Plan your trip · Lachung
What's on in Lachung
Lachung's festivals are Buddhist and follow the Tibetan lunar calendar, so their dates move each year. The biggest days are the new year festivals in winter and the monastery's annual masked dance.
Nothing dated is confirmed for Lachung 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 Lachung
Lachung'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.
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.
Losoong in December
Losoong is the Sikkimese new year of the Bhutia community, marking the end of the harvest. It falls on the first day of the eleventh Tibetan month, usually in December. Families gather, special food is cooked, and monasteries across Sikkim hold masked dances in the days before it. The Lepcha community celebrates it too, as Namsoong. Snow and cold make December travel to Lachung harder, so plan with a spare day.
Losar in late winter
Losar, the Tibetan new year, usually falls in February or early March. Buddhist households mark it with prayers, visits and food. In Lachung this is quiet and family-centred rather than a public show, and the roads higher up may still be under snow.
The monastery's masked dance
Lachung Monastery holds a cham, or masked dance, once a year. Monks in costume and painted masks perform in the courtyard, with drums and long horns. The date is set by the lunar calendar, so ask your operator or hotel well in advance if you want to see it. Watch from the edges, do not walk through the dancing space, and ask before using a flash.
Saga Dawa
Saga Dawa marks the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death, and falls on the full moon of the fourth Tibetan month, usually in May or June. It is a public holiday in Sikkim. Expect prayers and processions at monasteries, and busy spring traffic on the roads.
Pang Lhabsol
Pang Lhabsol honours Mount Kanchenjunga as Sikkim's guardian deity and falls in late summer, usually in August or September. The main celebrations are in Gangtok and at the larger monasteries, not in Lachung, and it comes in the middle of the monsoon.
The flower season
The rhododendron season around Yumthang, usually from late April to mid-May, is not a festival, but it is when most people plan their trip. Hotels fill quickly, so book early.
Hindu festivals
Nepali-speaking families in the area celebrate Dashain and Tihar in autumn. These are home festivals here, with no large public events in Lachung. For weather through the year, see the best time to visit.
Questions
Lachung — FAQ
What is Losoong?
The Sikkimese new year of the Bhutia community, which marks the end of the harvest. It usually falls in December, on the first day of the eleventh Tibetan month.
Can visitors watch the masked dance at Lachung Monastery?
Yes, respectful visitors can watch from the edges of the courtyard. Keep out of the dancing space and ask before using a flash.
Is there a rhododendron festival in Lachung?
No regular festival is held in the village itself. The flowering season, usually late April to mid-May, is simply the busiest time to visit.