What's on in Punakha, Bhutan through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Monk body in winter residence (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))

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

• Holiday

  Losar

  1 Feb – 10 Mar · usuallyLunar New YearClosures

  Losar, the Bhutanese New Year, is a public holiday when families gather at home, visit temples and put up new prayer flags, and archery matches are held. Offices and many shops close for the holiday. Source ↗

• Festival

  Punakha Drubchen

  23–25 FebReligious feast

  Local militia in seventeenth-century battle dress re-enact the repulsion of a Tibetan invasion on the dzong grounds a few days before the Tshechu proper begins. It is the more theatrical, less crowded half of Punakha's festival week. Source ↗

• Festival

  Punakha Tshechu

  26–28 FebReligious feastBook early

  Three days of masked dances in the courtyard of Punakha Dzong end with the pre-dawn unfurling of an 83-by-93-foot silk Thongdrel, an image so large it takes dozens of monks to hold. Dates follow the lunar calendar and fall in late February or early March, so confirm the year's dates before booking. Source ↗

Still on: Monk body in winter residence (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))

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

• Nature

  Rhododendron bloom on Dochu La

  1 Mar – 15 Apr · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  Rhododendron, magnolia, primula and cotoneaster flower along the ridge between Dochu La and the Punakha valley through March and into April, the reason the descent is timed for spring over the clearer but bare winter months. Source ↗

Still on: Losar (1 Feb – 10 Mar (usually)), Punakha Tshechu (26–28 Feb), Monk body in winter residence (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Rhododendron bloom on Dochu La (1 Mar – 15 Apr (usually)), Monk body in winter residence (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Monk body in winter residence (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))

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

• Hazard

  Glacial flood risk on the rivers

  1 Jun – 15 Oct · usuallyFlood season

  The Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu, which meet at the dzong, are fed by glacial lakes upstream that have burst before: floods in 1957, 1960, 1994 and 1996 each damaged Punakha Dzong, the worst killing 23 people. The risk sits in the monsoon and glacier-melt months, not the dry winter. Source ↗

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

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Glacial flood risk on the rivers (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Glacial flood risk on the rivers (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Glacial flood risk on the rivers (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Glacial flood risk on the rivers (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — one of its best months for weather

• Festival

  Black-necked Crane Festival

  11 NovBirdlife seasonBook early

  Gangtey monastery in the Phobjikha valley, about three hours east of Punakha, celebrates the return of the wintering cranes on 11 November with masked and folk dances. Most visitors stay overnight in the valley, so book early. Source ↗

• Season

  Monk body in winter residence

  15 Nov – 15 May · usuallyReligious feast

  The Je Khenpo and the Central Monastic Body move down from Thimphu to Punakha Dzong for the winter, arriving in procession around late November and leaving again around May, a custom dating to the Zhabdrung. Crowds line the road for blessings. Source ↗

Busy — Druk Wangyel Tshechu, Dochu La, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Druk Wangyel Tshechu, Dochu La

  13 DecReligious feastCrowded

  On 13 December the Royal Bhutan Army and monks perform masked dances among the 108 chortens of Dochu La, the pass between Thimphu and Punakha, with the Himalaya behind them on a clear day. Held since 2011; go early for a seat. Source ↗

Still on: Monk body in winter residence (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))