The Hemis Festival is held in the month of July. Tourists in large numbers gather here from all over the world to watch the famous masked dances. The music is normally composed with sounds of symbols, drums and trumpets. The masked dancers move around 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.
Monasteries like Likir, Lamayuru, Thiksey and many others, also have their individual festivals. Since they follow the lunar calendar, the actual dates of the festivals vary from year to year. 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 which brings forward the region’s folk dances, arts and crafts, sporting events and rituals. |
