Ram Nawami

Ram Nawami falls around the first week of April. It is a popular Hindu festival which is celebrated in the ninth day of the Chaitra month of Hindu Lunar year in ‘Shukla Paksha’. This festival is celebrated as Lord Ram’s Birthday. Lord Ram is the 7th reincarnation of Lord Vishnu (one of the three most important gods in Hinduism). His whole life story has been explained in the beloved epic Ramayana. In Hindu religion, it is considered to one of the five mojor sacred festivals and it is said that, properly observing this fast leads to the attainment of salvation.

This festival is especially celebrated with much pomp at Janaki temple in Janakpur city, which lies in Southern Nepal. This festival is celebrated with immense joy and enthusiasm. Many devotees also fast on this occasion. There is a belief that all the devotees who fast on this day are showered with happiness and good luck by Lord Ram. In Kathmandu many people, including the head of the government, go to the temples to pay homage to Ram, while symposiums are held to exalt the ideal life he lived. In Bhaktapur, the neighboring town of Kathmandu, the people go to the banks of the river Hanumante, where a temple bearing the idols of Ram and his loyal servant Hanuman is situated.

Do: visit the Janakpur city and its Janaki temple, or if you want to remain the valley visit the Kathmandu Durbar square and Bhaktapur, Hanumante.