Home :: Ladakh Holidays :: Ladakh Fairs and Festivals

The magnificent monastries of Ladakh are the very essence of its culture, the repositories of all its treasures of Buddhist art, the focus of festivity. The centuries old culture of Ladakh has found expression in its monuments, Gompas oral literature, art forms, fairs and festivals, thus reflecting the strong hold religion has in the lives of the Ladakhis. Many of the annual festivals of the gompas take place in winter, a relatively idle time for the majority of the people. They take the form of dance-dramas in the gompa courtyards.

The monastic festivals are brilliant spectacles of colour, of song and dance that revitalize the spirit of the people. Cham, the srecret masked dance is performed on these occassions by monks resplendent in brocade robes and vivid masks. Long horns are blown, cymbals clash and the dancers bring alive stories from the Buddhist epics. Many of these festivals occur in the winter months and live a long hard season.

Lamas, robed in colourful garments and wearing often startlingly frightful masks, perform mimes representing various aspects of the religion such as the progress of the individual soul and its purification or the triumph of good over evil. Local people flock from near and far to these events, and the spiritual benefits they get are no doubt heightened by their enjoyment of the party atmosphere, with crowds of women and men, the opportunity to make new friendships and renew old ones, the general bustle and sense of occasion.

Hemis Festival
The 10th day (Tse-Chu) of the Tibetan lunar month is celebrated as the birthday of Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche), the founder of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Hemis Monastery celebrates this event in the form of a 2-day festival. Its resident Lamas perform sacred masked dances leading to the destruction of the sacrificial offerings. Masks worn by the lamas represent various guardian divinities of the Dugpa order, of which Hemis is the leading establishment in Ladakh.

This 200 year-old tradition was introduced by a member of Ladakh’s ruling family who was reincarnated in the 18th century as the monastery’s Head Lama, “Sras Rimpoche”. The Hemis dances are a re-enactment of the magical feasts of Padmasambhava, in his services to the cause of Buddhism in his eight different manifestations.

The festival takes an auspicious turn every 12 years in the Tibetan Year of the Monkey, when the two-storey high Thanka’ depicting Padmasambhava is displayed. This famous Thanka, richly embroidered with pearls and semi-precious stones, is due to be displayed nest in AD 2004.

As the Hemis festival is held during the peak summer season, it attracts the largest number of people from within and outside Ladakh.

Dasmochhe
This is the most popular festival of Ladakh on the occasion of which a fair is also held. Dasmochhe is celebrated on the 28th and 29th days of the twelfth Bodhi month, with the main celebrations being held at Leh. In the past, the Raja used to bear most of the expenses of the festivities.

Many dances are held on both these days, staged alternatively by lamas of the Matho and Gaun and Phyang gompas. People from all over Ladakh come to Leh for Dasmochhe. Horse racing takes place towards the end of the festivities and may continue for a few days after this festival.
In the past, when Ladakh was an independent kingdom, the Raja held a Durbar (court) on Dasmochhe.

Losar
The Buddhists of Ladakh celebrate Losar as their new year. Before the rule of Jamiang Namgyal (1555-1610), this day was considered to be the first day of the Ladakhi Buddhist year, which is based on the moon and sun similar to that of the Hindus.

However, Losar was advanced by two days as Jamiang Namgyal decided to invade Skardu before the new year. Since then, Losar is celebrated on the last two days of the 10th Bodhi month, which coincides with December of the Christian calender.

Losar is celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervor. The festivities include illuminations, drinking, dancing, singing and general merry-making. Men come out of their homes with torches of wood which are whirled round and round. People visit each other's homes during these celebrations, which continue for many days.

Sindhu Darshan
Sindhu Darshan Festival, as the name suggests, is a celebration of river Sindhu, also known as the Indus. People travel for a Darshan and Puja of the River Sindhu (Indus) which originates from the Mansarovar in Tibet. The Festival aims at projecting the Sindhu river as a symbol of multi-dimensional cultural identity, communal harmony and peaceful co-existence in India. Whilst promoting tourism in this area, this festival is also a symbolic salute to the brave soldiers of India who have valiantly fought the odds at Siachen, Kargil and other places.

It is also an opportunity for people from around the country and overseas to visit the beautiful regions of Leh and Ladakh. Celebrated first time in the year 1997, the festival is organised annually at Leh in the month of May-June by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir with the support of the Ministry of tourism and culture, Government of India. The festival is kaleidoscope of Indian culture and showcases an exciting array of performing arts being brought together at an exciting place. As part of the celebrations, various groups from different states in India bring water from the other mighty rivers in the country in earthen pots and immerse these pots in the Sindhu river, thereby mingling the river water with other waters of the land.

Matho Festival
Matho celebrates two significant festivals during the winter months: Nagrang festival of two-day (usually in February at the Tibetan New Year) and Nispetsergyat of one-day (usually in March). Both these festivals are accompanied by masked dances.

Thiksey Festival
Thiksey gustor (festival) is held from 17th to 19th day of the 12th month, main attraction is the trade fair held at the gompa's base at the same time. Villagers from all over Ladakh gather to eat, play cards, drink, barter trade items and generally socialize in a sprawling area below the gompa. In addition, all sorts of tea stalls, sweet sellers and refreshment stands are located in this area and on the footpath leading up to the gompa.

Shey Festival
In the month of summer two festivals are celebrated at Shey. The Metukba festival comes in July & lasts for one day and consists of prayers for the well being of all life on earth. The Shey Shublas festival comes during August, the Shey oracle, who is a layman from the Shey area, stays at the Tuba gompa where he engages in a two to three day prayer in order to be possessed and become an oracle.

Taktak and Chimrey Anchuk
The Taktak and Chimrey Anchuk gompas of the Nigmpa sect celebrate this festival on the 29th and 30th days of the ninth Bodhi month, every year at Taktak and in alternate years in the Hemis and Chimrey gompas.

Thousands of people gather together on this occasion and the lamas perform tantrik dances wearing masks of the different deities who are invoked.

These dances depict the struggle between good and evil, in which the former emerges victorious.Mystical rites may be conducted for warding off natural calamities like famines and earthquakes.

Ladakh Festival
Ladakh Festival is organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourist Office in the month of September. It brings forward the region's folk dances, art and craft, sporting events and rituals in Ladakh. The Ladakh Festival is a great tourist event and there is greater participation of local communities. The main objective of the Ladakh Festival is to revive and promote the richness, depth and pageantry of Ladakh's centuries-old culture, traditions and folk heritage for world-wide appreciation and enjoyment.