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Plan your visit to Bhutan to coincide with one of the vibrant religious festivals, known as ‘tshechu’. Tshechu are celebrated to honour Guru Rimpoche, the precious teacher. This Indian saint traveled all over the Himalayas and spread tantric Buddhism. Invariably, the tshechu is celebrated on the10th day of the month in the Bhutanese lunar calendar, this being an auspicious date. The most famous festivals are the Paro festival in Spring and the Thimphu festival in Autumn because these are also the peak tourist times. However, every region and every village holds its own tsechu at different times of the year. Other colourful festivals take place in Punakha, already warm in the early Spring, Wangdi in the Autumn and Trongsa in the middle of Winter.
What will I see at the Festivals?
The festivities consist mainly of masked dances, chanting, blessing or reading religious texts aloud and last two or three days. The repertory of masked dances and the gorgeous silk and brocade costumes are the same for all the ‘tsechu’ - only the settings are different. The events take place outside and inside the Dzongs. Thronging with locals, these occasions are a visual delight. The climax of the festivals is the unfurling of a huge silk appliqué ‘thangka’ from the top of the building. In Paro this takes place at dawn on the final day of the festival. The Punakha Dromchoe, which is celebrated either before or after the Tsechu, is performed to commemorate victory over the Tibetans when they invaded in the 17th century.
Festivals in the East
Travelling further east, experience the different flavour of the festivals away from the capital city. Bumthang has several festivals in the summer and autumn months. The Chorten Kora Tsechu is held around the enormous stupa of Chorten Kora in Trashiyangtse during the early spring. It. draws not only the locals but also the people of the isolated Merak Sakteng region of Bhutan and even the people of Arnachul Pradesh, in India, who come dressed in their distinctive traditional attire and set up camp for the duration of the festival. |
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Festival Dates 2011 & 2012 Click Here
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| The tours below are of a sample minimum duration and are specifically timed according to the dates of the various festivals this year. We have not given an itinerary for all the festivals though we can easily provide you with a package that includes any of the festivals. Please note that you can adapt the departure and return dates according to your own schedules. Please do not hesitate to request a tailor-made tour itinerary for the number of days you have available. |
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| Our Featured Festivals |
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PUNAKHA DOMCHOE
8 Days
7 Nights
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CHORTEN CORA
20 Days
19 Nights
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| JAMBAY LHAKANG DRUP WITH BLACK NECKED CRAN |
| About the masked dances. Print a copy for your reference. |
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