Ladakh Festivals Calendar

Most of the festival events in Ladakh are the annual monastic festivals. Among non-monastic events count the Losar or New Year celebrations and the notable Ladakh Festival organized by the Kashmir and Jammu government. The monastic festivals are dance-dramas in the gompa courtyards. The performers are the lamas, the monks themselves. Wearing colorful garments and often frightful, at times comic masks, the monks perform mimes representing various aspects of the religion, be it the progress of the individual soul and its purification or the triumph of good over evil. The events draw spectators from among the local populace, from near and far, in great numbers for attending these auspicious events promises spiritual benefits aside the enjoyment of the party atmosphere. Huge crowds that gather heighten the sense of the occasion. Most monastic festivals are two-day events. Losar celebrations take close to one month and the Ladakh Festival is a two-week event. Our tours are designed around the dates of these unique events, bringing you the first hand experience of their festive atmosphere and thus broadening your insight into the cultural heritage of Ladakh.