What's on in Lhasa (Tibet), China through the year

Busy — Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Permit and guide requirement

  1 Jan – 31 DecClosures

  Foreign visitors cannot travel here independently. A Tibet Travel Permit arranged through a licensed agency, plus a guide for the whole stay, has to be in hand before you can board the train or the flight, and it takes weeks to issue. Source ↗

Still on: Winter free-entry season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China

• Festival

  Losar

  5 Feb – 10 Mar · usuallyLunar New YearClosures

  The Tibetan new year is a family holiday rather than a spectacle: pilgrims walk the Barkhor before dawn, monasteries hold masked cham dances, and a good share of restaurants and shops close for several days. Source ↗

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter free-entry season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Losar (5 Feb – 10 Mar (usually)), Winter free-entry season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Saga Dawa, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Saga Dawa

  10 May – 20 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The fourth Tibetan month is the year's merit month and the Barkhor kora runs day and night. The full-moon day is the peak, with pilgrims in from across the plateau and the Jokhang queue several hours long. Source ↗

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Saga Dawa, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Saga Dawa (10 May – 20 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break in China, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Plateau summer rains

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyMonsoon

  The plateau takes most of its rain in July and August and most of it falls overnight, so the days often stay clear. It is also when the overland roads in from Sichuan and the west are likeliest to wash out.

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — Shoton Festival, Summer break in China

• Festival

  Shoton Festival

  1–25 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  The yogurt festival opens at dawn with a giant thangka unrolled down the hillside at Drepung, then runs a week of Tibetan opera in the Norbulingka gardens. The busiest week of the Lhasa year and the hardest for beds. Source ↗

• Festival

  Bathing Festival

  25 Aug – 15 Sep · usuallyMajor festival

  For a week at the end of summer, while one particular star is up, families take to the Lhasa river to wash clothes, hair and themselves and picnic on the bank all day. Entirely a local affair. Source ↗

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Plateau summer rains (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Bathing Festival (25 Aug – 15 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Lhabab Duchen, National Day Golden Week in China

• Festival

  Lhabab Duchen

  20 Oct – 25 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  One of the four great merit days: the kora circuits round the Jokhang and the Potala move shoulder to shoulder from before dawn and everyone gives something away. Autumn air, and the plateau at its clearest. Source ↗

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Lhabab Duchen

• Rule

  Winter free-entry season

  1 Nov – 15 Mar · usually

  Most years the region waives or halves admission to its state-graded sights over the winter and airlines and hotels discount alongside it. Monasteries are excluded from the free list, and dates are announced late. Source ↗

• Festival

  Ganden Ngamchoe butter lamps

  25 Nov – 31 Dec · usuallyMajor festival

  Tsongkhapa's memorial day, when rows of butter lamps are set along the roof parapets and window ledges of the old town after dark. Cold, quiet, and the least visited festival of the Tibetan year. Source ↗

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Lhabab Duchen (20 Oct – 25 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Permit and guide requirement (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Winter free-entry season (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)), Ganden Ngamchoe butter lamps (25 Nov – 31 Dec (usually))