and turns temple courtyards into a sea of red.

What Teej celebrates

Teej (formally Haritalika Teej) is dedicated to the goddess Parvati and her union with Shiva. Married women fast and pray for the long life and well-being of their husbands, while unmarried women pray for a good future partner. Beyond the rituals, it is a celebration of female solidarity, song and dance.

When it falls

Teej takes place in the lunar month of Bhadra, typically late August or early September, on the third day after the new moon. As a lunar festival the dates move each year — confirm with our best time to visit Nepal guide.

How and where it is celebrated

Teej unfolds over a few days. On dar khane din (the day before the fast), families gather for a lavish feast to fortify women for the day ahead. On the main day, women observe a strict fast — some without even water — and visit Shiva temples to worship. In Kathmandu, the Pashupatinath temple complex is the epicentre, where thousands of women in red saris pray, sing and dance. The festival also includes ritual bathing and worship over its later days.

What travellers will see

Expect a striking visual feast: women in red wedding saris, green and gold bangles, gathered in huge numbers at temples; circles of dancing and singing; and a celebratory, sisterly atmosphere. Around Pashupatinath the crowds are enormous and the energy infectious. It is one of the most photogenic and uplifting festivals to witness, though it is primarily a women's space.

Teej songs (Teej geet) are a tradition in themselves: women compose and sing about joy, hardship, love and the realities of married life, and the festival has long served as a rare outlet for expressing feelings that everyday life keeps quiet. In the weeks beforehand, markets fill with red saris, glass bangles and pote (beaded necklaces), and beauty parlours and mehndi (henna) artists do a roaring trade. Although it is rooted in prayers for husbands, modern Teej is increasingly a celebration of womanhood and friendship in its own right, and you will often see large groups of friends, colleagues and family gathering simply to dance and enjoy the day together.

For travellers, it is a vivid and welcoming spectacle — best appreciated as a respectful onlooker rather than a participant.

Tips for visitors

• Go early to Pashupatinath on the main day to beat the biggest crowds.
• Dress modestly at the temple, and remember Pashupatinath's inner shrine is for Hindus only.
• Be respectful with photos — ask before close-ups of women at worship.
• Pack patience; the crowds are large and movement can be slow.

Teej kicks off the festival-packed autumn that builds to Dashain and Tihar, and it shares its devotional spirit with Janai Purnima earlier in the season. See the whole year in our festival calendar of Nepal, and read our Nepal culture and etiquette guide before you go.