Bisket Jatra Chariot Festival - Bhaktapur

Celebrating the Nepali New Year, Bisket Jatra is one of the best festivals held in Nepal, and definitely something to see if you’re in the area at this time of year.

A huge tug o’ war contest takes place between people from the east and west side of the town, and a massive chariot is pulled through the city to the Khalna Tole. Here, a massive 25-metre lingam (a traditional phallic symbol) is set up in the stony yoni, a symbol of female genitalia. In the evening of the following day, the pole is pulled down during another violent tug o’ war, and when the pole comes crashing down, the New Year is officially under way.