2025 Tibetan Festival Calendar
Festivals are lively events that bring together Tibetans from all over the plateau. The more than 100 major and minor festivals that take place throughout the year include horse racing, dancing, singing, praying, and displays of religious artwork.
Below is the schedule for Tibetan Festivals in 2026. If your travel schedule allows, it is worth arranging a trip to Tibet when these festivals are taking place.
| Festivals | Region | Dates (2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tibetan New Year (Losar) | Lhasa/Kham/Amdo | Feb 10th | Lively one to two-week festival celebrating the new year. Most important festival of the year. More info… |
| Monlam Prayer Festival | Lhasa/Kham/Amdo | Feb 13 – Feb 28th | The Great Prayer Festival. Many pilgrims gather at the Jokhang and other monasteries. More info… |
| Butter Lamp Festival | Lhasa/Amdo | Feb 24th | Monks compete in building tall butter sculpture offerings. Commemorates Buddha’s miracle at Sravasti. Fires and lamps are lit. More info… |
| Saga Dawa (The Holiest Religious Festival) | Lhasa/Kham/Amdo | May 23rd | Important month for pilgrims. Birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni. More info… Recommended trip: Saga Dawa Kailash Kora |
| Kalachakra Day and Thangka Unveiling | Lhasa/Shigatse | June 20th – 22nd | A giant thangka painting is hung at many famous monasteries. This day you can practice meditation, recitation of sutras, and take eight Mahayana precepts. More info… |
| Zamling Chisang/Samye Dolde | Lhasa/Samye | June 22nd | Universal Incense Offering Day. Picnic, sing, and dance in the park. Tibetans go to the tops of local mountains to burn incense and hang prayer flags. More info… |
| Thangka Unveiling, Monks Mask Dance, Religious Rituals | Amdo/Kumbum Monastery | May 7th – 8th | Prayers, thangka unveiling, monks’ mask dance. Includes Amitabha Buddha meditation, recitation of sutras, and taking Eight Mahayana Precepts. More info… |
| Choekor Duchen (Great Prayer Festival) | Lhasa | July 9th | Commemorates the day Buddha Shakyamuni first taught the four noble truths in Sarnath, India, and first turned the wheel of the Dharma. More info… |
| Gyantse Horse Racing Festival | Gyantse County | July 20 – 23rd | Horse & yak racing, dancing, singing, and games. This is the biggest festival in Gyantse. More info… |
| Shoton Yogurt Festival | Lhasa | Aug 4th – 11th | Thangka unveiling at Drepung Monastery. Picnics and operas are held in parks, particularly under the trees at Norbulingka park. Bonfires at night. More info… |
| Nagchu Horse Race | Lhasa | Aug 10 – 15th | Horse & yak racing, dancing, singing, and games. More info… |
| Lhabab Dechen | Lhasa | Nov 22nd | Festival observing the descent of Buddha from heaven. More info… |
| Palden Lhamo Festival | Lhasa | Dec 15th | A float of Tibet’s protector deity Palden Lhamo is paraded through the city. More info… |
| Ganden Ngachoe | All Tibet Regions | Dec 25th | Memorial for Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa school. Buddhists light lamps, make offerings, and pray. More info… |
| Ganden Thangka Unveiling | Lhasa/Ganden | July 21st | A giant thangka painting is hung at Ganden Monastery. More info… |
| Jyekundo Horse Festival | Kham – Yushu | July 25 – 30th | The biggest horse and yak racing festival in Tibet. Tibetan people from all over the Kham region come to camp at Batang horse racing grassland, singing, dancing, and enjoying the unique cultural festival. More info… |
| Litang Horse Festival | Kham – Litang | August 1 – 5th | Horse racing, circle dance, fashion shows. More info… |
| Kumbum Monastery Festival | Amdo | July 27th | Prayers, thangka unveiling, monks’ mask dance. Includes Amitabha Buddha meditation, recitation of sutras, and taking Eight Mahayana Precepts. More info… |
| Ngawa Losar / Monlam | Amdo | Feb 6 – 8th | Horseback fashion show, strength contest, giant thangka unveiling. More info… |
| Labrang Losar / Monlam | Amdo | Feb 6 – 9th | Commemorates Buddha’s miracle at Sravasti, thangka unveiling. More info… |
| Repkong Losar / Monlam Prayer Festival | Amdo | Jan 29 – Feb 8th | Commemorates Buddha’s miracle at Sravasti. Includes village tea party, monks’ Cham mask dance, thangka unveiling, and many other activities in Rebkong, Amdo Tibet. More info… |
| Repkong Shaman Festival | Amdo/Rebkong | Aug 5 – 15th | Ritual demon exorcism, village Shamen dancing performance, and Tibetan traditional dress show. More info… |
| Butter Sculpture Arts Exhibition | Amdo Kumbum/Labrang | Feb 8th (evening) | Monks compete in building tall butter sculpture offerings. Commemorates Buddha’s miracle at Sravasti. Fires |
.jpg "amdo monlam festival tour")
