Festivals
Dates to plan around
Masked dances in monastery courtyards, flower seasons, melas and harvest days, month by month.
Many Himalayan festivals follow the lunar calendar, so their dates move each year. We list the usual month and the rule behind the date. Check current status before you travel, and book early: rooms near the big festivals fill months ahead.
3 festivals
January
Photo: Ailiajameel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ladakhi Losar
Ladakh celebrates its new year, Losar, about two months earlier than Tibet, in the eleventh Tibetan month. Families cle…
Photo: Nvvchar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Halda, Lahaul
Halda is Lahaul's winter festival of light. In the coldest weeks of the year, families in the Keylong area carry bundle…
Photo: Kthatapalli · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Torgya at Tawang Monastery
Torgya is Tawang Monastery's winter festival of masked cham dances, held over three days in January to drive away evil …
4 festivals
February
Photo: Goutam1962 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dosmoche
Ladakh's winter festival of the scapegoat, held at Leh Palace in the last days of the Tibetan year. Monks perform maske…
Photo: Himalayanlens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Losar in McLeodganj
Tibetan New Year in the exile capital. Families clean their homes, eat guthuk soup on the eve, fry khapse biscuits and …
Photo: Ailiajameel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Losar in the Darjeeling hills
Losar is the Tibetan new year, kept by Tibetan, Sherpa, Bhutia and other Buddhist families across the hills. Monasterie…
Photo: Santanu Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Losar and the Pemayangtse cham
Losar, the Tibetan new year, is celebrated by Sikkim's Bhutia, Lepcha and other Buddhist communities with family gather…
7 festivals
March
Photo: Aman Sachan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tulip Festival, Srinagar
Each spring the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, about 30 ha at the foot of the Zabarwan range above Dal Lake, bloo…
Photo: Goutam1962 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Dosmoche
Ladakh's winter festival of the scapegoat, held at Leh Palace in the last days of the Tibetan year. Monks perform maske…
Photo: Himalayanlens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Losar in McLeodganj
Tibetan New Year in the exile capital. Families clean their homes, eat guthuk soup on the eve, fry khapse biscuits and …
Photo: FIT-A-PALOOZA · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
International Yoga Festival, Rishikesh
Every March, Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh hosts a week-long International Yoga Festival, with sunrise to evenin…
Photo: Ailiajameel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Losar in the Darjeeling hills
Losar is the Tibetan new year, kept by Tibetan, Sherpa, Bhutia and other Buddhist families across the hills. Monasterie…
Photo: Santanu Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Losar and the Pemayangtse cham
Losar, the Tibetan new year, is celebrated by Sikkim's Bhutia, Lepcha and other Buddhist communities with family gather…
Photo: Nimlham · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Paro Tshechu
Paro's five-day spring festival of masked cham dances at Rinpung Dzong, one of the two biggest tshechus in Bhutan. It e…
4 festivals
April
Photo: Aman Sachan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tulip Festival, Srinagar
Each spring the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, about 30 ha at the foot of the Zabarwan range above Dal Lake, bloo…
Photo: Shivam Kumar 766 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kedarnath kapat opening and closing
Twice a year the doors of Kedarnath change hands between summer and winter. In spring the Panchmukhi doli of Kedarnath …
Photo: Nrik kiran · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Bisket Jatra, Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur's new-year festival runs for about nine days in mid-April. Huge chariots of Bhairav and Bhadrakali are hauled…
Photo: Nimlham · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Paro Tshechu
Paro's five-day spring festival of masked cham dances at Rinpung Dzong, one of the two biggest tshechus in Bhutan. It e…
5 festivals
May
Photo: Shivansh.ganjoo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kheer Bhawani Mela, Tulmulla
The annual mela at the Kheer Bhawani temple in Tulmulla, about 25 km north-east of Srinagar in Ganderbal district, is t…
Photo: Shivam Kumar 766 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kedarnath kapat opening and closing
Twice a year the doors of Kedarnath change hands between summer and winter. In spring the Panchmukhi doli of Kedarnath …
Photo: Anindya2018 (Anindya Moitra) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ganga Dussehra, Rishikesh and Haridwar
Ganga Dussehra marks the day the river Ganga is said to have come down from heaven to earth. In Rishikesh and Haridwar …
Photo: Sumitssot · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tiji Festival, Lo Manthang
Tiji is Upper Mustang's three-day spring festival of masked dances in the walled town of Lo Manthang. Monks of the Saky…
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saga Dawa
Saga Dawa is the holiest month of the Tibetan Buddhist calendar, honouring the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passin…
5 festivals
June
Photo: Shivansh.ganjoo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kheer Bhawani Mela, Tulmulla
The annual mela at the Kheer Bhawani temple in Tulmulla, about 25 km north-east of Srinagar in Ganderbal district, is t…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon Canon EOS REBEL T4i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Hemis Tsechu
Ladakh's best-known monastery festival: two days of masked cham dances in the courtyard of Hemis Monastery, honouring P…
Photo: Pranav perspective · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Key Gompa Chham festival
Once a year the monks of Key Gompa, Spiti's largest monastery, perform the chham masked dance in the courtyard below th…
Photo: Anindya2018 (Anindya Moitra) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ganga Dussehra, Rishikesh and Haridwar
Ganga Dussehra marks the day the river Ganga is said to have come down from heaven to earth. In Rishikesh and Haridwar …
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saga Dawa
Saga Dawa is the holiest month of the Tibetan Buddhist calendar, honouring the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passin…
6 festivals
July
Photo: Gktambe at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Commons
Amarnath Yatra
Each summer, pilgrims walk to the Amarnath cave at 3,888 m to see a natural ice lingam venerated as Shiva. The yatra st…
Photo: Bernard Gagnon Canon EOS REBEL T4i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Hemis Tsechu
Ladakh's best-known monastery festival: two days of masked cham dances in the courtyard of Hemis Monastery, honouring P…
Photo: Kalitgautam · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Minjar Mela, Chamba
Chamba's week-long harvest fair in the monsoon month of Shravan. People wear the minjar, a tassel of silk and gold thre…
Photo: Pranav perspective · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Key Gompa Chham festival
Once a year the monks of Key Gompa, Spiti's largest monastery, perform the chham masked dance in the courtyard below th…
Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from New Delhi, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Jageshwar Shravan festival
During Shravan, the monsoon month sacred to Shiva, Jageshwar's ancient temple valley fills with pilgrims, puja and fair…
Photo: peganum from Small Dole, England · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Harela
Harela, the day of green, marks the start of the monsoon and the sowing season in Kumaon. Families sow five or seven ki…
6 festivals
August
Photo: Gktambe at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Commons
Amarnath Yatra
Each summer, pilgrims walk to the Amarnath cave at 3,888 m to see a natural ice lingam venerated as Shiva. The yatra st…
Photo: Kalitgautam · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Minjar Mela, Chamba
Chamba's week-long harvest fair in the monsoon month of Shravan. People wear the minjar, a tassel of silk and gold thre…
Photo: Rodmantyler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ladarcha fair, Kaza
Ladarcha began as a summer trade fair where traders from Spiti, Ladakh, Kinnaur and Rampur exchanged wool, salt, horses…
Photo: 1v2a3i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nanda Devi Mela, Almora
Kumaon's biggest autumn festival honours the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda. In Almora, images are shaped from banana-tree…
Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from New Delhi, India · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Jageshwar Shravan festival
During Shravan, the monsoon month sacred to Shiva, Jageshwar's ancient temple valley fills with pilgrims, puja and fair…
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pang Lhabsol
Pang Lhabsol is a festival unique to Sikkim that honours Mount Kangchenjunga as the guardian deity of the land. It also…
7 festivals
September
Photo: 1v2a3i · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Nanda Devi Mela, Almora
Kumaon's biggest autumn festival honours the goddesses Nanda and Sunanda. In Almora, images are shaped from banana-tree…
Photo: Manjari Shrestha · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Indra Jatra, Kathmandu
Kathmandu's biggest street festival marks the end of the monsoon. A tall wooden pole is raised outside Hanuman Dhoka, m…
Photo: Jorge Láscar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Dashain in Darjeeling
Dashain is the biggest festival of the Nepali-speaking Gorkha community, and in the Darjeeling hills it is the year's g…
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pang Lhabsol
Pang Lhabsol is a festival unique to Sikkim that honours Mount Kangchenjunga as the guardian deity of the land. It also…
Photo: Kheng Singye Dorji (KSD) · CC0 · Commons
Thimphu Tshechu
The capital's autumn festival at Tashichho Dzong, three days of masked dances preceded by the Thimphu Drubchen. Among B…
Photo: Arun Katiyar from Bangalore, India · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Commons
Ziro Festival of Music
Since 2012, the Ziro Festival of Music has brought independent musicians from northeast India and beyond to an outdoor …
Photo: आर्या जोशी · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Solung, the Adi harvest festival
Solung is the most important festival of the Adi, held from 1 September across the Siang valley. Families make offering…
5 festivals
October
Photo: Himalayaputra · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kullu Dussehra
Kullu's great autumn gathering begins on Vijayadashami, the day Dussehra ends elsewhere in India. For seven days, villa…
Photo: Shivam Kumar 766 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kedarnath kapat opening and closing
Twice a year the doors of Kedarnath change hands between summer and winter. In spring the Panchmukhi doli of Kedarnath …
Photo: Jorge Láscar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Dashain in Darjeeling
Dashain is the biggest festival of the Nepali-speaking Gorkha community, and in the Darjeeling hills it is the year's g…
Photo: Rahul Kumar Shakya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tihar in Kalimpong
Tihar is the five-day Gorkha festival of lights, held around Diwali. Each day honours someone: crows, dogs, cows, then …
Photo: Kheng Singye Dorji (KSD) · CC0 · Commons
Thimphu Tshechu
The capital's autumn festival at Tashichho Dzong, three days of masked dances preceded by the Thimphu Drubchen. Among B…
3 festivals
November
Photo: Shivam Kumar 766 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Kedarnath kapat opening and closing
Twice a year the doors of Kedarnath change hands between summer and winter. In spring the Panchmukhi doli of Kedarnath …
Photo: Rahul Kumar Shakya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Tihar in Kalimpong
Tihar is the five-day Gorkha festival of lights, held around Diwali. Each day honours someone: crows, dogs, cows, then …
Photo: (c) Johannes S., some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Black-necked Crane Festival, Gangtey
A one-day community festival in the courtyard of Gangtey Goenpa in the Phobjikha valley that welcomes the black-necked …
Plan around a festival
How we do it
- We check the dates once the monastery or organisers announce them, often only weeks ahead for lunar dates.
- We book rooms near the venue early and keep a spare night in case the date shifts by a day.
- We brief you on photography and dress rules, which are stricter in monastery courtyards during rituals.
Festival trips
Trips built around the dates
Some of our trips are timed to a festival. See them all, or tell us the one you want.