This is a list of the major holidays in Tibet and for Tibetans around the world. If you want to experience a Tibetan festival or holiday on your trip to Tibet, check the list below, then talk to your Tibet travel agent for details. (For help connecting to a reliable Tibetan agent, ask us for help. )
If you’re planning to visit Tibet, you should also know that no independent travel is allowed and you must work with a travel agency. We advise that you choose a Tibetan-owned agency, which hires Tibetan guides only. The simplest way to do this is ask us to connect you to a reliable Tibetan-owned travel agent. (Note to our Indian friends: Due to government policies our agents in Tibet cannot help Indian nationals going to Kailash.)
2026 Travel Advisory:
• No March closure: Our Lhasa contacts report that the usual annual Tibet Autonomous Region shutdown will not take place in 2026. Tibet is expected to remain open through winter and spring.
• Border update: The Kyirong Nepal–Tibet border reopened in late December 2025, with a temporary bridge.
• Visa update: The special Chinese Group Visa is no longer required for travel from Nepal to Tibet. You can use an individual visa issued from your home country. A Tibet travel permit is still required to be arranged by an official agency.
Need help? We’ll connect you – for free – with an official, Tibetan-owned agency we trust.
Tibetan Holidays in 2026
Losar (Tibetan New Year) February 18, 2026
The largest Tibetan festival. Until recently, Lhasa and the whole T.A.R. were usually restricted from foreign travelers during Losar, but this has been changing. (Check here for a list of closures)
Losar starts on the 1st day of the 1st month of the Tibetan Calendar, and lasts 3 to 15 days. On the eve of New Year’s Eve, the 29th (Nyi shu gu) day of the 12th month, Tibetans eat guthuk with their families. Learn how Tibetans celebrate Losar >>
Saka Dawa May 17 – June 15 [Full moon day = May 31]
A full month — the 4th month of the Tibetan calendar — honoring Shakyamuni Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. One’s deeds are considered multiplied during this time, so Tibetans often give alms to beggars and refrain from eating meat. Learn more about Saka Dawa >>
Zamling Chisang June 29
Universal Prayer Day. In central Tibet, on the 15th day of the fifth month in the Tibetan calendar, Tibetans go to the tops of local mountains to burn incense and hang prayer flags.
Birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama July 6
Tibetans everywhere celebrate His Holiness’ birth date with long life prayers, picnics and cultural performances, always on July 6th of the Western calendar.
Choekhor Duechen July 18
Honoring the day that the Buddha Shakyamuni first taught the four noble truths in Sarnath, India, and first turned the wheel of the dharma. Also called drukpa tse shi, which means the 4th day of the 6th month of the Tibetan calendar.
Shoton (Yogurt) Festival August 12 start
Especially famous at Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, where a huge thangkha (guku) is displayed on the hill next to the monastery and thousands gather to see it and pray before going on to picnic and hear Tibetan opera at the Norbulingka Palace grounds. The celebration starts on the 30th day of the 6th month of the Tibetan calendar and it goes for 7 days. (On the 29th day, there is a ritual dance at Drepung.)
Lha-Bab Duchen November 1
A day of prayer honoring the Buddha Shakyamuni’s descent from the heavenly realms to the earth. It is the 22nd day of the 9th month on the Tibetan calendar.
Ganden Ngachu December 3
Anniversary of the death of the great Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetans make butter lamp offerings at home and in monasteries on the 25th day of the 10th month of the Tibetan calendar.
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