A crowd of shoppers seen at Indrachowk in Kathmandu on Saturday as Nepal's biggest festival, Dashain, approaches. Suryams Upreti/TKP
Nepali traders fear this Dashain season could bring one of the worst business slumps in decades, as natural disasters and political unrest have combined to disrupt imports and weaken consumer confidence.
Dashain, the country's biggest festival, begins on Monday with Ghatasthapana, the first of the 15-day celebrations.
Normally, the period leading up to Dashain is marked by packed marketplaces and record sales of garments, footwear, electronics, and household goods. But this year is a little different, with the supply pipeline collapsing.
For nearly two months, hundreds of containers loaded with festival-targeted goods have been stuck in Tibet after landslides and floods severed Nepal's vital trade routes with China.
At the Rasuwagadhi border crossing, a flash flood from China in July swept away the Miteri Bridge and damaged customs facilities. The alternate Tatopani route has also been blocked by repeated landslides along the Araniko Highway.
China has become a critical supplier for Nepal's festivals, especially for garments and decorative items. But with both Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani shut, traders are left with empty shelves.
"Around 1,500 containers have been stranded in Tibet for the past two months," said Ram Hari Karki, president of the Nepal Trans Himalayan Border Commerce Association. "Not only Dashain goods, even Teej shipments never arrived in Kathmandu."
The impact on markets has been devastating.
"As the goods did not arrive on time, we expect festive business to decline by 90 percent compared to last year's volume," Karki said.
Wholesalers, who typically receive goods from the northern border and distribute them across the country, say the flow has almost completely dried up.
The economic disruption comes at a politically fragile moment. The Generation Z protests in the second week of September toppled the KP Sharma Oli government, leaving an interim administration struggling to restore order.
Dozens of lives were lost in the uprising, thousands of prisoners escaped during the chaos, and consumer sentiment has been badly shaken.
"This time of year the markets would already be crowded, but footfall is lower than expected," said Ganesh Kumar Neupane, former president of the Khichapokhari New Road Traders Association.
"People are mourning, they are insecure, and they are not shopping like they did."
For ordinary Nepalis, the slowdown is visible in empty shelves, rising prices, and subdued markets at a time usually filled with celebration.
The country's most vibrant festive season has instead exposed just how vulnerable Nepal's economy remains to external shocks and domestic unrest.
Economists say the downturn is not limited to retail.
Manufacturing and wholesale trade have also slowed, with factories running below capacity due to raw material shortages.
Tourism, another key sector, has seen mass cancellations of trekking and hotel bookings after the protests deterred prospective travellers from abroad.