Laya Festival

The Royal Highland Festival is held each year on October 23–24 in Laya, within Bhutan’s Gasa district. Taking place at an altitude of 4,000 meters, the festival was created to celebrate, preserve, and promote the unique culture and traditions of Bhutan’s nomadic highland people. It also serves to support their livelihoods, showcase the beauty and wonders of the highlands, and honor their resilience.

Over two days, visitors can experience the dramatic sights and sounds of the High Himalayas while enjoying parades, games, and competitions that feature highland animals such as yaks, horses, and mastiff dogs. Many of these animals are adorned with rich fabrics, colored hair decorations, and bells. Cultural programs led by the Layaps, the indigenous people of Laya, include traditional songs, dances, poetry recitations, and gift offerings. The Layaps call their homeland Be-yul, meaning “the hidden land.”

Festival grounds are filled with stalls offering local produce, along with displays of highland farming techniques, medicinal herbs, and plants. The event draws communities from across Bhutan, with highland tribes journeying down to compete in races and animal showings. Visitors can also explore stalls selling textiles, handicrafts, souvenirs, and local foods, including specialties such as dried yak cheese, butter, and traditional alcoholic beverages.

Situated in the far northwestern corner of Bhutan, Gasa district is home to some of the country’s tallest peaks. At the base of these mountains lie more than a hundred glacial lakes, which feed major rivers including the Phochu and Mochu. With elevations ranging from 1,500 to 4,500 meters, the entire district falls within the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Park, a sanctuary for diverse wildlife such as yak, musk deer, blue sheep, snow leopard, red panda, snow pigeon, Himalayan black bear, and Bhutan’s national symbols, the raven and the takin.