Fairs and Festivals of Jammu and Kashmir

The Hemis Festival is held in the month of July when tourists in large numbers converge here from all over the world to watch the famous masked dances. The music is characteristically punctuated with sounds of cymbals, drums and long, unwieldy trumpets.

The masked dancers move around slowly, very slowly, and the most vital part of the dance is the masks and not so much the actual movements of the dance. The dances end with Good vanquishing Evil and the evil one is brought into the protective fold of Buddhism.

Like the Hemis festival, monasteries like Lamayuru, Thiksey, Spitook, Likir and many others also have their individual festivals. Since they follow the lunar calendar, the actual dates of the festivals vary from one year to another.

Other than these religious celebrations, Ladakh has also been host to a 15-day festival each year to bring forward the many nuances of this rich and exotic culture that is peculiar to this high part of the world. The Jammu and Kashmir tourism department organizes the Ladakh Festival in the month of September bringing forward the region’s folk dances, art and craft, sporting events and rituals.