Bhutan Festival Calendar 2026 and 2027: Tshechu Dates for Singapore Travellers

In short

Bhutan's biggest festivals in 2027 are the Paro Tshechu on 18 to 22 March and the Thimphu Tshechu on 10 to 12 October. Before 2026 is out you can still catch the Black-necked Crane Festival in Phobjikha on 11 November, the Druk Wangyel Tshechu at Dochula on 13 December and the Trongsa Tshechu on 17 to 21 December. Every date here comes from the tentative calendars that the Department of Tourism and the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators publish together, checked again on 1 November 2026. Tshechu dates follow the Bhutanese lunar calendar, so they move every year and can still shift: plan around them, and check again before you pay for flights.

• Biggest festivals for first-timers: Paro (March) and Thimphu (October).
• Fixed-date events: Black-necked Crane Festival (11 November), Druk Wangyel Tshechu (13 December) and the Royal Highland Festival (23 to 24 October) fall on the same days every year.
• Not yet dated for 2027: the Haa Spring Festival and the Ura Matsutake Festival.
• Entry rules: a festival changes none of them; our Bhutan visa guide has the visa and fees.

Still to come in 2026

As of 1 November 2026, these are the festivals left this year, all from the official tentative calendar:

• 11 November: Black-necked Crane Festival at Gangtey Monastery in the Phobjikha Valley.
• 14 to 16 November: Goenpai Drupchen at Trongsa Dzong.
• 17 to 19 November: Mongar Tshechu at Mongar Dzong, and the Phuentsholing Tshechu in Phuentsholing.
• 18 to 20 November: Trashigang Tshechu at Trashigang Dzong.
• 24 November: Singye Cham at Jambay Lhakhang; Nalakhar Tshechu in Bumthang runs 24 to 26 November.
• 13 December: Druk Wangyel Tshechu at Dochula Pass.
• 17 to 21 December: Trongsa Tshechu at Trongsa Dzong and Lhuentse Tshechu at Lhuentse Dzong.
• 22 to 24 December: Samdrup Jongkhar Tshechu; Nabji Lhakhang Drup in Trongsa district follows on 24 to 26 December.

The December dates fall inside the Singapore school holidays. For weather and road conditions that month, read our guide to Bhutan in December.

Bhutan festival dates 2026 and 2027: the full table

The table runs in 2027 calendar order. In the 2026 column, "held" means the festival has already taken place this year. Each place links to its HSJ Travel page where we have one. Four festivals that end the year (Trongsa, Lhuentse, Samdrup Jongkhar and Nabji) have their next edition in January 2028, so none of them falls inside calendar year 2027.

Source: Department of Tourism and Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators, Tentative Festival Dates 2026 (updated April 2025) and Tentative Festival Dates 2027 (updated 14 February 2025). Haa Spring Festival 2026 dates are from Business Bhutan. Ura Matsutake Festival 2026 dates are from Daily Bhutan's 2026 events calendar and a BBS report on the festival's close. The Royal Highland Festival is held on 23 and 24 October every year.

Why some 2027 dates are still "to be announced"

A tshechu is tied to a day in the Bhutanese lunar calendar, not to a Western date. The word itself means "tenth day", because most tshechus fall on or around the tenth day of a lunar month. Each district keeps its own month, and the lunar year drifts against the Gregorian one, so a festival can move by several weeks from one year to the next. The Thimphu Tshechu shows this well: 21 to 23 September in 2026, then 10 to 12 October in 2027.

The official calendars are labelled tentative for the same reason, and they are revised after publication: the 2026 list went through more than one version. A few events are not lunar at all and simply have not been scheduled yet:

• Haa Spring Festival: this was the Haa Summer Festival until 2024, when it moved to spring to avoid monsoon rain. Its third edition ran on 7 to 9 April 2026. The 2027 dates are not on the official calendar yet.
• Ura Matsutake Festival: a mushroom festival in Ura, Bumthang, held each August around the matsutake harvest. It is not on the Department of Tourism's festival list for either year, so we will add 2027 dates once they are announced.
• Rhododendron Festival, Lamperi: marked "TBC" on the 2026 calendar, so we have not printed a 2026 date. The 2027 calendar lists 22 to 23 April.

What a tshechu is, and what you will see

A tshechu is a district's yearly religious festival, held in the courtyard of its dzong (the fortress that houses both the monks and the district administration) or on a festival ground beside it. Families come in from the villages in their best clothes, and stalls set up nearby.

Most of the day is cham, the sacred dances. Monks perform some of them, often without masks, and lay dancers perform others in masks and costume. Between dances, groups of women sing traditional songs.

Five festivals worth planning a trip around

Paro Tshechu (18 to 22 March 2027). The best-known festival in the country, held at Rinpung Dzong and the Deyangkha festival ground beside it. Five days long, with the thongdrel at dawn on the final morning. It overlaps the Singapore March school holidays (13 to 21 March 2027), so expect demand for Paro flights and rooms to be high. All four of our Bhutan tours visit Rinpung Dzong, including The Essence of Bhutan.

Thimphu Tshechu (10 to 12 October 2027). Held on Tendrelthang, the festival ground at Tashichho Dzong, after the Thimphu Drubchen inside the dzong on 5 October. For crowds and prices that month, see our month-by-month guide.

Punakha Drubchen and Tshechu (13 to 18 February 2027). The Drubchen is unusual: as well as dances, it re-enacts the 17th-century defeat of Tibetan forces under Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, with men dressed as pazap, the old local militia. The Tshechu follows straight after at Punakha Dzong.

Black-necked Crane Festival (11 November every year). A one-day community festival in the courtyard of Gangtey Monastery that welcomes the black-necked cranes back to the Phobjikha Valley for winter, with crane dances by local schoolchildren. Bhutan: Valleys and Tiger's Nest and our longer tours visit Phobjikha.

Jambay Lhakhang Drup (14 to 17 November 2027). Held at Jambay Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan. It is known for its fire blessing after dark, when people pass through a burning gate for purification, and for a midnight dance called the tercham. The Grand Journey Through Bhutan visits Jambay Lhakhang and Jakar Dzong; Jakar Tshechu runs just before it, on 6 to 9 November 2027.

Three more have their own guides: the yak herders' Royal Highland Festival in Laya, the Chhukha Tshechu in the south, and the Druk Wangyel Tshechu at Dochula Pass, first held in 2011, in our December guide.

Festival manners for spectators

The courtyard is a religious space while the dances are on, not a show ground. The usual dzong rules apply; these are the habits that matter on a festival day:

• Dress a step smarter than for sightseeing. Long sleeves, long trousers or a long skirt and closed shoes, with caps off inside the dzong. Bring sunscreen and a warm layer, since you may sit outside for hours.
• Never cross the dance ground. Walk around the edge, and do not stand between worshippers and an altar or the thongdrel.
• Ask before photographing people, above all anyone praying or taking part in a ritual, and put the camera away in shrine rooms.
• Arrive early with your guide. Your licensed guide will know where to sit and when the important dances begin.

Wearing a gho or kira for the day is welcome but never required. Our Chhukha Tshechu guide explains festival dress piece by piece.

Planning around Drukair seats from Singapore

Drukair flies direct from Changi to Paro, but only on a few days a week, so festival weeks fill first. For Paro and Thimphu tshechu, this is the order that works:

• Pick the days you want to be in the courtyard first, then work back to the nearest Drukair departure. Paro Tshechu is five days long, so you do not need to be there for all of it; the final morning is the one most people want.
• Book flights as soon as you fix your dates. The March 2027 Paro Tshechu overlaps the Singapore school holidays, and October is Bhutan's peak month even without the Thimphu Tshechu. Our Singapore to Bhutan flights guide lists the departure days.
• Hotels in Paro and Thimphu go early too. If your first choice is full, staying a valley away and driving in works for most festivals.
• Recheck the festival dates about two months before you travel, since the official calendar is marked tentative.

Festival dates change nothing about entry. Our Bhutan visa guide has the current visa and fee rules, and our cost guide turns them into a full budget in Singapore dollars.