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Tibetan Buddhism has a history of over 1300 years in Tibet, and has integrated into all aspects of Tibetan lives. Tibetan Buddhism exerted great influence on Tibetan festivals and endowed them with rich religious characters, and some of them even evolved completely into religious festivals. Probably because of the harsh natural environment, or because of all kinds of burdensome works, Tibetan people living on the snow-covered plateau pray for Heaven’s love and Buddha’s protection. Festivals offer them an occasion to pray to Heaven, Buddha and the Nature.
The Tibetan ethnic group has a lot of festivals. There is a festival almost in each month according to Tibetan calendar. In the festive environment of festivals, people enjoy themselves while pleasing the gods. Please read the following passage to have a look at the Tibetan festivals that should not be missed.
Part 1. Tibet Festivals in Spring
Part 2. Tibet Festivals in Summer
Part 3. Tibet Festivals in Autumn
Part 4. Tibet Festivals in Winter
Spring marks the beginning of the tourism season in Tibet, and it is also one of the best periods of time to visit Tibet. With the elapsing of cold winter, the temperature in Tibet starts to go up and the weather becomes friendly to tourists. Here is a list of the main Tibetan festivals in spring, and you could add them to your travel plan.
Tibet Festival - Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival
| Festivals | Details | Tibetan Lunar Time | Calendar Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival | The peach blossom blooms all over the mountains of Nyingchi, stretching to the valleys. | March to April | |
| Sakyamuni’s Birthday | A large amount of pilgrims visited Lhasa and other sacred places in Tibet. | 7th April | May |
For people afraid of heat, Tibet is a good place to avoid summer heat. The temperature here in summer usually stays below 30 degrees. Tourism in Tibet reaches its peak in summer. If you enjoy the hustle and bustle of life, you could choose to enter Tibet in July and August.
Tibet Festival - Horse Racing Festival
| Festivals | Details | Tibetan Lunar Time | Calendar Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saga Dawa Festival | It celebrates the day on which Sakyamuni attained satori and arrived at nirvana. A large amount of pilgrims walk across Linkuo street in Lhasa and visit Mount Kailash. | Apr 15 | May to June |
| Zhanfo Festival | Huge Thangka would hang out there for pilgrims to appreciate. | May 14-16 | June to July |
| Zamling Chisang（Linka Festival） | People get dressed up and gather in groups heading for the lush and green gardens and grasslands to celebrate the traditional festival. | May 15 | July |
| Gyantse Horse Racing Festival | It is the traditional Dama Festival of Gyantse people in Shigatse. It means horse racing and archery in Tibetan language. | July | |
| Sho Dun Festival | It is one of the grandest festivals of the largest scale and richest contents in summer. Sho Dun means yogurt banquet. | 30 Jun | August |
| Nagqu Horse Racing Festival | Nagque horse racing festival means “Daqiong” in Tibetan language. It is a grand traditional festival in North Tibet. | August |
When autumn comes, Tibet is dressed up with the clothes of autumn, bright in colour and beautiful in scenery, making it suitable for travelling. There are some traditional Tibetan festivals in autumn that worth exploring.
Tibet Festival - Wangguo Festival
| Festival | Details | Tibetan Lunar Time | Calendar Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bathing Festival | The melting water from high mountains flows through mountain creeks and hillsides abundant in precious herbs such as “snow lotus”. The active ingredients of these herbs integrate into the crystal clear thawing water, making it the natural bathing water for cleaning, sterilizing and health care. | 6-12 July | Sept |
| Wangguo Festival | It is the festival for Tibetan peasants to celebrate the harvest. | End of July | End of Sept |
| Buddha's Descending Festival | All temples of Tibetan Buddhism hold Buddhist activities to welcome Buddha’s descending, promote Dharma and take across sentient beings universally. | 22 Sept | Nov |
Tibet in winter is the genuine Tibet. Compared with tourism seasons, there is no hustle and bustle in Tibet in winter. Tourists could enjoy the scenery more comfortably and pleasantly. When visiting the lakes, you do not have to wait in line for the best spot for photographing and you do not have to wait for a long time for dinner. In addition, besides Sho Dun Festival in summer, Losar in winter is the most popular festival in Tibet.
Tibetan Festival - Losar
| Festivals | Details | Tibetan Lunar Time | Calendar Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palden Lhamo Day | Females are particularly interested in this festival and call it “Fairy Festival”. They would be dressed up deliberately and burn incense and pray in front of the statue of Palden Lhamo. | 15 Oct | December |
| Randeng Festival | All temples of the Gelug school and herdsmen would light up the butter lamp for the whole day and night on the altar or in the scripture hall at home. | 25 Oct | December |
| Losar | It is the grandest festival among Tibetan festivals. On this day people bid farewell to the past year and welcome the new year. | 1 Jan | Jan or Feb |
| Monlam Prayer Festival | It is one of the important festivals for Gelug school temples of Tibetan Buddhism. Monlam means pray and yearning. Yearning for happiness, peace and health. | 4-25 Jan | Feb |
| Butter Lamp Festival | In many residences of Tibetan ethnic group, people would display figures of flowers, birds, fish, worms and human beings made of yak butter of five colours to celebrate the Butter Lamp Festival. | 15 Jan | Feb |
The questions raised by our past customers can help you get a more clear picture about tours to Tibet, read them or tell us your own questions via the form on the right side, our specialists will reply you within 24 hours.
Mr. Ju***
from: 4 Days Lhasa Holy Landmarks ExpressHi, I plan to arrive in Lhasa on the 9th of March in 2020 by train and would like to do a 4 day tour. Unfortunately there are no tours scheduled between January and April, will there be tours added or are there not any planned?
Kind regards
Julian Franz
Answered by
HelenHello Mr. Ju***,
Thanks very much for your inquiry. We currently have no group tour in February and March, if you would like to travel Tibet in these months, we are able to arrange a private tour for you. While there are several confirmed departure date for the group tour in January and April, if your time is flexible, you may consider joining a group tour in April. I will send detailed itinerary to your email, please check it. Warm regards.
Email to Helen about any question or tell us your own questions via the form on the right side
