Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guru Rinpoche's Birthday
Held on the 10th day of the sixth lunar month, this festival is particularly popular in Ny-
ingmapa monasteries.
Ganden Festival
On the 15th day of the sixth lunar month, Ganden Monastery displays its 25 holiest relics,
which are normally locked away. A large offering ceremony accompanies the unveiling.
Drepung Festival
The 30th day of the sixth lunar month is celebrated with the hanging at dawn of a huge
thangka at Drepung Monastery. Lamas and monks perform opera in the main courtyard.
August
The warm weather combined with some major festivals and horse racing on
the northern plateau makes this one of the most popular times to visit. Tibet
sees half of its (minimal) rainfall in July and August.
Shötun (Yoghurt Festival)
This major festival in the first week of the seventh lunar month starts with the dramatic un-
veiling of a giant thangka at Drepung Monastery before moving to Sera and then down to
the Norbulingka for performances of
lhamo
(Tibetan opera) and some epic picnics.
Horse-Racing Festival
Thousands of nomads head to summer pastures around Damxung and Nam-tso for a week
of horse racing, archery and other traditional nomad sports. A similar and even larger
event is held in Nagchu a few weeks earlier.
Bathing Festival
The end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth lunar months sees locals washing away
the grime of the previous year in an act of purification that coincides with the weeklong
appearance of the constellation Pleiades in the night sky.
