Bhutan festivals 2026 — full calendar
Bhutanese festivals follow the lunar calendar, so exact dates shift year-to-year. This calendar uses the Department of Tourism's best-effort 2026 dates — always reconfirm with your operator 3-4 weeks before travel.
Feb
1 festivalMar
2 festivalsParo Tshechu
One of Bhutan's largest and most photographed festivals. Five days of masked cham dances in the Paro Dzong courtyard honouring Guru Rinpoche. Climaxes at dawn on the final day with the unveiling of the Thongdrel — a 35m silk appliqué thangka.
Punakha Drubchen & Tshechu
A back-to-back double festival at the spectacular Punakha Dzong. The Drubchen re-enacts the 17th-century victory over Tibetan invaders — a rare religious-cum-historical drama. Followed immediately by the regular Punakha Tshechu.
Apr
1 festivalJul
1 festivalAug
1 festivalSep
2 festivalsThimphu Tshechu
The biggest festival by audience, held in the capital's Tashichho Dzong courtyard over 3 days. Draws thousands of locals in traditional dress plus international visitors. Features unique boen-cham (sorcerer dances) not performed elsewhere.
Wangdue Phodrang Tshechu
A mid-sized regional festival at the newly rebuilt Wangdue Phodrang Dzong (destroyed by fire in 2012, reopened 2022). Three days of traditional cham dances with a fraction of the crowds of Thimphu.
Oct
3 festivalsThimphu Tshechu
The biggest festival by audience, held in the capital's Tashichho Dzong courtyard over 3 days. Draws thousands of locals in traditional dress plus international visitors. Features unique boen-cham (sorcerer dances) not performed elsewhere.
Jambay Lhakhang Drup
One of Bhutan's most unusual festivals at a 7th-century temple. Famous for the Tercham (the Fire Dance) performed at midnight by naked dancers to bless barren couples — a ritual few foreigners witness elsewhere.
Wangdue Phodrang Tshechu
A mid-sized regional festival at the newly rebuilt Wangdue Phodrang Dzong (destroyed by fire in 2012, reopened 2022). Three days of traditional cham dances with a fraction of the crowds of Thimphu.
Nov
2 festivalsBlack-Necked Crane Festival
A one-day conservation festival at Gangtey Goemba celebrating the arrival of the endangered black-necked cranes from Tibet. Schoolchildren perform the crane dance dressed as the birds; a traditional cham is also performed.
Jambay Lhakhang Drup
One of Bhutan's most unusual festivals at a 7th-century temple. Famous for the Tercham (the Fire Dance) performed at midnight by naked dancers to bless barren couples — a ritual few foreigners witness elsewhere.
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