Hemis Monastery is the largest gompa in central Ladakh, and the Hemis Festival — the masked dance cycle held in June — draws thousands. We take guests who wish to come, but we do not photograph it. The masks are 17th-century. The dancers are monks. The cymbals shake the courtyard and the cymbals are old. A camera breaks the field. This is not nostalgia. This is respect.
When is the Hemis Festival?
26–27 June every year, aligned to the 10th day of the 5th lunar month in the Tibetan calendar. The dates shift by about a week annually in the Western calendar.
Do you include Hemis in your journeys?
Yes, if your dates align with June. We limit our Hemis bookings to one or two parties per year to keep the festival from becoming a tourist event.
The Himalayan Guru, custom Himalayan journeys, founded by The Himalayan Guru atelier in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. Phone +91 99066 66698, email hello@thehimalayan.guru.