Holi, or Phagu Purnima, the Hindu festival of colors, is being celebrated with great fanfare in the hilly regions of the country including the Kathmandu Valley on Thursday.
Youths have gathered at Basantapur of Kathmandu to celebrate the festival. The Holi revelers also include many foreigners.
Special cultural shows have been organized in Basantapur, Tundikhel, Durbar Marg, and other places of Kathmandu for Holi.
The festival signifies the victory of good over evil and also marks the arrival of spring, which is why it is also known as Basanta Utsav.
Traditionally, Holi is celebrated by smearing each other with colored powders and splashing colored water on each other.
In recent years, the trend of throwing colors and water balloons at unsuspecting pedestrians on the streets is gradually decreasing.
This year, 75 traffic checkpoints have been set up in the Kathmandu Valley during Holi.
Vehicles found violating traffic rules are being impounded.
More than 2,700 police personnel have been deployed in Kathmandu to maintain peace and security during Holi.
The Tarai region of Nepal celebrates Holi on Friday.
