Bhutan Festivals and Dates

Almost every district of Bhutan holds a religious festival each year, at its dzong or at a temple. Most are called tshechu. Over several days monks and laymen perform masked dances in the courtyard, with folk dances between them, and people come from the whole valley in their best clothes.

A festival is the one occasion in Bhutan when a visitor is part of a crowd. It is also the best single reason to choose one week over another.

Dates for 2027

These dates are from the official list of festival dates, which is marked tentative. Festivals follow the lunar calendar, and a date can move. We read the list on 3 October 2026. Check with us before you book a flight around any of them.

Festival	Where	Dates in 2027
Punakha Drubchen	Punakha Dzong	13 to 15 February
Punakha Tshechu	Punakha Dzong	16 to 18 February
Paro Tshechu	Rinpung Dzong, Paro	18 to 22 March
Ura Yakchoe	Ura, Bumthang	18 to 22 April
Rhododendron Festival	Lamperi, near Dochu La	22 to 23 April
Nimalung Tshechu	Bumthang	12 to 14 June
Kurjey Tshechu	Kurjey Lhakhang, Bumthang	14 June
Thimphu Drubchen	Tashichho Dzong	5 October
Wangdue Tshechu	Wangdue Phodrang	8 to 10 October
Thimphu Tshechu	Tashichho Dzong	10 to 12 October
Gangtey Tshechu	Gangtey Goenpa, Phobjikha	13 to 15 October
Jomolhari Mountain Festival	At the foot of Jomolhari	14 to 15 October
Jakar Tshechu	Jakar, Bumthang	6 to 9 November
Black-Necked Crane Festival	Gangtey Goenpa, Phobjikha	11 November
Jambay Lhakhang Drup	Jambay Lhakhang, Bumthang	14 to 17 November
Trashigang Tshechu	Trashigang	7 to 9 December
Druk Wangyel Tshechu	Dochu La	13 December

Still to come in 2026: the Jambay Lhakhang Drup on 26 to 29 October and the Black-Necked Crane Festival on 11 November.

How to choose

Paro Tshechu

Five days at Rinpung Dzong and the ground beside it, and the best known festival in the country. Before dawn on the last day a very large appliqué image of Guru Rinpoche, the thongdrel, is unrolled, and it is taken down again before the sun reaches it. Paro's hotels fill early for these days.

Thimphu Tshechu

Three days at Tashichho Dzong in the capital, in the clear weather of early October. The Thimphu Drubchen is held a few days before it.

Punakha Drubchen and Tshechu

Two festivals back to back at Punakha Dzong in February, when the valley is mild and the rest of the country is cold. The Drubchen recalls a seventeenth-century victory over an invading Tibetan army, with local men dressed as the warriors of the time.

Jambay Lhakhang Drup

At one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, in the Bumthang valley, in November. It is known for a fire blessing and for a masked dance held at midnight.

Black-Necked Crane Festival

A single day, 11 November every year, in the courtyard of Gangtey Goenpa, with dances by the valley's schoolchildren to welcome the cranes back for the winter.

At the festival

• Dress as you would for any dzong: long sleeves, long trousers or a long skirt, and no hat inside.
• Keep out of the dance ground.
• Ask before you photograph anyone close up, and take no photographs inside the temples.
• Expect an early start on the morning of a thongdrel, and bring something warm.

Planning around a festival

Our festival tours are built around the main days of each festival, with the usual sights before and after. Any other itinerary can be moved to meet a festival that falls on your route: tell us your dates and we will tell you what is on.