Darjeeling, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal
Buddhist, Hindu and Newar festivals follow lunar calendars, so most move by a few weeks from one year to the next. This is the year in outline, with the dates that have been published.
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January and February
Around 14 January, a fair on the bank of the Rangeet at Jorethang, held every year since 1961. Losar usually falls in February or early March, and in late February the tea gardens wake and plucking starts again.
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March
Paro Tshechu brings five days of masked dances, usually in March or early April; 2027 is published as 18 to 22 March, though operators disagree. At Tashiding, Bumchu reads the coming year's fortune from a vase of water.
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April
Tree rhododendrons open from mid March at Barsey and usually peak there by late April, and Dochu La's forest turns red and pink in April. Around 14 April, Bhaktapur pulls a chariot in a tug of war for Bisket Jatra.
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May and June
May and June bring the coppery second flush. Saga Dawa's full moon, usually late May or June, marks the Buddha's birth, awakening and passing in Gangtok. West Bengal's parks close from 16 June to 15 September.
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July to September
The gardens pluck through the rains. Sikkim honors Kanchenjunga at Pang Lhabsol in late August or September. Indra Jatra's main day in Kathmandu falls on 14 September in 2027, and Thimphu Tshechu usually comes in September or early October.
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October
Dashain runs fifteen days and ends at the full moon; in 2026 its tika day fell on 21 October. From mid October to mid December the range stands clear on most mornings, and the autumn flush is plucked.
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November
Tihar runs from 7 to 11 November in 2026, with Laxmi Puja, the plains' Diwali, on 8 November. On 11 November every year, Gangtey Goenpa holds its Black-necked Crane Festival, when schoolchildren dance as cranes.
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December
Sikkim keeps Losoong from 9 to 13 December 2026, after the Kagyed masked dances. Dochu La holds the Druk Wangyel festival on 13 December. Then carols in English and Nepali, and Yomari Punhi in the Kathmandu valley on 24 December.
Photo: Truly Bhutan / Unsplash
Planning around a date
Where a date is published it is given here; otherwise only the month it usually falls in. Each year's dates are checked before days are built around a festival, so the place to start is the weeks you can travel.
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