Festival Journey
Time your visit to a tshechu for masked dance and colour.
Timed around one of Bhutan's tshechu festivals - masked cham dances performed in a dzong courtyard, unchanged for centuries. Paired with a local homestay and visits to craft villages, so the trip is about daily life as much as the festival itself. Dates shift yearly with the lunar calendar; ask us for the current schedule.
- Tshechu festival
- Local homestay
- Craft villages
- Paro TshechuParo · Spring (Mar-Apr)
A five-day tshechu closing with the dawn unfurling of a giant thongdrel scroll - one of two festivals this trip flexes its dates around.
- Thimphu TshechuThimphu · Autumn (Sep-Oct)
The capital's own tshechu, larger and livelier - we time this trip to whichever of the two falls inside your travel window.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Duration
- 8 days
- Max altitude
- 2,650 m
Why this trip works
- Best Attractions
Where this trip takes you
- 01Tashichho Dzong courtyard
Where Thimphu Tshechu's cham dances are performed, three days of masked colour.
- 02Paro Dzong thongdrel unfurling
A pre-dawn, once-a-festival unveiling of a giant sacred appliqué scroll.
- 03Rural craft villages
Weaving and paper-making villages visited on non-festival days.
- 01Tashichho Dzong courtyard
- See the gallery
- Things To Do
- Watch a full day of masked cham dances in a dzong courtyard
- Stay a night with a local family between festival days
- Visit a traditional paper-making or weaving workshop
- Sample festival-day street food alongside local families
- Hotels
- HomestayLocal Homestay
- BoutiqueHeritage Boutique Lodge
- Best Season
- Spring · Mar - May
- Autumn · Sep - Nov
Timed around whichever of Paro or Thimphu Tshechu falls inside your travel window.
The route
Hover or tap a dzongkhag for what this trip does there - shown in visiting order, west to east.
A closer look
Other journeys
A few more starting points - every trip is customizable around your dates and pace.
7 daysEasyCultural ToursCultural Bhutan
The classic west-to-central loop through dzongs and valleys.
3,140 m (Taktsang viewpoint)Paro & ThimphuPunakha DzongTiger's Nest hikeView trip
10 daysChallengingTrekkingDruk Path Trek
A high-altitude trek between Paro and Thimphu, lake to lake.
4,210 m (Phume La)Alpine lakes4,200m passesCamp under the starsView trip
5 daysEasyCultural ToursPunakha Escape
Discover Punakha's rivers, rice fields, monasteries, and magnificent dzong.
1,350 mPunakha DzongKhamsum ChortenMo Chhu raftingView trip
This is just the starting point
Every trip here is a template, not a fixed package - tell us your dates, pace, and interests and we'll customize Festival Journey (or build something new) around exactly what you want.