Tibetan Festivals

Tibet has many colorful festivals that take place throughout the year and if your trip coincides with one of them, they shouldn't be missed. The festivals are fantastic opportunities to feel, see and taste living Tibetan culture – this is when all of Lhasa comes out.

One particularly impressive festival around Lhasa is the Shoton Festival ( 雪顿节), which is held from mid- August to early September depending on the Tibetan lunar calendar. During the festival, giant tapestries of Buddha hang from the mountainside and the Potala Palace. Monks from different monasteries spend an entire year constructing the tapestry as a form of meditation.

In order to see the unfurling, you'll have to stumble up a narrow mountain path in the pre-dawn darkness as incense lights the many small shrines along the path. Only when first light arrives does it become apparent that you're amongst thousands of pilgrims who are also making their way along this circuit.

Senior Lamas and monks stand a large stage on the side of the mountain chanting sutras, flanking the stage are two giant horns held by two monks. The deep piercing bellow from these horns accompanied with the low guttural chants of the monks vibrates the entire mountain and the anticipation is contagious. Once the tapestry is unfurled, thousands of brightly colored pieces of prayer paper envelop the air while taras run down the side of the tapestry launched by pilgrims hopeful for Buddha's blessing.

Tibetan calendar lags generally four to six weeks behind gregorian calendar. The following are dates in 2009 and 2010.