Dashain runs from 11 to 25 October in 2026, with Tika on Wednesday 21 October. Tihar follows on 8 to 11 November, with Bhai Tika on the 11th. Between them they compress most of the Nepali retail year into about six weeks, and the campaigns that work are the ones built before the window opens, not during it.
The short answer
Build and test creative in September, spend heavily in the pre-Dashain shopping window, go quiet during Tika week when your customers are with family, then return for Tihar. The common mistake is starting the campaign when the festival starts, which means learning during the only weeks that matter.
The 2026 calendar
| Phase | Dates | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Now to 30 September | Creative production, landing pages, stock and logistics confirmed, tracking verified. |
| Pre-Dashain buying | 1 to 10 October | Peak commercial intent. Highest budget. Clothing, electronics, gifts. |
| Dashain begins | 11 October, Ghatasthapana | Buying continues but shifts toward last-minute and food. |
| Tika week | Around 21 October | Attention collapses. Reduce spend rather than fight for it. |
| Between festivals | 26 October to 7 November | Recovery window. Good for remarketing to people who browsed and did not buy. |
| Tihar | 8 to 11 November | Second peak. Lights, sweets, gifts, home goods. |
| Post-festival | 12 November onward | Clearance, and the best two weeks of the year to collect reviews. |
What to do in September, before anything runs
- Verify conversion tracking end to end. Place a test order. If tracking is broken through the busiest six weeks of the year, you lose both the revenue attribution and the data your bidding needs.
- Confirm stock and delivery windows. Advertising a product you cannot deliver before Tika produces refunds and one-star reviews that outlast the season.
- Build the landing pages now. A festival collection page live and indexed in September will be ranking by the time demand arrives. A page published on 10 October will not.
- Produce creative in batches. Five concepts, not one. You will need replacements when frequency climbs.
- Warm up the ad account. If it has been idle, run a modest budget for two weeks so campaigns are not learning from zero when spend increases.
- Set Google Business Profile special hours for both festival periods.
- Top up your ad payment card. A failed threshold charge on 8 October is an expensive way to learn about prepaid balances.
How to phase the budget
Rather than a flat daily budget across six weeks, weight it to where intent actually is:
- Heaviest during the pre-Dashain window. People are shopping, and competitors have not yet raised bids.
- Taper as Tika approaches. Attention moves to family, travel and food, and cost per acquisition rises for the same creative.
- Near-zero during Tika week, unless you sell something people buy that week specifically.
- Resume for the inter-festival window, focused on remarketing rather than prospecting.
- Second peak for Tihar, smaller than Dashain for most categories but with distinct products.
The rupees you do not spend during Tika week are the rupees that fund a stronger pre-Dashain push.
What sells when
- Pre-Dashain: clothing, footwear, electronics, home appliances, gifts, jewellery. Decisions made weeks ahead.
- Late Dashain: food, last-minute gifts, travel and transport, anything with same-day fulfilment.
- Tihar: lights, decoration, sweets, home goods, gifts for siblings.
- Post-festival: clearance, and services people postponed through the festival period.
Creative that works in a festival window
- Show the deadline. “Order by 8 October for delivery before Tika” converts better than a percentage discount, because the constraint is real and it is time.
- Use festival imagery you actually own. Generic imported stock reads as imported and does not land the same way here.
- Lead with the offer, not the greeting. Every brand posts a Dashain greeting. Almost none give a reason to buy.
- Keep the discount honest. Inflated before-prices are visible to customers who have been browsing for weeks.
The logistics reality
Delivery capacity in Nepal tightens sharply through the festival window, and much of the country slows or stops around Tika. Set delivery expectations in the ad, not after checkout. A customer told the truth about a slow delivery is not an angry customer; a customer who found out at the door is.
Publish your last-order dates prominently, and stop advertising products you cannot deliver in time rather than taking the order and apologising later.
The week after: the part everyone skips
The two weeks after Tihar are the best window of the year to ask for reviews. Customers have just received something, the transaction is fresh, and goodwill is high. A festival season that produces forty genuine Google reviews compounds into local visibility for the entire following year.
- Export the audience of everyone who purchased, for next year’s campaign.
- Record which creative and which offer performed, with numbers, so next September starts from evidence.
- Note the dates when performance turned. The Nepali calendar shifts each year; the shape of the curve does not.
Frequently asked questions
When should a Nepali online store start its Dashain campaign?
Creative and landing pages should be finished by the end of September, with spend ramping from the first week of October. Starting when Dashain starts means your campaigns are still learning through the highest-intent days of the year.
When is Dashain in 2026?
Dashain runs 11 to 25 October 2026, with Ghatasthapana on 11 October and Tika, the main day, on Wednesday 21 October. Tihar follows on 8 to 11 November, with Bhai Tika on 11 November.
Should I keep advertising during Tika?
For most categories, no. Attention moves to family and travel, and cost per acquisition rises for the same creative. Reduce spend through Tika week and redirect that budget to the pre-Dashain window where intent is highest.
What performs better during Dashain, discounts or delivery deadlines?
Delivery deadlines, in most categories. “Order by this date for delivery before Tika” is a real constraint everyone understands, while a percentage discount is one of many competing for the same attention.
What should I do after the festivals end?
Ask every customer for a review while the transaction is fresh, export your purchaser audience for next year, and record which creative and offer worked with actual numbers. Post-festival is the cheapest time of year to build assets that pay off in the next one.
Sources
- Dashami (Dashain) in Nepal – timeanddate.com
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google – Google Business Profile Help