Bhutan has numerous public holidays in which masked dances and dance dramas are common traditional features at festivals. Energetic dancers wearing colorful wooden or composition facemasks employ special costumes and music to depict panoply of heroes, demons, death heads, animals, gods, and caricatures of common people. The dances enjoy royal patronage and preserve not only ancient folk and religious customs but also perpetuate the art of mask making.

The largest and most colourful festivals (tsechus) take place at Bhutan's dzongs and monasteries once a year, in honour of Guru Rimpoche. They normally take place in spring and autumn. Tsechus consist of up to five days of spectacular pageantry, masked dances and religious allegorical plays that have remained unchanged for centuries. As well as being a vital living festival and an important medium of Buddhist teaching, tsechus are huge social gatherings. The Bhutanese revel and rejoice together, dressed in their finest clothes and jewellery, in an convivial atmosphere where humour and devotion go hand in hand. For visitors, the tsechu provides an ideal opportunity to appreciate the essence of the Bhutanese character. If you can't take a good photograph here, you should lock your camera. Pack as much film as you think you will need and then double it.

Although all efforts have been made to confirm the dates, actual dates may be subject to change. Kindly Confirm with us in advance for particular festival dates.