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Lumbini in October
Good month: October is at the start of the recommended season (October – March). Dashain (Bada Dashain) can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of March, 5 months away.
2 days in Lumbini in October · from ₹5,813 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
Before you book October
Closures, crowds and rules at Lumbini this month.
Worth knowing
Dashain: Transport Full, Offices and Shops Closed
During Dashain (late September or October, 15 days, the main 4-5 days like India's Navratri and Dussehra) most of Kathmandu goes home to the villages: long-distance buses and domestic flights sell out a week either side, offices, banks and many shops and restaurants close for the main days, and taxis are scarce. Book transport early and carry cash.
Heads up
Tihar: Holidays and Full Buses
Tihar (Nepal's Deepawali, five days, two to three weeks after Dashain) closes offices and many shops for its last days and fills buses again. The lamps and decorations are lovely to see; plan around the transport.
What’s on in October
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Dashain (Bada Dashain)dates shift yearly
Nepal's biggest festival, 15 days ending on the full moon, with the main days (Phulpati to Vijaya Dashami, the day of tika from elders) like India's Navratri and Dussehra. Kathmandu empties as people go home: buses and domestic flights sell out a week either side, government offices, many shops and some restaurants close for 4-5 days, and prices rise. It falls in the autumn trekking season, so book transport early.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 2 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹5,813 for two
- Room a night₹1,130
- Food a day, each₹728
- Main sight entry, each₹130
Mid-range
₹14,138 for two
- Room a night₹3,130
- Food a day, each₹1,680
- Main sight entry, each₹130
Luxury
₹31,774 for two
- Room a night₹7,500
- Food a day, each₹3,920
- Main sight entry, each₹130
What October does to prices
- Kathmandu empties as people go home: buses and domestic flights sell out a week either side, government offices, many shops and some restaurants close for 4-5 days, and prices rise.
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for Nepal yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Kathmandu (KTM), 203 km away
Then: Flight · 4h (Kathmandu–Bhairahawa flight (Buddha Air / Yeti Airlines) + taxi to or from Lumbini)
Flights from India: from 10 cities, one way from ₹6,500
Routes compared
Entry rules
No visa needed
- Carry your Indian passport or your original Election Commission voter ID card. Aadhaar is not accepted as a travel document for Nepal, and airlines refuse boarding on it.
- Flying in: show the same ID at check-in in India and at immigration in Kathmandu. No visa, no fee and no form for Indian citizens.
- Crossing by road (Sunauli, Raxaul–Birgunj, Kakarbhitta and the other border points): walk or drive across with the same ID. Bringing an Indian vehicle needs a customs permit (bhansar), paid per day at the border.
- Trekking or visiting a national park: you still need the park or conservation-area permits (Indians pay the lower SAARC rate), shown by region in this plan.
Carry: Valid Indian passport, or original Election Commission voter ID card (not Aadhaar); Children: a passport, or a birth certificate or school identity card when travelling with a parent who has valid ID; Over 65: a passport or voter ID is safest. A Home Ministry communique lets over-65s (and under-15s) use other government photo ID, Aadhaar included, but the Embassy of India in Kathmandu says Aadhaar and PAN cards are not valid for India–Nepal travel, so check with your airline; Two passport photos and photocopies of your ID, for trekking and park permits.
Indians need no visa for Nepal and sources give no fixed limit on the stay. Accepted IDs: passport or voter ID only; Aadhaar is not accepted. Rules for minors and other photo IDs vary by airline, so check with yours, or with the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, before you go.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in Nepal in October
Also in season this month.
- Jomsom · great month
- Rara Lake · great month
- Bandipur · good month
- Bardia (Thakurdwara) · good month
- Bhaktapur · good month
- Chitwan (Sauraha) · good month
- Ghandruk · good month
- Ghorepani (Poon Hill) · good month
Nearby in Terai: Chitwan & Lumbini:
Want this as a real plan?
Lumbini in October, day by day, priced for your group.