In some ways, a festival is the ultimate way to experience a country. The immersion into the culture, celebrations and community can be a life-changing experience that few outsiders may encounter. Usually crammed into a few short days, these festivals can be a fleeting yet unforgettable experience.

We’ve rounded up our top 8 cultural festivals for 2016; from the spiritual Naadam Festival in Mongolia, to Bhutan’s colourful spectacle that is the Thimphu Tshechu festival, to the world famous Holi Festival of Colours in India, each providing a unique, exciting and eye-opening opportunity for travellers eager to get their culture fix!

Naadam Festival - Mongolia

Mongolia’s Naadam Festival (also locally termed “the three games of men") is an ancient cultural spectacle that combines colourful costumes and performances with an exciting tournament of the traditional sports of archery, wrestling and bareback horse riding. This biggest festival of the year is held from July 11-13 in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, and presents visitors with an incredible opportunity to experience the culture and people of this amazing land.

See the Naadam Festival on our Wild Mongolia Cycle and Naadam Festival or Trans Siberian Adventure Naadam Festival trips

Holi Festival of Colours - India

Holi is one of the most anticipated celebrations in the Hindu calendar, most widely recognised as being India’s (if not the world’s) most colourful festival. Aptly named “Festival of Colours”, it involves covering everyone in brightly coloured powder and water. Celebrated annually on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalunga, it usually falls during March or sometimes late February, and has many purposes; to celebrate the victory of good over evil, the beginning of Spring with all its beautiful colours and vibrant life, the beginning of the new year, as well as new beginnings with relationships and conflicts. The colourful ritual is said to be based on the story of Lord Khrishna, a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, who liked to play pranks by splashing maids with water and colours.

Book now on the Holi Festival of Colours departure and experience the colour, life and energy of the Holi festival.

Kandy Esala Perahera – Sri Lanka

The Esala Perahera is one of the oldest and grandest Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka, and one of the most colourful religious pageants in Asia.
Held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, the festival involves a ritual of carrying the sacred tooth relic through the streets of Kandy in exceptional style, including a parade of singers, dancers, musicians, acrobats, all accompanied by decorated tuskers and elephants. The spectacle is a sight to behold, and locals use the celebration to beseech blessings from the gods for rain to enrich the crops of Sri Lanka.

Book on the Food & Festivals of Sri Lanka with Peter Kuruvita trip to experience Sri Lanka’s finest foods and festival in 2016!

Korzok Gustor Festival - India

For a unique look into the remote cultures of the Himalaya, take time out to experience the Korzok Gustor Festival, a colourful two‑day spectacle, attended by the Changpa herdsmen, the locals and their families. Set in the tiny hamlet of Korzok in Ladakh, this photogenic annual festival centres around the triumph of good over evil, and finishes with a dismemberment of the “Storma” (sacrificial cake) and celebration over the assassination of an apostate Tibetan King from the 9^th century. Featuring colourful rituals, masks and dances, the photo opportunities of the festival are wide and varied, you can capture the elaborate demonic and animalistic faces masks, traditional costumes, musical instruments and theatrical dances - or simply turn your attention to the glass-like expanse of Tso-Moriri and the snow-capped peaks that hug the shore.

Experience the Korzok Gustor Festival and brush up on your photography skills with expert guidance on the Spiti, Ladakh & Korzok Gustor Festival with Richard I'Anson trip.

Jambay Lakhang festival – Bhutan

If your idea of a good festival involves naked mid-night dances, then speak no more! The Jambay Lakhang festival in Bhutan features the most spectacular midnight sacred dance (tercham), done to purify sins and predict a good harvest. Complemented by an extravagant fire ritual, this festival lasts for five days in November and includes a number of cultural dances during the day with significant cultural stories and meaning behind them.

Witness the spectacle of the Jambay Lakhang festival on our Bhutan Festivals - Land of the Thunder Dragon trip.

The Hornbill Festival - India

Situated in the north-east of India, Nagaland is the uncontested “wild-east” of India. On the edge of the India and Myanmar border, it is an otherworldly place that once a year is home to the “festival of festivals”, otherwise known as the Hornbill Festival. The week-long event is complete with traditional performances, sports, ceremonies and games, exposing the great culture and traditions of the great Naga communities.

Held in the first week of December, this festival is a rich cultural treat for the inquisitive traveller looking for a deeper insight into the remote communities of India.

Experience the Hornbill Festival on our Assam, Nagaland & The Hornbill Festival trip!

Thimphu Tshechu Festival - Bhutan

Bhutan is home to a number of exciting cultural and religious festivals, but you’ll be hard pressed to find one as colourful and spectacular as the Thimphu Tsechu festival! One of the biggest in the country, it runs over three days and is preceded by the Dromchoe; three days and nights of prayers and rituals to invoke the gods. One of the many highlights is the impressive ethnic folk dance performed in the courtyard of the famous Tashichho Dzong. Dancers in colourful costumes perform culturally and religiously significant dances to purify the ground, influence the spirits. and teach lessons about how ones behaviour affects the afterlife,

This colourful celebration is a must see! Book now on the Bhutan Thimphu Festival & Trek

Timket Festival - Ethiopia

In what is considered the most colourful event of the year in the country, Ethiopia’s Timket festival is a Ethiopian Orthodox Christian festival marking Epiphany. Each year, thousands of pilgrims flock to Gondar to re-enact the baptism of Jesus on the River Jordan, taking a dip in the holy waters of the historical Fasilides Bath. The two day event begins with a procession of the sacred “tabots”, holy replicas of the Ark of the Covenant. After the ceremony, the festival becomes a jubilant celebration with rollicking dances and singing – an unforgettable scene of spectacular colour and joy.

See the Timket Festival on our Highlands of Ethiopia or Ethiopia Explorer.

Inti Raymi - Peru

Also known as the “sun festival”, the Inti Raymi festival is a religious ceremony that dates back 500 years to the Incan Empire’s heyday, and honours one of the most venerated gods in the Inca Empire, Inti. Celebrated on the shortest day of the year, also known as winter solstice, the event traditionally involved the sacrifice of an animal to ensure healthy crops. The sacrifice was banned by the Spaniards, and today the festival involves a precession through the streets with music, prayers, dancing, scattered flowers, with women with brooms to sweep away the evil spirits and priests and participants dressed as snakes, condors and pumas. It’s the second largest festival in South America with hundreds of thousands of people travelling to Cuzco to celebrate the week long event.

See if for yourself on the Best of South America - Over 55's adventure

Saga Dawa Festival - Tibet

Tibet’s Mt Kailash has long regarded by Hindus and Buddhists as the Mythical Mount Meru: a sacred mountain considered the navel of the earth and the axis of the universe. Mount Kailash is revered in both Hindu and Buddhist legends, and each year is at the centre Saga Dawa festival, where thousands of pilgrims from throughout Tibet and beyond gather to pay homage to the mountain and celebrate the renewal of the Tarboche flagpole. People from all over Tibet flock attend the festival to attach their small prayer flags to the new pole, and it is believed that good deeds and prayers are multiplied thousandfold during the event.

This mesmerising religious event is an absolute must for travellers interested in straying far from the tourist tracks. Book your Journey to Mount Kailash to witness the festival today!