Plan your trip · Gangtok
What's on in Gangtok
Gangtok's calendar follows its communities: Tibetan and Bhutia Buddhist festivals set by the lunar calendar, Nepali Hindu festivals in autumn, and Christmas. Dates move each year, so confirm them before you book.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Gangtok right now, so here is the year instead — the fixtures that come round annually, and what each one means for a visit.
The year in Gangtok
Gangtok's calendar runs through most of the year, with the busiest weeks in the clear, comfortable months and a quieter stretch in the heaviest rain. Broadly, Oct – Mar and Apr – Jun is when visiting is most comfortable here, and that is when the calendar is busiest — which also means accommodation is most expensive and books furthest ahead.
Most of these follow lunar calendars and move by weeks from year to year, so treat the windows below as the season rather than the date, and confirm the year’s dates before you book around one.
Signature to Gangtok
Losar and Saga Dawa
🗓️ February–March, and May–JuneTibetan new year, and the month marking the Buddha's birth and enlightenment.
Planning: Monasteries are the place to be; dates follow the lunar calendar.
Across Sikkim
Losar and monastery cham dances
🗓️ February–March, and by monasteryTibetan new year, plus masked cham dances at Rumtek, Pemayangtse and Enchey through the year.
Planning: Monastery dates follow the lunar calendar — confirm before travelling for one.
Nationwide
Diwali
🗓️ October–NovemberThe biggest holiday of the year — lamps, sweets, fireworks and a week of visiting family. Cities are lit up and markets stay open late.
Holi
🗓️ MarchColoured powder and water, thrown at anyone within reach, mostly through the morning.
Navratri and Dussehra
🗓️ September–OctoberNine nights of fasting, music and dance, ending with Dussehra. What it looks like changes completely by region — garba in Gujarat, pandals in Bengal, processions in the south.
Eid al-Fitr
🗓️ shifts ~11 days earlier each yearThe end of Ramadan. The old quarters of Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bhopal are at their best in the evenings through the preceding month, when food streets run past midnight.
Makar Sankranti and Pongal
🗓️ mid-JanuaryThe harvest turn, marked with kites in the west and north and four days of Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
Winter: Cham and Losar
Enchey Monastery holds its Detor Cham on the 18th and 19th days of the twelfth lunar month, usually in January or February. Monks in masks and brocade dance in the courtyard to drive out the old year's bad luck. Losar, the Tibetan New Year, follows soon after, usually in February or March. Monasteries hold prayers, and families visit each other.
Spring: Saga Dawa
Saga Dawa, usually in May or June, marks the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. Monks and lay people carry scriptures in procession through town, and many people spend the month giving to others.
Summer: Guru Purnima at Tsomgo
At Guru Purnima, jhakris, the traditional faith healers, gather at Tsomgo Lake because of the water's reputation for healing. It falls in the monsoon, so the road may be difficult.
Late summer: Pang Lhabsol
Pang Lhabsol falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, usually in August or September. It honours Kanchenjunga as Sikkim's guardian deity and recalls an old pact of brotherhood between the Lepcha and Bhutia peoples. The main celebration, with masked dances, is held in the grounds of Tsuklakhang in Gangtok.
Autumn: Dashain and Tihar
For Gangtok's Nepali majority, Dashain in September or October is the biggest holiday of the year. Elders put tika on the foreheads of younger family members. Tihar, the Nepali Diwali, follows two or three weeks later, with lamps and marigold garlands. It is also sel roti season. Offices close, and families travel.
December: Kagyed and Losoong
The Kagyed dance is held at Tsuklakhang and several monasteries on the 28th and 29th days of the tenth lunar month, usually in December. Masked dancers burn effigies of evil. Losoong, the Sikkimese New Year and harvest festival, follows soon after. Christmas is celebrated widely too.
Planning around a festival
The courtyards are small and fill quickly, so arrive early and stay at the edge. Ask before photographing dancers or monks up close. Hotels fill around Dashain and Tihar.
Questions
Gangtok — FAQ
Can visitors watch the masked dances in Gangtok?
Yes. The Cham at Enchey and the Kagyed at Tsuklakhang are public, and visitors watch from around the courtyard. Arrive early, stay out of the dancers' path and don't use flash.
Is Losar the same as Losoong?
No. Losoong is the Sikkimese New Year and harvest festival, usually in December. Losar is the Tibetan New Year, usually in February or March.
When is Pang Lhabsol?
On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which usually falls in August or September. Check the exact date for the year you travel.
Is Diwali celebrated in Gangtok?
Yes, as Tihar, the Nepali festival of lights. Homes are lit with lamps and marigolds. Dashain, a few weeks earlier, is the bigger family holiday.