Festivals of Leh Ladakh

We all love to travel, explore and learn new things and it is the best feeling when you get to attend the local festivals while on the trip. Festivals show the culture, tradition of the place, their history and various art forms and their beliefs.

Below is the list of festivals in Leh Ladakh. Planning a Leh Ladakh trip, you can take these local festivals into consideration and Can plan your trip accordingly in order to experience the ladakhi tradition and satiating your inner wanderer, both at the same time.

List of Festivals in Leh Ladakh :

There are about 15-20 festivals which people of ladakh celebrate with great zeal, of which about a few falls on our travel season.1

You will experience the Buddhist culture and traditions if you are part of atleast one among the many festivals. Below is details of festivals with their dates and the way of celebration so that you plan your trip to Ladakh accordingly.

29^TH MAY 2018 – SAKA DAWA FESTIVAL
VENUE:  ALL OVER LADAKH
– Saka Dawa marks the birth of Sakyamuni, one of the titles of Lord Buddha. This festival signifies Disu Month of tibetan language and coincides with three main events of Buddha’s life: Birth, Nirvana and Par Nirvana (Death).

12^TH JUNE 2018 – 13^TH JUNE 2018 – YURU KABGYAT FESTIVAL
VENUE: LAMAYURU MONASTERY
– Yuru Kabgyat is a two day festival. Mask dances, prayers and rituals are performed by the monks of the monastery to prevent any kind of disaster and to bring peace in this world.

23^RD JUNE 2018 – 24^TH JUNE 2018 – HEMIS FESTIVAL
VENUE: HEMIS MONASTERY
– It is one of the famous and prime festivals of Leh Ladakh. Hemis begins on the 10^th day of the Tibetan Lunar month in the courtyard of the biggest Buddhist monastery, Hemis Gompa. Hemis festival marks the birth anniversary of Ladakh’s spiritual leader Padmasambhava.

1^st JULY 2018 – 2^ND JULY 2018 – GUSTOR FESTIVAL
VENUE: STONGDAY MONASTERY
– Stongday Gustor festival is celebrated on the 11th month of the Tibetan Calendar i.e. June. One of the grandest and glorious festivals of Ladakh, the main highlight of this festival is the masked dance performed by the lamas.

11^TH JULY 2018 – 12^TH JULY 2018 – KARSHA GUSTOR FESTIVAL
VENUE: KARSHA MONASTERY
– Karsha Gustor is celebrated in remembrance of the victory of good over evil. Black hat dance and masked dance are performed by the monks on this occasion.

25^TH SEPTEMBER 2018 – 28^TH SEPTEMBER 2018 – LADAKH FESTIVAL
VENUE: ALL OVER LADAKH
– The number of cultural troupes from various parts from Ladakh participates in the inaugural ceremony. The performers adorn themselves in traditional ladakhi outfits and display wonderful performances. It takes place lavishly in the city of Leh.

27^TH OCTOBER 2018 – 28^TH OCTOBER 2018 – THIKSEY GUSTOR FESTIVAL
VENUE: THIKSEY
– Early morning prayers are performed during this festival in order to commemorate the victory of good over evil. After the festival comes to an end, Torma (sacrificial cake) is distributed by the leader of the black hat dancers during a ceremony called ‘Argham’.

2^ND DECEMBER 2018 – GALDAN NAMCHOT FESTIVAL
VENUE: ALL OVER LADAKH
– The festival is celebrated as the tribute to Tibetan saint- scholar Tsongkhapa, he preached Buddhism during 14^th century. This festival means the New year celebration in Ladakh that goes on till the Dosmoche festival. Various traditional delicacies are prepared like vegetable and chicken soup or thupkas. They present ‘Khatak’ a traditional ceremony scarf to each other.

8^TH DECEMBER 2018 – LOSAR FESTIVAL
VENUE: ALL OVER LADAKH
– This festival marks as the birth anniversary of Tsogkha pa, founder of Gelukpa School. Losar falls in the 11^th month of Tibetan calendar. Gods, Animals, and Ancestors are fed properly without any delay. A procession of fire (Metho) is organized to ward of evil spirits.

3^RD JANUARY 2019 – 4^TH JANUARY 2019 – SPITUK GUSTOR FESTIVAL
VENUE: SPITUK MONASTERY
– It is an annual winter celebration in Ladakh. It is held in 28^th and 29^th days of the 11^th month of Tibetan calendar. The mask dance, Cham is the highlight in Spituk Gustor. Monks from many monasteries of the world such as Stok, Saboo, Sankar and Spituk gather at the monastery during this festival.

Share this with your friends who are travelling to Leh Ladakh this year. Let us know your views through the comments.

Happy Travelling!