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.)
2023 Travel Advisory: Great news! Tibet travel is now open to everyone!
After 3 years of closures, Tibet travel permits are now being processed for all international travelers, no matter if you are traveling from outside China, or if you currently live and work in China.
To travel to Tibet you must have both a Chinese visa and a special Tibet travel permit, which you must get from an official Tibet travel agency. Ask us for an introduction to a reliable Tibetan travel agency here, at no cost to you.
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Yishey Choden says
Thank you so much for continuing to update this. It is very helpful.
Thuje nang!
Su says
Can someone give me the Gregorian date for the 10th day of the 6th Tibetan month?
According to the Gregorian calendar in 1970
David says
Hi do you have Losar dates for 2019 ?
Thank you
yowangdu says
Thanks for asking dates for Losar. I just updated the post.
Jo Earle says
Thank you so much. This gives me a better idea and understanding of the Tibetan holidays and festivals. I would love to attend one of them one day. tu jay chay.
yowangdu says
You are so welcome, Jo! Thank you!
bill Shakespear says
Could you please tell me when is Vesak Day?And is Vesak the same as Saga Dawa?
yowangdu says
Yes, we believe it is the same as Saka Dawa.
SHAKI TSHERING DAS says
thujichay . much appreciate
yowangdu says
You’re so welcome Tsering la!
SHAKI TSHERING DAS says
THUJICHAY
ཀརྨ་མཚོ་མོ says
ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེ་
alaric says
It’s very useful ,thank you
yowangdu says
You are welcome, Alaric!
Yangchen says
Thank you. Your website is often helpful and been following from many years. Life in city keep us away from Tibetan community and its tradition. Tashi Delek.
yowangdu says
Thank you Yangchen!
Tselha says
🙏 Thank you! A very useful website about our Tibetan auspicious days to celebrate!
🙏 Yowangdu la!
don says
thanks, now i know when to fly the tibetan flag 🙂
yowangdu says
You’re welcome!
Jeanell says
When is the Tibetan equivalent to Christmas and what is it called?
yowangdu says
Hi Jeanell,
Sorry we thought we responded. We suppose the closest thing would be Saka Dawa, which you can read about here on the site.
Best to you!
yang says
can you please tell me when is sonam phey losar (farmers new year)in tibetan calender?mm/dd/year?
Yolanda says
Hi Yang. Sorry we don’t have a good answer for this. There are so many sonam losar dates, according to your area. It’s generally based on the planting dates for each area, so this will be different region by region. And we haven’t researched this issue at all. Sorry that we cannot be more helpful.
Alisha says
thanks for the calendar…now it would be easier for me to know the major Tibetan festivals….
Yolanda says
You are so welcome, Alisha! Thanks for writing 🙂
Tenzing says
Thank you for the information, its very helpful to the people around the world. I will appreciate if you could tell me the date of Losar 2014? is that the correct date March 2nd? Thanks and looking forward to your reply Tenzing
yowangdu says
Hi Tenzing,
We believe March 2 is correct, thanks.
yowangdu says
Hi Tenzing,
We believe March 2 is correct 🙂
TMC says
This is soooo helpful! Thank you Yolanda and Lobsang-la!
yowangdu says
You are so welcome!
Bern says
Tashi delek,
I plan to visit Tibet during the Shoton Festival in 2013. However I noticed some webistes state the festive will be held between 10-30 August 2013 and yours is on 4-10 September 2013 of Gregorian Calendar.
Could you please advice. Thank you very much.
Sarva Mangalam,
Bern
yowangdu says
Dear Bern,
So sorry for the delay. We have been trying to find out the answer for you, but no luck so far. We are still trying.
Thanks,
Yolanda and Lobsang
yowangdu says
Thank you so much for calling our attention to this, Bern! There was a mistake on our calendar. We have changed the dates to begin on August 6, 2013. (The 30th day of the 6th month of the Tibetan calendar.) Thank you and sorry about that!
s.r.waybill says
This is very useful!! Thank you.
yowangdu says
You’re welcome!