6 Festivals You Can Enjoy In Ladakh

Although we might look at Jammu and Kashmir as one region with similar traditions and culture but these two have a lot of traditional and cultural differences between these regions. Also, these traditions are pretty different than what we see all over India. The traditions of a region are predominantly decided by the people that live in that region.

In Ladakh, the majority of people belong to the Buddhist religion. So we can see a similarity between the traditions of Ladakh and Tibet, Bhutan or even China for that matter.

If you wish to see the tradition and culture of Ladakh at its best, visit Ladakh during one of its festivals. Here is a list of some popular festivals in Ladakh. Please note these festivals follow the Tibetian calendar the dates may vary.

# Hemis Festival

Celebrated in the Hemis Monastery, Hemis Festival is celebrated in the fifth month of Tibetian Lunar Calender. It is celebrated on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Padmasambhava. It is celebrated as a day of triumph of good over evil. The Hemis festival is celebrated since the establishment of Hemis Monastery, about 100 years ago. Chams or the dance of the Lamas is the main highlight of the festival. In the dance, the Lamas dress in bright colored traditional dress and having adorning masks. The performances are based on themes of evil and good. According to the Gregorian calendar, the festival is celebrated at the end of June.

# Losar Festival

Losar Festival is the New Year Celebration of the Ladakhi Tradition. “Lo” means year and “Sar” means new. It is celebrated all over Ladakh in every house and monastery. It is celebrated by offering food to the deities. All over the Ladakh, people started buying new clothes and cleaning houses a month before the festival start. It marks the start of the new Tibetian Lunar year. It takes place for 15 days where the first three days are the most prominent. The Losar Festival is known to have started even before the arrival of Buddhism, before 17th AD. It is celebrated towards the end of December and beginning of January.

# Spitok Gustor

Spitok Gustor is the winter festival of Ladakh. It takes place in the eleventh month of the Tibetian Calender. Gustor means sacrifice; it is a traditional ritual of Buddhist Monasteries. The Spitok Gustor festival takes place in the Spitok Monastery of Ladakh. People celebrate this festival by performing traditional dances and preparing traditional food. The festival is celebrated for world peace. The symbols of evil, a statue, or a dummy figure are burnt as a way to ensure peace and well being of the people.

# Dosmoche Festival

Dosmoche festival is celebrated in Likir and Diskit Monastery. It takes place just around the Losar festival. It also is one of the new year festivals just like Losar. It was started by the Royals of the Ladakh as a way to celebrate after King Gongdup won the battle against the invaders of Nyungti. The festival has an interesting ritual, where they makeup idols of wheat and burns them as a symbol of burning of evil. The Dosmoche festival is celebrated between the months of January and March according to Gregorian Calendar.

# Stok Guru Tsechu festival

Aside from the captivating valleys and amazing mountain limits in the North, Ladakh is additionally known for the celebrations held per year. One of the significant celebrations among them is Stok Guru Tsechu Festival in Ladakh. According to the Tibetan calendar, it starts on the ninth and tenth day of the first month of the year. The seat of the Ladakhi royals, which is around 20 km toward the South of Leh, is the main spot from where the festival begins. Masked dances are the specialty of this festival.

# Saka Dawa Festival

Saka Dawa or Saga Dawa is celebrated in the fourth month of Tibetian Lunar Calender and the June of Gregorian Calendar. It is celebrated as on this day it is believed that Buddha had attained enlightenment. It is the holiest festival in Ladakh. “Saka ” star and “Dawa” means Lunar.