How to reach Himachal from Delhi and Chandigarh — by train, bus and flight
Himachal from Delhi and Chandigarh by road, rail and air: distances and drive times to 16 hubs, the Kalka–Shimla and Kangra Valley trains, and the airports.
ArticleVerified 2026-10-24
Festivals in Ladakh and Kashmir by month — Hemis, Dosmoche, Losar, the Tulip Festival and Kheer Bhawani
Ladakh festivals by month from the Leh district site — Spituk, Dosmoche, Hemis, Thiksey — plus Losar, the Srinagar Tulip Festival and the Kheer Bhawani mela.
Ladakh's monastery festivals are dance-dramas in the courtyards of the gompas, and most of them fall in the cold months when the fields are idle. Kashmir's best-known gatherings follow the flowers and the temple calendar. This guide gives the Ladakh festivals by month from the official Leh district list, which we read on 24 October 2026, and adds the Kashmir festivals that Wikipedia documents. The Leh list gives months and places, not days, so ask the monastery or the district tourism office for the exact dates. We give no date we could not source.
Photos: Harvinder Chandigarh (CC BY 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
January and February
- Spituk Gustor, in January, at Spituk Monastery.
- Dosmochey, in February, at Leh, Likir and Diskit. The district site says people carry out offerings and cast them away or burn them, so that the evil spirits of the old year go with them and the town is ready for the new year.
- Ladakh Ice Climbing Festival, in February, at Leh.
- Ladakh Winter Snow Leopard Festival, in February, at Hemis National Park and Rumbak. See the snow leopards of Hemis.
March and April
- Stok Guru Tsechu, in March, at Stok Palace.
- Mangtho Nagrang, in March, at Mangtho Monastery.
- Shey Rul-lo, in March, at Shey.
- Apricot Blossom Festival, in April, in the central and lower Indus valley, the Sham area.
- Tulip Festival, Srinagar, in spring. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden is the largest tulip garden in Asia, by Wikipedia's account, set on seven terraces below the Zabarwan range with a view of Dal Lake. Read when to visit Srinagar.
Summer: June to August
- Hemis Tsechu, in June by the list, at Hemis Monastery. The district site puts the biggest monastic festival of Ladakh in late June or the first half of July, dedicated to Padmasambhava. Every 12 years the monastery shows a very large thangka.
- Shachukul Kabgyat, in June, at Shachukul Monastery, and Yuru Kabgyat, in June, at Lamayuru.
- Phyang Tsedup, Korzok Gustor and Takthok Tsechu, in July, at the monasteries of the same names. The district site says Phyang shows a giant thangka every year.
- Ladakh Polo Festival, at Chuchot, and Nomadic Festival, in the Changthang, both in July.
- Ladakh Aero Festival, at Sakti, and Ladakh River Festival, at Sangam point, both in August.
- Amarnath yatra, in July and August, from Pahalgam. Wikipedia gives the pilgrimage season as about 45 days, and we give no dates. See when to visit Pahalgam.
September: the Ladakh Festival
The Department of Tourism holds a seven-day Ladakh Festival in September at Leh, to extend the tourist season. The site lists village archery, a polo match, folk dances and the monastic dances. September also has the Buckwheat Festival in the Sham valley, the Ladakh Marathon, a Himalayan Film Festival, the Climate Cup football tournament and Nubra Sports and Adventure.
October and November
- Diskit Gustor, in October, at Diskit Monastery, and the Ladakh Bird Festival, in October, at Tsokar.
- Thiksey Gustor and Chemrey Wangchok, in November, at their monasteries.
December: Losar
The district site says Losar, the Ladakhi new year, falls about the winter solstice, anywhere between 8 and 30 December, and that Buddhist families make offerings to the gods in the monasteries and at home. Wikipedia describes the Tibetan Losar, kept on the first day of the lunisolar year in February or March in Tibet itself, and says its date depends on the place and the tradition. Ask locally which Losar your hosts keep.
Kashmir: the temple fair at Tulmulla
The Kheer Bhawani mela is held at the temple at Tulmulla in Ganderbal, about 25 km north-east of Srinagar, on Jyeshtha Ashtami, so its date varies. Wikipedia says the temple stands over a sacred spring, that most Kashmiri Hindus worship the goddess as their protector, and that only the Amarnath pilgrimage draws a bigger Hindu gathering in the region. The offering is kheer, a milk and rice pudding.
Plan the trip
Read the best time to visit Kashmir and Ladakh, month by month, how to reach them from Delhi, what to eat in Ladakh and in Kashmir. For the Leh festivals, see when to visit Leh and things to do in Leh.
Places to visit
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Enchey Monastery, Gangtok — the "solitary monastery" on the ridge
Shalimar Bagh — the Mughal garden on Dal Lake's north shore
Kamna Devi Temple, Shimla
Gangotri Temple — the shrine of the goddess Ganga on the Bhagirathi
Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteshwar — Koch's microscope and the 1900 cold room
Rani Tal, Nahan
Khanqah-e-Moula — the wooden shrine of Shah-e-Hamadan on the Jhelum
Kufri
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Questions people ask
When is the Hemis festival?
The Leh district website lists the Hemis Tsechu in June and says the festival falls in late June or the first half of July, dedicated to Padmasambhava. Every 12 years the monastery shows a huge embroidered thangka. The site gives months, not days, so ask the monastery or the Leh tourism office before you plan.
Which Ladakh festivals are held in winter?
By the Leh district list, Spituk Gustor in January, Dosmochey in February at Leh, Likir and Diskit, Stok Guru Tsechu, Matho Nagrang and Shey Rul-lo in March, and the Snow Leopard and Ice Climbing festivals in February. Roads are shut by snow, so most visitors fly in.
When is the Tulip Festival in Srinagar?
In spring, at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden. Wikipedia calls it an annual spring festival run by the Jammu and Kashmir government, and says the garden covers about 30 ha with 70 to 75 varieties of tulip. The opening day changes each year, so check the day's announcement before you travel.