When exactly is Tamshing Phala Choepa 2026?

20–22 September 2026, per the Department of Tourism's published calendar. The dates are calculated from the Bhutanese lunar calendar (8th–10th day of the 8th lunar month) and shift each Gregorian year.

Pema Lingpa (1450–1521) was a great Nyingma terton — a revealer of hidden teachings concealed by Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) for later retrieval. He was born in the Tang valley of Bumthang and founded Tamshing Lhakhang in 1501. The Royal Family of Bhutan traces ancestry through his descendants; his lineage and the Wangchuck dynasty are intertwined.

What is the relic-armour?

A chain-mail vest held by tradition to have been fashioned by Pema Lingpa with his own hands. The vest is kept in Tamshing Lhakhang and brought out once a year, on Day 3 of the festival, to be passed over the heads of the assembled community for blessing. It is the festival's most distinctive moment.

How does Tamshing Phala Choepa compare to the other autumn festivals?

Smaller and more intimate than the dzong tshechus (Thimphu, Wangdue, Paro). The international cohort is smaller. The festival's principal distinction is the Pema Lingpa lineage — the chams are 15th-century compositions executed in their original choreography, which the larger tshechus do not maintain.

How do I get to Bumthang?

Approximately 9 hours by road from Paro via Thimphu, Punakha, and Trongsa — typically broken across two driving days. There is also a domestic Drukair flight from Paro to Bumthang's Bathpalathang airport (operating in clear-weather windows; we typically build flexibility into the itinerary in case weather grounds a flight).

Tamshing Phala Choepa mask dance in the Tamshing Lhakhang courtyard, Bumthang

Pema Lingpa's own monastery

Tamshing Phala Choepa — three days at the 15th-century Tamshing Lhakhang, founded by Pema Lingpa.

Tamshing Phala Choepa is held annually at Tamshing Lhakhang in the Choekhor valley of Bumthang, typically in late September or early October. The monastery was founded in 1501 by Pema Lingpa — the great Nyingma terton — and the festival honours his lineage and treasures. Three days; intimate; the Bumthang autumn at its photographic peak.

drup · Tamshing Lhakhang, Choekhor valley, Bumthang · Bumthang

Next: 20-22 September 2026
Duration: 3 days
Where: Bumthang
Calendar: Lunar, shifts yearly

Pema Lingpa and the founding of Tamshing

Pema Lingpa (1450–1521) is held by the Nyingma school to be one of the five sovereign tertons — the great revealers of hidden teachings concealed by Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) for retrieval at a later age. Born in the Tang valley of Bumthang, Pema Lingpa was both farmer and seer; he founded Tamshing Lhakhang in 1501 as his principal seat, and the monastery has held his lineage continuously through more than five centuries. The Royal Family of Bhutan traces ancestry through Pema Lingpa's descendants; his lineage and the Wangchuck dynasty are intertwined.

The three-day programme

The Tamshing Phala Choepa programme is distinctive among the Bhutanese festivals. Day 1 opens with the cycle of chams composed by Pema Lingpa himself — including the Phacham (the dance of the boar-headed deity) and the Guru Tshengye (the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche), executed in their original 15th-century choreography. Day 2 brings the principal chams of the Nyingma protector deities and the cycle of mask dances. Day 3 closes with the Tungam, the public blessing, and the unfurling of the relic-armour of Pema Lingpa — a chain-mail vest the terton is held to have fashioned with his own hands, brought out once a year to be passed over the heads of the assembled community.

What to expect as a visitor

Tamshing sits in the Choekhor valley, across the Chamkhar Chhu from Jakar Dzong, at 2,600 metres. The monastery is small by dzong standards — the festival is held in the lhakhang's principal courtyard and in the adjacent meadow, at a scale that feels family-sized rather than national-sized. The late-September timing catches Bumthang's autumn peak — the buckwheat fields turning red-pink, the surrounding pine forests dark, the sky clear. The drive from Paro is approximately 9 hours via Thimphu, Punakha, and Trongsa — typically broken across two days. Domestic Drukair flights operate to Bumthang's Bathpalathang airport in clear-weather windows.

What a visitor encounters

Pema lingpa's chams: Day 1 opens with the cycle of chams composed by Pema Lingpa himself in the 15th century, executed in their original choreography. The lineage continuity is the festival's distinctive register.
The relic armour: On Day 3, the chain-mail vest held to have been fashioned by Pema Lingpa is brought out and passed over the heads of the assembled community for blessing. The relic is rarely seen outside the festival window.
Bumthang in autumn: Combine the festival with two or three days in the Choekhor and Tang valleys — Jakar Dzong, Kurjey Lhakhang, Mebar Tsho (the burning lake where Pema Lingpa revealed his first treasure), and the surrounding villages of Bumthang's principal religious landscape.
Accommodation in bumthang: Amankora Bumthang (in the Choekhor valley, 10 minutes from Tamshing), Six Senses Bumthang, Wangdicholing Resort, and Jakar Village Lodge. Lodges are fewer than in Paro or Thimphu; book 6+ months in advance for the festival window.

Dates by year

The Bhutanese calendar is a distinct lunar system, not identical to the Tibetan or the broader Indian lunar calendars, and the Gregorian dates of every Bhutanese festival shift each year. The Royal Government's Department of Tourism publishes the official calendar each year, typically 6 to 12 months in advance. The dates below are our projection from the published lunar pattern (8th–10th day of the 8th Bhutanese lunar month); we confirm each year against the Department of Tourism's release and update this page accordingly. Before you finalise travel dates, please confirm with our concierge.

Year	Dates	Note
2026	20-22 September 2026
2027	9-11 October 2027
2028	27-29 September 2028

Common questions

When exactly is Tamshing Phala Choepa 2026?: 20–22 September 2026, per the Department of Tourism's published calendar. The dates are calculated from the Bhutanese lunar calendar (8th–10th day of the 8th lunar month) and shift each Gregorian year.
Who was Pema Lingpa?: Pema Lingpa (1450–1521) was a great Nyingma terton — a revealer of hidden teachings concealed by Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) for later retrieval. He was born in the Tang valley of Bumthang and founded Tamshing Lhakhang in 1501. The Royal Family of Bhutan traces ancestry through his descendants; his lineage and the Wangchuck dynasty are intertwined.
What is the relic-armour?: A chain-mail vest held by tradition to have been fashioned by Pema Lingpa with his own hands. The vest is kept in Tamshing Lhakhang and brought out once a year, on Day 3 of the festival, to be passed over the heads of the assembled community for blessing. It is the festival's most distinctive moment.
How does Tamshing Phala Choepa compare to the other autumn festivals?: Smaller and more intimate than the dzong tshechus (Thimphu, Wangdue, Paro). The international cohort is smaller. The festival's principal distinction is the Pema Lingpa lineage — the chams are 15th-century compositions executed in their original choreography, which the larger tshechus do not maintain.
How do I get to Bumthang?: Approximately 9 hours by road from Paro via Thimphu, Punakha, and Trongsa — typically broken across two driving days. There is also a domestic Drukair flight from Paro to Bumthang's Bathpalathang airport (operating in clear-weather windows; we typically build flexibility into the itinerary in case weather grounds a flight).

Monuments at and around this festival

Journeys around this festival

Venue: Tamshing Lhakhang, Choekhor valley, Bumthang
District: Bumthang
Register: drup
Lunar pattern: 8th–10th day of the 8th Bhutanese lunar month

Begin when you are ready.

Five questions. A bespoke draft back within a day or two.

Plan a journey around this festival

Preparing

Tamshing Phala Choepa — three days at the 15th-century Tamshing Lhakhang, founded by Pema Lingpa.

drup · Tamshing Lhakhang, Choekhor valley, Bumthang · Bumthang

Pema Lingpa and the founding of Tamshing

The three-day programme

What to expect as a visitor

Year

Dates

Note

2026

20-22 September 2026

2027

9-11 October 2027

2028

27-29 September 2028

Tamshing Phala Choepa — three days at the 15th-century Tamshing Lhakhang, founded by Pema Lingpa.

Pema Lingpa and the founding of Tamshing

The three-day programme

What to expect as a visitor

Tamshing Lhakhang — founded in 1501 by the great Nyingma terton Pema Lingpa.

Jambay Lhakhang — built by Songtsen Gampo to pin the left knee of the ogress whose body lay across the Himalaya.

Kurjey Lhakhang — the cliff cave bearing Guru Rinpoche's body imprint, in the Choekhor valley of Bumthang.

Jakar Dzong — the 'dzong of the white bird,' founded 1549 by the Tibetan master Ngagi Wangchuck.

Fourteen nights from Paro to Guwahati — the country as a single arc.

Thimphu Tshechu, read properly.

Begin when you are ready.

Tamshing Phala Choepa — three days at the 15th-century Tamshing Lhakhang, founded by Pema Lingpa.

Pema Lingpa and the founding of Tamshing

The three-day programme

What to expect as a visitor

Tamshing Lhakhang — founded in 1501 by the great Nyingma terton Pema Lingpa.

Jambay Lhakhang — built by Songtsen Gampo to pin the left knee of the ogress whose body lay across the Himalaya.

Kurjey Lhakhang — the cliff cave bearing Guru Rinpoche's body imprint, in the Choekhor valley of Bumthang.

Jakar Dzong — the 'dzong of the white bird,' founded 1549 by the Tibetan master Ngagi Wangchuck.

Fourteen nights from Paro to Guwahati — the country as a single arc.

Thimphu Tshechu, read properly.

Begin when you are ready.