Dashain Travel Opens — Bus Bookings, Permit Relaxations and Fare Pledges for Returning Families

Partly verified (single aggregator source for most details). Latest verified update: Nepal News Evening Economic Brief, 6 October 2026, and Nepal News headlines of 8 October 2026.

Nepal's festival travel rush is under way. Nepal News reports that nationwide Dashain bus bookings open today, 9 October, that route-permit restrictions are lifted from 11 to 25 October, and that heavy freight trailers remain banned on the Narayangadh–Kathmandu corridor at peak periods. A separate 8 October report says domestic airlines agreed to offer festival-season tickets below approved fares. The Kathmandu Post (8 October) also reports migrant workers returning home after years abroad. For families in the UK planning to travel, the practical risks are congestion and the fragile state of roads after the 26 August Rasuwa floods, including the Prithvi Highway section at Krishnabhir, which reopened to two-way traffic on 17 September but may close in heavy rain (World Bank figures reported by the Post). The UK Foreign Office advises monitoring local media.