Saga Dawa Festival 2026: Ultimate Guide to the Celebration and Tour Planning

The Saga Dawa Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in Tibetan Calendar, when the star of Saga appears in the sky.

Usually, it falls in May or June in the Solar Calendar. The next Saga Dawa Festival will be celebrated on May 31, 2026.

Besides the most important day, the celebrations of the Saga Dawa Festival will last for a month with various types of celebrations and events throughout Tibet.

What is the Saga Dawa Festival? The Most Significant Religious Festival in Tibet

The Saga Dawa Festival is one of the most important festivals in Tibet, which commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and nirvana of Shakyamui Buddha.

As a key expression of Tibetan religious culture and spirit, it emphasizes compassion, abstinence from killing, and spiritual practice.

Pilgrims accumulate merit through good deeds such as doing kora around sacred sites, releasing animals, making alms, and lighting lamps in monasteries during the festival.

It is an ideal time to experience the spiritual power and religious culture of Tibet, especially with a trip to Mount Kailash.

Local Tibetan celebrate Saga Dawa Festival at the foot of Mount Kailash.

When is Saga Dawa Festival? May 31, 2026 (Lasts one month)

The Saga Dawa Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in Tibetan Calendar, when the star of Saga appears in the sky.

Usually, it falls in May or June in the Solar Calendar. The next Saga Dawa Festival will be celebrated on May 31, 2026.

Besides the most important day, the celebrations of the Saga Dawa Festival will last for a month with various types of celebrations and events throughout Tibet.

Join us for your next Saga Dawa Festival journey to Mount Kailash in 2026.

What to Do in Saga Dawa Festival? More Than Just Koras

Taking a Kailash Kora or circumambulating other holy sites across the plateau is the main thing to do during the Saga Dawa Festival.

However, there are more ways to celebrate this most spiritual festival in Tibet and make it the ‘Month of Merits’.

For Tibetans, the Saga Dawa Festival has always been a time to give out alms to needy people, reffrain from killing animals, and release captured animals (like fish) into their natural habitats with sincere prayers.

While visiting a monastery during the Saga Dawa Festival, you can also see monks reciting prayers in the assembly hall, while local people line up to make their donation for the monks.

People in Lhasa also go picnic in local parks, which is called Linka in Tibetan, to celebrate the festival with their family members and friends together.

Enjoy the classic Lhasa City tour with a unique Saga Dawa Festival experience.

Saga Dawa Festival at Mount Kailash: The Heart of the Celebrations!

Mount Kailash, the spiritual center of the world in Tibetan Buddhism, is the focal point for pilgrims during the Saga Dawa Festival.

The Kailash Kora is one of the most important pilgrimages in Asia. It is believed that one kora around Mt Kailash cleanses the sins of this lifetime, 108 koras break the cycle of rebirth, and assure one of nirvana at death.

The reason to do Kailash Kora during the Saga Dawa Festival is that it is believed good deeds and prayers made during this sacred time are multiplied thousand-fold, making it a truly meaningful rewarding pilgrimage.

Another highlight of the Saga Dawa Festival at Mount Kailash is that a new flagpole will be erected at Tarboche at Mt Kailash on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Tibetan Calendar. Besides joining in the once-in-a-year ceremony, you can do kora around the new flagpole with pilgrims from all directions.

After the Kailash Kora, pilgrims always visit Lake Manasarovar for a sacred walk and to touch the holy water of the lake, which is believed to purify the soul and cleanse sins.

Our guests experience the Saga Dawa Festival with a sacred Mount Kaliash trek.

Join our scheduled small group tour to Mount Kailash (also has departures during the Saga Dawa Festival)!

Saga Dawa Festival in Lhasa: How to Celebrate in the Holy City

Lhasa, the holy city of Tibet, is also a good place to experience the Saga Dawa Festival.

Hundreds of Tibetan people circumambulate around the Barkhor Street or take the kora around the Potala Palace. You can join the crowds, koraing around the holy site.

After doing the kora, the locals like to come to the park and enjoy a late afternoon picnic with families and friends. This has become some sort of a yearly ritual for the locals in Tibet.

If you take a Saga Dawa Festival tour in Lhasa, don’t forget to be a part of the huge crowd that visits the Zongjiao Lukang Park at the foot of the Potala Palace. You can see locals dressing in their splendid attire, singing, dancing, and having a picnic in the park.

On the banks of the Lhasa River, you can also meet the locals releasing fish, which shows compassion and sets living beings free from suffering, helping to earn good karma.

Local Tibetan people dancing in Zongjiao Lukang Park at the foot of the Potala Palace druing Saga Dawa Festival.

How to Arrange a Saga Dawa Festival Tour in 2026? Book in Advance for the Year of the Horse

The next Saga Dawa Festival falls on May 31, 2026. This is also the year of the Horse, which is an important year for Kailash kora.

Pilgrims believe that one kora around Mount Kailash in the year of the Horse is equivalent to thirteen koras in a regular year. So, in 2026, it would be a peak time to visit Mount Kailash.

To ensure a smooth journey to Mount Kailash during the 2026 Saga Dawa Festival, it is better to arrange your trip as early as possible. Since the accommodations, transfers, and tour guides would be limited, you need to book your 2026 Saga Dawa Festival tour to Mount Kailash in advance.

Every year, we handle hundreds of tourists to Mount Kailash during the Saga Dawa festival period. As the leading member of Tibet tourism, we at Tibet Vista ensure that you have a smooth journey to experience the Saga Dawa Festival in Mount Kailash with a guaranteed Tibet Travel Permit. Feel free to contact us and share your travel ideas for the next Saga Dawa Festival.

Join our Mount Kailash tour with the Saga Dawa Festival experience.

Join our 2026 Mount Kailash with the Saga Dawa Festival experience.

Insider Tips for a Hassle-free Saga Dawa Festival Tour in Tibet

A Chinese Visa and the Tibet Travel Permit are required for visiting Tibet. And if you plan to experience the Saga Dawa Festival at Mount Kailash, you also need to apply for the Military Permit to visit the Ngari area. It takes a longer time to process all these necessary travel documents. So, it is suggested to book your Saga Dawa Festival tour to Mount Kailash at least 30 days in advance.

Tibet Travel Permit

During the Saga Dawa Festival, there will be a large number of pilgrims and tourists, so please be prepared for the crowds. Also, please follow your guide closely to avoid being left behind.

Although Saga Dawa Festival typically falls in May or June, temperatures in the Ngari area remain relatiely low with an average altitude of over 4,500 meters. Even during the day time, the temperatures are just around 17°C. Therefore, you need to bring a windproof and down jacket to keep warm during your Kailash kora.

The accommodation conditions are limited in the Mount Kailash area. No star-rated hotels around the kora trail, and usually you need to share a dormitory with other tourists.

You can either get to Mount Kailash from Lhasa or Kathmandu via the Gyirong border by land. If you don’t want to visit other Tibetan attractions, the journey from Kathmandu to Mount Kailash is the shortest option, which takes around 10 days.

It is also possible to visit Mount Kailash during the epic Lhasa to Kathmandu overland tour.

More Fun Facts about Saga Dawa Festival

The Saga Dawa Festival is also called ‘the Poor’s Day’. Tibetan people’s generosity to the poor is well known. And the Saga Dawa Festival is the peak day for performing good deeds. Tibetans believe that it would accumulate immense merits during that particular day by giving generosity.

Many Tibetans will voluntarily abstain from meat and eat vegetarian food during the Saga Dawa month, and even local restaurants have introduced vegetarian menus to accumulate merit and reduce killing.

The Saga Dawa Festival is the only festival in Tibetan Buddhism that commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and nirvana of Buddha Sakyamuni together. Tibetans believe that doing good deeds during this month can increase merit a thousandfold.

Join us for the most spiritual journey to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar.

Conclusion

The Saga Dawa Festival is one of the most auspicious and significant religious festivals in Tibet, which draws not only local pilgrims but also tourists from around the world to take part in the sacred celebrations.

To better experience the Saga Dawa Festival, we recommend booking your journey with us as early as possible.

Our Tibet Festival Tours offer you one of the ideal opportunities to see local people celebrating their most important religious festival, and a chance to experience this unique culture.

Not only can you watch the grand Buddhist activities, but you can also join in with the prayers and kora to feel the devout and benevolence of Tibetan culture.