CELEBRATE AND FEATHER
The annual calendar of tibetans is a lunisolaire, and counts twelve lunar months. This calendar is the guiding principle for the many annual festivals celebrated in Tibet. Most of them have a spiritual foundation, but also local traditions and customs are cause for a festival. The most important thing is Losar- when the country locks its doors - after a period in which the houses are polished and feasts prepared - singing, dancing and playing music to celebrate the new year.
Another great feast is the Shoton festival,also known as the yoghurt festival. Every August the end of the meditation period of the monks is celebrated with dramatic operas, jakraces, horse racing, dance and... eating yogurt. It takes place in Lhasa and unlike Losar is accessible to travellers.
The Thangka festival has been of great importance to Tibetan Buddhists for 500 years. During the three days it lasts, a Thangka - a Buddhist effigy on a giant canvas - is unveiled and worshipped by the Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse.
Ongkor is a meaningful festival that heralds the end of summer and celebrates the hope of a good harvest. During this feast you can give your ears and eyes a living; it is celebrated with traditional Tibetan attire, singing, dance, horse racing and archery.
Equestrian enthusiasts visit Tibet in July and August. Then there will be days-long horse festivals with horse racing in Gyantse and Nagqu and there will be extensive singing, dancing, eating and drinking.
Contact us to have your trip through Tibet custom-made so that we can tailor your program to the festivals you'd like to attend.