Kailash Saga Dawa Festival tour is a 10 day adventure that lets you witness one of the biggest Tibetan festivals in western Tibet, Kailash on 11th June 2025. This festival is a prism of cultural wealth with its sacred rituals and colorful fairs. It is a lifetime opportunity for visitors to see and actually live the culture and lives of the local authentic Tibetan people.
Attend our Fixed Departure Group Join-in Tours annually at the Saga Dawa Festival in western Tibet in Kailash. This festival allows travelers to reach the Holy Kailash mountain and enjoy the Tibetan culture and festivals. Check the fixed departure dates for the Kailash Saga Dawa Festival in 2025 and join our group tours from Kathmandu or Lhasa.
Many Tibetans come to Tarboche, Kailash, to attend the Saga Dawa ceremony every year's full moon. It is one of the most important festivals for Tibetans. The Saga Dawa celebration usually occurs on the full moon in the last month of the fourth Tibetan lunar calendar. The major thing that makes this festival live is changing the Tarboche Flagpole, the high pole on the way for trekking around Kailash. The flagpole is pulled down and down, and a new flagpole is raised. The festival celebration is attended by locals, foreign pilgrims, and tourists. Tibetan people from different parts of Tibet come to this sacred site, participate in the Saga Dawa Festival, and bind their small prayer flags to the pole. As Buddhism says, the Saga Dawa Festival is held with a view to that day when Sakyamuni Buddha was enlightened.
The major celebration day on 11th June will be held at Tarbuche. During this day, you can witness and participate in traditional Tibetan rituals, such as praying, chanting, and dancing.
We will start our adventure by flying from Nepal to Kathmandu and taking an Overland tour through the Kerong border up to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar. The tour will be ten days long and proceed through Tibetan villages. Mount Kailash is a sacred place for pilgrims to visit on a spiritual journey to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake.
Travelers will also take on the Kailash Kora, which is the spiritual walk around Mount Kailash. It is one of the hardest trekking parts of the tour. Furthermore, you are given various options, such as a private helper or pony to take care of it.
Then, the last part of the trip, which will be the exploration of the Kailash Saga Dawa Festival tour and the drive back to Kathmandu through the Kyirung/Kerong Border, will be the final leg of the trip. Another alternative route to reach Mt Kailash to attend the festival is also available. In this alternative route, you will first arrive at Lhasa and explore some of its attractions, like Potala Palace and the main tourist places of Lhasa, to enjoy sightseeing. On our second day, we move around Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar by travelling across many historical Tibetan cities and elevated high passes from where the stunning views of the Tibetan and Nepalese will be visible.
Every year, many Tibetans from different regions of Tibet come to pray and pitch a flagpole with many accumulated prayer flags. The residents try as hard as possible to make the feast delightful. The monk from the neighboring monastery performs the ceremony. The local folks of this region worship and circumambulate the mountain for all their good life and death in the next birth. The main function is held at Tarbuche (Serchung, Kailash region) on the first day of the Kailash Kora.
We at Mountain Rock Treks provide a complete travel plan that includes a Mount Kailash Saga Dawa festival tour with a Tibet visa arrangement, a Tibet travel permit, a guide, transportation, accommodation, and staffing. At Mountain Rock Treks, a fixed departure for the 2025 Saga Dawa Festival Tour is guaranteed. According to the Tibetan lunar calendar, the celebration will be held on June 11th, 2025. Go through the Saga Dawa Festival Tour itinerary and contact us at a magnificent cultural excursion to the Saga Dawa Festival at Mount Kailash.
Major Highlights of Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour
- Join the Saga Dawa festival on 11th June 2025, a holy occasion for Buddhists to remember the enlightenment of the Sacred Teacher.
- Start the 3-day sacred Kailash Kora trek, which is 56 km long, and go around Mount Kailash, a holy mountain for Hindus, Buddhists, Bon, and Jains.
- See the breathtaking view of the Himalayas, including some of Mount Kailash's highest peaks, covered with snow, the clear blue water of Lake Manasarovar, and the biggest plateau of Tibet.
- Get a panoramic view when you take the scenic driving route from Kathmandu to Kerung Border. The journey will provide you with the necessary sights along the way.
- Get into the heart of Tibetan culture by communicating with locals and becoming aware of their daily lives, their way of life, and their traditions.
- Be a part of the locals' Tarboche Saga Dawa festival, which is all about community participation. You will experience large gatherings for prayers, pretty decorations, etc.
- Benefit from the expertise and wealth of experience of highly qualified guides who will guarantee a secure and rewarding trip for you.
Fixed Departure Date for Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour 2025
The Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour's fixed departure for 2025 is set for June 6. This fixed departure from Kathmandu or Lhasa ensures we reach Tarboche, Kailash, for the celebration and to perform kora. This fixed departure from Kathmandu or Lhasa ensures our arrival at Tarboche, Kailash (the place of celebration and the performance of Kora).
The 2025 Kailash Saga Dawa Festival, which falls on June 11, can be booked beforehand. Nevertheless, for adventurous tourists wanting to discover Tibet deeper and reach attractions like Potala Palace, one of Lhasa's main tourist spots, early departure can be designed to suit their desires. Upon early departure, the Saga Dawa Festival celebration, sightseeing Tibet, and the journey towards Kailash can also be enjoyed.
Kailash Saga Dawa Festiva's fixed departure date offers the opportunity to book the trek up to a year before the festival and guarantees that you will have a secure spot. There is no longer a need to worry about whether you can get the Tibet permits and visas, guides, and arrangements in a foreign country because we at Mountain Rock Treks will sort it out for you.
The Fixed Departure date for Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour is mentioned below.
Trip Start | Trip End | Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Date for 2025 |
June 6, Friday | June 15, Sunday | 11th June 2025, Wednesday |
When and Where will the Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour take Place?
This festival is held yearly in the fourth month of the Lunar Tibetan calendar, on the full moon day (May / June). In 2025, the celebration will take place on June 11th .
Tibetans in Lhasa celebrate the Saga Dawa festival until the afternoon at the foot of the Potala Palace. On the other hand, the Tibetans now celebrate this as an annual ritual. On this day, every year, the people will dress, sing, dance, have a picnic, or unite in Linkor. The Saga Dawa Festival on Mt. Kailash, Tibet's most sacred mountain, is also celebrated in addition to Lhasa. Hundreds and thousands of people would flock to the holy mountain during the Saga Dawa Festival in Tibet. Here are some of the places that the festivals takes place:
- Jokhang Temple: Kora, monk chanting, and rituals
- Potala Palace: Tibetans from all places come to perform rituals, such as kora and chanting.
- Lhasa Lake: Rituals, Fish Freedom and the Others.
- Mount Kailash: The flag-raising ritual was accompanied by a 3-day kora.
- Lake Manasarovar: holy dip, walk for worship, and more.
What to Expect During the Saga Dawa Festival?
Saga Dawa is a special time in Tibet, and you will most likely see many Tibetan pilgrims taking clockwise circumambulations around Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, Barkhor Street, and Ling Khor Street.
Lots of animals and fish are released into the Lhasa River. Many members are at the Drepung kitchen, wishing to donate goodies to the monks when they pray inside the building. You can expect to see Tibetan people eating only vegetables, especially during the day. Of course, you will not miss many people giving money. On the other hand, when you walk around, you will see many picnic groups while the elderly Tibetans are chanting their mantras.
The Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour Celebration
11th June 2025, Day of the Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Celebration:
People will do a ceremonial offering of butter lamps in the temple. The butter lamps are just processed by yak butter or oil in a vessel with a flame. The lamps cast a smoky light. Tibetan Buddhist faith emphasizes meditation and mind concentration, demonstrated by the lights. Drums and cymbals, usually used in Tibetan rituals as accompaniments drew spirits or drove away evil. A local lama, a spiritual leader, will be there to offer a blessing for the coming year. Loyal followers present offerings to the monastery, which will accept everything, no matter how big or small.
Saga Dawa is the ceremony with the lama’s (guru’s) prayers. The local lama, the spiritual leader, organizes the Saga Dawa festival through hundreds of prayers. In front of it, hundreds of people are seated or standing to pray. People also visit Dzongyab Lukhang Park, located near the Potala Palace. They arrange a large outdoor picnic at the spot. The burning of butter lamps at the temples will still be there.
The most significant part of this celebration will consist of the “Tarboche flagpole” being taken down and a new one erected instead. The Prayer Flagpole is a tall pole with hundreds or Junebe thousands of flags from various colors on it. Everybody in the place, whether residents or guests, attends the pole replacement ceremony of this group with the same degree of admiration and laughter. Each prayer flag is like a wish to be fulfilled. The flags can wave to boost the probability of someone answering. The story says that if Tibet is not in the right position, it will face some problems. Thus, it is essential to ensure the best possible pole erection. Only the most trustworthy pole-sitter is allowed to perform the job. If done correctly, it makes people feel comfortable and satisfied.
3 Day Kora Kailash Kora Starting on 11th June:
On the same day, travelers will participate in the event by joining the Kailash Kora, where you will trek to Dirapuk. Kora is a ritualistic circumambulation of a sacred place that accumulates merit. Kailash Kora is a complete circumambulation around the holy Mountain. We have scheduled the 2025 Kailash festival tour to complete this Kora during the Saga Dawa Festival. It is an excellent mix of severe activities and fun times. The Kora is mainly done around Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash during the holy times. The lake is sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and the Bon religion. Pilgrims start this Kora on the auspicious day of the Saga Dawa Festival clockwise around the lake and the Mountain for spiritual blessings. Generally, this koras lasts about 3 days.
Many pilgrims start the circumambulation of Mount Kailash on foot for 3 days after receiving the monks' blessings or while participating in a puja. Similarly, some pilgrims travel the entire way on the Kora, which lasts about 2 weeks. All this is done to bring good fortune and make amends for lifetime sins.
Who is Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour Days designed for?
The tour is designed for pilgrims and travelers who want to take part in the Tibetan festival taking place around Mt Kailash, Tibet, on 11th June 2025.
This trip, which starts on 6th June 2025, is for the pilgrims and tourists who wish to attend the Saga Dawa Festival at Mount Kailash. No matter where you hail from, you are welcome to start this journey in 2025 to attend the festival.
This trip starts from Kathmandu or Lhasa. The program is flexible and can be customized at your convenience. If you choose to enhance your experience with a cultural excursion, our itinerary might take you to the awe-inspiring Potala Palace or a tranquil stroll around Dzong Tab Lukhang Park.
Our prime consideration will always be to meet your needs. So, we take care of the essential matters (including visas and the Tibet travel permit) and set up a professional guide, comfortable transportation, and a nice hostel daily. Our hardworking team offers a problem-free and educational experience to anyone
Kailash Saga Dawa Festival Tour Cost 2025
The Kailash Saga Dawa Festival from Kathmandu costs USD 1950 per person in 2025. The cost can fluctuate depending on the number of people in a group. The Kailash festival tour package includes all the necessary equipment (including visas and the Tibet travel permit), up to a professional guide, comfortable transportation, and nice daily accommodations.
No of Person in a group | Cost Per person | Status |
1-1 | $ 1950 | |
2-6 | $ 1850 |
You can also join our treks in Nepal, like the Everest Base Camp Trek and Annapurna Base Camp treks, which offer stunning views of Mt Everest and Annapurna.
