Festival Tours in Bhutan
Plan your journey to visit Bhutan to coincide with one of the vibrant religious festivals, known as “tshechu.” Tshechus are celebrated to honor Guru Rimpoche, the precious teacher. This Indian saint spread tantric Buddhism throughout the Himalayas. Invariably, the tshechu is celebrated on the 10th 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 peak tourist times. However, every region and every village holds its own tshechu at different times of the year. Many colorful festivals take place in Punakha, already warm in the early spring, Wangdi in the autumn, and Trongsa in the middle of winter.
In the festival tours in Bhutan, we have festivals like Paro tshechu Festival, Punakha Tsechu, Trongsa Lhuntse Tshechu, Bhumthang Tangbi, and many more. Similarly, the festivities consist mainly of masked dances, chanting, blessings, 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 “tshechu”; only the settings are different.
The events take place both outside and inside the Dzongs. Thronging with locals, these occasions are a visual delight for all to experience. The climax of the festivals is the unfurling of a huge silk appliqué “thangka” from the top of the building. This takes place on the final day of the festival. The Punakha Dromchoe, which is celebrated either before or after the Tsechu, is performed to commemorate the victory over the Tibetans when they invaded in the 17th century.
Other festivals offered by Ace the Himalaya are listed down below:
