Saga Dawa Festival with Mt. Kailash 2025

The Saga Dawa Festival at Mount Kailash is considered to be one of the most important occasions in Buddhist culture in the entire world. The festival is held every year on the full moon day of the fourth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar (May/June). This festival is all about honoring Sakyamuni's enlightenment. This lucky day combines three significant events in Buddha's life: birth, nirvana, and death. When the star of Saga shines in the sky during the fourth month of the Tibetan calendar, Tibetan Buddhists celebrate the most fortunate and important time of the year: the Saga Dawa Festival. This month-long celebration in honor of  Buddha Sakyamuni, whose birth, enlightenment, and nirvana all occurred in the same month, closes on June 11, 2025.

People are much more merciful than regular people throughout this period. They believe that good deeds and prayers are multiplied a thousandfold during this time. They do Kora around Jokhang Temple and give alms to needy people, refrain from killing animals, and discharge captured animals (such as fish) into their natural habitats with sincere prayers, making it the "Month of Merits." During the Saga Dawa Festival, more pilgrims visit Mt Kailash to witness the flagpole-erecting ritual at Tarboche and participate in Kora around Mt Kailash, the most important activity for Tibetan Buddhists. The most significant component of the celebration is the replacement of the 'Tarboche Flagpole', the famous massive pole that stands on the path to Kailash. Every year, the flagpole is removed and a new pole is installed. All locals and visitors are in amazement as they see the pole being replaced. People from all across Tibet come to attend the Saga Dawa festival and attach their little prayer flags to the pole. 

A Lama (a Buddhist teacher/monk) leads and ritualizes the event. The flagpole should be vertical or otherwise, it is said to bring bad luck to Tibet. We welcome everyone to visit Tibet during Saga Dawa and participate in the region's festive activities. Attending the festival is an excellent chance to learn about Tibetan life and culture. So come make a memory that will last a lifetime. Our Saga Dawa event Tours provide an excellent opportunity to watch locals celebrating their most important religious event while also experiencing this unique culture. You can not only observe the grandeur of Buddhist activities, but you can also participate in prayers and kora to experience Tibetan culture's devoutness and generosity.

Date for Saga Dawa Festival 

Facts about the Saga Dawa Festival

1. Saga Dawa Festival is also called “the Poor’s Day” 

While the festival remembers significant events in Buddha's life, it is also recognized as a day when people donate more liberally to the impoverished. 

The celebration is known as "Qiong ren jie" in Chinese, which translates as needy People's Day, and people in Tibet practice donating to monks and nuns as well as the community's needy. Tibetans believe that donating to the impoverished builds merits, especially during the month of Saga Dawa.

2. Saga Dawa festival celebrates the birth of Buddha

The Saga Dawa festival is a traditional ritual that reflects the important events in Buddha Shakyamuni's life, including his birth, Nirvana (enlightenment), and Parinirvana (death). It is done to honor Buddha's requests on his deathbed. As he lay dying, he told his disciples not to celebrate him with flowers and incense, but rather to seek to follow his teachings and live a great, empathetic life. 

He advised others around him not to grieve, but rather to remember that everything turns to dust and celebrate his ascent into paradise. The event is observed by visiting temples, raising a flagpole, burning butter lamps, and conducting the ceremonial kora at various holy sites.

3. Doing kora is an important way to celebrate Saga Dawa

Making a ritual kora during Saga Dawa is a major occasion for Tibetan Buddhists, who believe that any merits collected during Saga Dawa are multiplied based on where the deeds of goodwill and compassion are performed.

It is widely thought that those who do the kora around monuments such as Jokhang Temple and Mount Kailash multiply their merits by a factor of a hundred thousand, making a single circumambulation of the site a crucial act in their journey to enlightenment.

4. Saga Dawa is about making merit

One of the most widely held beliefs is that all activities performed during the month of Saga Dawa are multiplied. It is regarded as the "merit month" because people visit temples, give freely, and undertake spiritual pilgrimages. 

Throughout the month, pilgrims visit important and holy sites around the plateau, particularly the hallowed Mount Kailash, to honor Buddha by walking the pilgrim kora around the summit. Thousands of tourists visit Ngari to trek around Mount Kailash, the world's most sacred mountain.

5. Local Tibetans will become vegetarians during the Saga Dawa

Another typical practice during the Saga Dawa period was for Tibetan Buddhists to stay away from eating meat, leaving the animals to be free and living for their merits. During this month, people consume just fruits and vegetables and avoid any animal products. 

Many people may even remove animals and fish and release them back into their natural habitats to gain virtue for being compassionate to animals. These behaviors are all part of the techniques to earn extra merits throughout this month of merit.