Ladakh Festival

Festivals in Ladakh are the blend of various cultures of Central Asian, Tibetan, Northern India
. The celebration duration of Ladakh festival is of 15 days i.e from the 1st to the 15th of September. Number of various sports such as polo and archery are conducted. Folk dances and songs, its age-old social and cultural ceremonies, its art and handicrafts, all come alive in a colorful kaleidoscope.

Hemis Festival
Hemis is one of the biggest and most famous of the monastic festivals, frequented by tourists and local alike. It is celebrated in late June or in the first half of July, and is dedicated to Padmasambhava. After every 12 years, the gompa's greatest treasure, a huge thangka - a religious icon painted or embroidered on cloth - is ritually exhibited. The next unveiling is due to take place in A.D. 2004. Other monasteries which have summer festivals are Lamayuru (also early July), Phiyang (late July or early August), Tak-thok (about ten days after Phiyang) and Karsha in Zanskar (11 days after Phiyang). Like Hemis, the Phiyang festival also involves the exhibition of gigantic thangka, though here it is done every year.

Dosmoche Festival
Dosmoche is one of two New Year festivals, the other being Losar. Dosmochey is celebrated in Leh (Leh Palace), Liker (Lower Ladakh) and Deskit (Nubra valley) monasteries in February. The most famous among all is Leh Dosmochey, which is celebrated for two days in the courtyards of the Leh palace. The monks from different monasteries perform the Chams every year turn by turn. This is the festival of the scapegoat, and is celebrated with fervor at Leh. It falls in the second half of February. At Dosmoche, a great wooden mast decorated with streamers and religious emblems is set up outside Leh. At the appointed time, offerings of storma, ritual figures moulded out of dough, are brought out and ceremonially cast away into the desert, or burnt. These scapegoats carry away with them the evil spirits of the previous year, and thus the town is cleansed and absolutely ready to welcome the new year. Spituk, stok, thikse, chemrey and Matho all have their festivals in winter, between November and March. Likir and Deskit (Nubra ) time their festivals to coincide with Dosmoche.

Losar Festival
Celebration last for 15 days during December or January, depending on the Lunar calander, with the main celebrations on the first three days. Losar festival is celebrated to commemorate the advent of new year. Losar - this spectacular festival celebrates the Ladakhi / Tibetan new year. All Ladakhi Buddhists celebrate it by making offerings to the Gods, both in gompas and in their domestic shrines. The festival is marked with ancient rituals, the stage fights between good & evil, chanting and passing through the crowds with fire torches.
This important festival changes their location & dates every year.
The celebration of Losar predates Buddhism in Tibet.
The dance of the Ibex deer and the dramatic battles between the King & his ministers add to the joyous atmosphere. Full of music, dancing and merry-making !

Sindhu Darshan Festival ( Indus River )
Sindhu Darshan Festival, as the name suggests, is a celebration of river Sindhu, also known as the Indus. People travel for a Darshan and Puja of the River Sindhu (Indus) which originates from the holy Mansarovar in Tibet. The aim of the festival is projecting the Sindhu river as a symbol of multi-dimensional cultural identity, communal harmony and peaceful co-existence in India. Whilst promoting tourism in this area, this festival is also a symbolic salute to the brave soldiers of India who have valiantly fought the odds at Siachen, Kargil and other places.

Celebrated first time in the year 1997, the festival is organised annually at Leh in the month of May June by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir with the support of the Ministry of tourism and culture, Government of India.

Ladakh Harvest Festival
This festival usually starts from 1st september and lasts till 15th sepftember. It is a colourful celebration of the rich, cultural diversity of Ladakh's people. The weeks long festivities are held all over the region. Music, theatre, polo, archery,& wedding ceremonies,are performed daily along with mask and folk dances,with the final carnival parade passing through the streets.

Yuru Kabgyat Festival
The 2-day festival takes place in July in Lamayuru monastery around 125 kms. from Leh. Monks like other monastic festival perform mask dances. During the festival monks perform prayer and rituals to get rid of disaster and peace in the world.

Matho Nagrang Festival
Matho Nagrang is celebrated on the 15th day of the 1st month of Tibetan calander, at Matho monastery, the only monastery of the Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism. During these two days of festival mask dances are performed by monks of the monastery wearing colorful silk brocaded robes and mask in different forms of God and Goddesses. The festival is famous because of appearance of the two oracles during the festival after full month meditation in complete isolation. The two oracles appear in the courtyard accompanying mask dancers and predict future events and people from far and away come to seek advice to perform ritual to tackle with disasters.