Tibet Festival Calendar 2027: Dates for Singapore Travellers

Why do some websites give 20 May for Saga Dawa 2027?

The Tibetan calendar counts months from new moon to new moon and adds a leap month in some years. Saga Dawa Düchen, the main day of the festival, falls on the 15th day of the fourth Tibetan month, the full moon. A page that works from the Chinese lunar calendar, or that does not allow for a Tibetan leap month, can land a month away from a page that follows the Tibetan almanac. The reference most agencies point to is the almanac of the Lhasa Mentsikhang, Lhasa's Tibetan medical and astrological institute.

Pages that give 20 May have used the Chinese lunar calendar, the one behind Singapore's Vesak Day. The Tibetan Phugpa calendar, which the Mentsikhang almanac follows, adds a second 'second month' in March 2027, so the fourth month, and Saga Dawa Düchen, begins in June. Worked out with the published Phugpa method (Svante Janson, Tibetan calendar mathematics), Saga Dawa Düchen falls on 18 June 2027, the Tashilhunpo festival on 17 to 19 July and Shoton on 31 August.

Almanac dates are occasionally adjusted, so if a festival day is the reason for your trip, choose flights you can change.

Losar 2027: Tibetan New Year in winter

Winter is the quiet season and tours do run, but Losar is a family holiday for Tibetans. Expect many shops and restaurants to close for the first days, and ask your agency to confirm that guides, drivers and hotels are working on your dates. Plan on eating at your hotel on the first days. Tibet has closed to foreign visitors around Losar and in March in some years, so confirm that permits are being issued for your dates before you book.

Winter roads and closures

Lhasa is cold in February, with hard frosts at night. Snow can close the high passes on the road to Gyantse and Shigatse, and the tent guesthouses near Everest may not be open in mid-winter. A Losar trip suits Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse better than Everest Base Camp. For what to see in the city, read our guide to things to do in Lhasa.

Losar and Chinese New Year from Singapore

Because Losar follows Chinese New Year so closely, expect flights to Chengdu and on to Lhasa to be busy with Chinese families travelling for their biggest holiday. Losar falls on the second day of Chinese New Year, and Monday 8 February 2027 is a public holiday in lieu (Ministry of Manpower), so a long weekend covers it. Book flights early once the trip is confirmed.

Saga Dawa 2027: the month of merit and the kora

Yes, as part of a booked trip with the extra permits that western Tibet needs. Foreigners cannot go independently. Expect crowded paths, full guesthouses in Darchen and a high pass above 5,600m. Agency pages say permits for restricted areas take longer than for Lhasa, so if Saga Dawa is your reason for going, ask early. Our Mount Kailash & Manasarovar Kora Tour is the trip to ask about.

Shoton Festival 2027 in Lhasa

Shoton is often translated as the yoghurt festival. Both Tibet Tourism and Access Tibet give 31 August 2027, a Tuesday, and neither gives an end date. The festival traditionally opens at Drepung Monastery, on the hillside west of Lhasa, when a giant thangka, a large sacred painting or appliqué, is carried out and unfurled at first light. In the days after, Tibetan opera is performed in the Norbulingka gardens, and families come to picnic. It has traditionally run for about a week, so ask for the programme once the date is confirmed.

To watch, go to Drepung for the opening and to Norbulingka for the opera. A dawn start at Drepung is a hard morning after a first night at 3,650m, so arrive in Lhasa at least two nights before the date. Our Tibet altitude sickness guide explains the first 48 hours.

Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama. Tibet Tourism gives 17 to 19 July 2027, Saturday to Monday, for its Thangka Festival, when a giant thangka is displayed on the monastery's wall. The Tibetan calendar gives the same days, the 14th to 16th of the fifth month. A Saturday start also helps if you want to limit leave from work.

Tashilhunpo is already on our Tibet routes: day 5 of the Tibet Discovery Tour, day 7 of the Everest Base Camp Tibet Tour and day 10 of the Tibet & Nepal Grand Journey. On festival days, expect crowds and an early start, and ask your guide how the day will be reordered.

Festivals with no fixed day: Ongkor and horse races

Ongkor is a late-summer harvest festival in which villagers walk around their fields with sacred texts and banners to ask for a good harvest. Horse-racing gatherings are also held in summer. In both cases the day is chosen by each village or local government, a point only one of the pages we read makes (Access Tibet). We would not build a trip around one. If you are in the countryside at the right time, your guide may hear of one locally, but treat it as luck.

Which festival suits a first visit?

There is no single best festival, but the practical differences are clear:

• Shoton (31 August) or the Tashilhunpo Thangka Festival (17 to 19 July) suit a first trip. Both fall in the warm season, the roads are open, and Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse are on the standard 7- to 8-day route. Our Tibet travel guide has the overview.
• Losar (7 February) suits a family festival in Lhasa, if you accept the cold, closed shops and Everest being out of reach.
• Saga Dawa (18 June) is for the Kailash kora. We would suggest it for a second high-altitude trip, once you know how you handle the height.

Do you need a visa or permit to attend a festival?

Visa. On 25 January 2024 the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority announced that ordinary Singapore passport holders are exempt from visa requirements for stays of up to 30 days in the PRC (ICA). Check the MFA Singapore China page and the Chinese Embassy notices for the current position before you travel. The Kathmandu route has its own visa steps, covered in our Singapore to Lhasa guide.

Permit. The Tibet Travel Permit is separate, and the visa exemption does not replace it. Foreign travellers cannot apply on their own: a licensed agency applies as part of a booked tour. Agency pages put processing at at least 8 working days, longer for restricted areas. These are agency statements, not official ones.

For a festival we suggest booking two to three months ahead, because guides and hotels fill around festival dates and the date itself may still need confirming. Under our booking terms, a deposit of 20% of the booking total confirms a place and the balance is due 30 days before departure. Tibet permits are arranged in advance.

Etiquette and photography at festivals

Lhasa is at 3,650m, and most travellers from Singapore live at sea level. A festival adds early starts and long waits in crowds to your first days. Arrive at least two nights early, move slowly, drink water and cover up against the strong sun. For the Saga Dawa kora, allow for walking above 5,600m. Our altitude guide covers preparation from Singapore. Comprehensive travel insurance including helicopter evacuation is required on our trips.

Seeing Tibet's festivals from Singapore

Most travellers reach Lhasa in two legs. One is Changi to Chengdu Tianfu, where Singapore Airlines lists a nonstop of about 4 hours 45 minutes, then a flight on to Lhasa. The other is Changi to Kathmandu, then Kathmandu to Lhasa on Himalaya Airlines. Check the current timetable when you book. Full routes are in our Singapore to Lhasa guide.

How many days to allow

Allow at least 7 days for Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse, plus a buffer at each end, with the festival day falling after your second night in Lhasa. These are the trips that pass through festival towns:

• Tibet Discovery Tour: 7 days, from S$2,900 per person, with Tashilhunpo on day 5 and a highest point of 5,010m by road.
• Everest Base Camp Tibet Tour: 8 days, from S$2,200 per person, with Tashilhunpo on day 7 and a highest point of 5,248m.
• Tibet & Nepal Grand Journey: 12 days, from S$3,890 per person, with the Kathmandu to Lhasa flight and Tashilhunpo on day 10.
• Mount Kailash & Manasarovar Kora Tour: ask the team about Saga Dawa dates.

None of these trip pages is built around a festival date. If you want to be in Shigatse on 17 to 19 July 2027 or in Lhasa for Shoton, tell us the dates you can travel and we will check whether a departure fits once the almanac date is confirmed. Our booking terms allow one free date change up to 30 days before departure.

Leave and school holidays

• Losar, 7 February: the second day of Chinese New Year, with Monday 8 February a public holiday in lieu, so book flights early.
• Saga Dawa, 18 June: it falls in the June school holidays (29 May to 27 June 2027).
• Thangka Festival, 17 to 19 July: a Saturday to Monday weekend start.
• Shoton, 31 August: it falls just before the September school holidays (4 to 12 September 2027).