Overview

Saga Dawa festival tour is observed by Tibetan Buddhist as one of the important festivals in their society. It therefore occupied an important position in the Tibetan society held each year on the full moon day of the fourth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar. This festival is celebrated in honor of Sakyamuni's and his enlightenment. Each year, they replace the Tarboche flagpole, a huge pole that stands on the Kailash Kora, south of the mountain. People from all over Tibet gather here that day to attach their prayer flags they brought from home, to pray, and to help erect the flagpole. The flagpole should stand perfectly upright, or else things are not good for Tibet. The whole ceremony is led by a Lama from the nearby monastery.

Day of Saga Dawa - People circulate the flagpole that is down on the ground now. They pray and throw 'Wind horses' (little pieces of colored paper with Buddhist scriptures on them) into the air. They help to remove last year's prayer flags and attach new ones. As a visitor you are almost forced to follow them as they go around and around, time after time. Along the sides, on the slope of the nearby hills, a lot of people are sitting to watch the 'spectacle' and there are musicians, which play all the time on their horns and symbols.

The flagpole is first erected halfway, using A-structures and ropes. The Lama continually gives instructions on how to do it, when to stop and when to go on. Everyone can help pulling the ropes, that's the 'non-organized' part of it, but there are always plenty of people doing this spontaneously. When they cannot go further using the A-structures, they pause for about half an hour. The Lama sits on the side, and all the time people come to sit in front of them, to talk to him, to give him some gift (mostly some drink!), to ask him for good fortune. They do not 'queue' however, as soon as someone is gone, someone else comes out of the walking crowds - it all seems not organized, but in fact it's a very special way of organization! Then it’s come the final part, the last step that has to result in the perfect upright position of the flagpole. A steel cable is attached to two trucks, engines are warmed up, and then, on the sign of the Lama, and they go backward, pulling the flagpole. To be able to control the movement, on both sides of the flagpole people pull ropes too, to prevent it doesn't incline to one or the other direction. Once the trucks start moving, it all goes very fast, the flagpole is moving, the A-structures that were supporting it, fall down, and only seconds later it is all over. And then big magic occurs, the flagpole stands upright, and at that very moment, thousands of wind horses fly into the sky... like an explosion of prayers going to the heavens. You can really feel a sudden great sense of happiness surrounding you. The next moment, people start incubating the flagpole again, this time to assure them the job is well done, and that all is well. We join them in some kind of almost euphoria. Some hours later the place is empty again, except for the tents further away belonging to the people that will spend the night here, maybe to return the next day, or to do the Kailash Parikrama.

Saga Dawa Festival tour begins after the arrival of all participants in Kathmandu, the group will meet up with the staffs of Nepal Adventure Point for introduction and briefing about the trip. The next day is the day for sightseeing in Kathmandu. You will be taken around for a tour of Bouddhanath, Pashupatinath, Patan and Swoyambhunath - the monkey temple. This tour will help you to understand about the historical and cultural background of Nepal, Kathmandu valley and the people of Nepal. The next couple of days are for checking equipments, final preparations, packing, Tibet visa and other necessary document for this trip.

After official procedure, we drive towards Nepal/Tibet border up to the Friendship Bridge through Arniko Highway, where you will receive by our Tibetan guide and after completion of the immigration formalities then we drive to Nyalam (3750m) and we continue drive to Pigutso, Saga, Zhongbo to Lake Manasarovar, tour along the way to visit important sites together with magnificent Himalayan views. We will visit the picturesque Chiu Monastery on the North West shore of the lake with the imposing sight of Mount Kailash in the background. We celebrate the Saga Dawa with the pilgrims and tourists together and we have couple day’s treks from Manasarover to Tarbochen, Dira-Puk till Darchen. Then we re-cross the vast arid plains before heading south to the Nepalese border and returning to Kathmandu and the farewell dinner will be at typical Nepali restaurant enjoying together with Nepali culture show program. This is truly the trip of a lifetime with stunning scenery and cultural highlights

Highlights

Visit temple, Art/architecture, Pagodas and Heritage sites in Kathmandu
Scenic road-head drive to Nepal/Tibet border through the Araniko Highway
The high passes bordering Yamdrok-Tso, Gyantse and Shigatse
Visit Sakya Monastery
A walk or drive to Base Camp brings you even closer
Visit Shalu, Tashilimpu Palkor Monastery
Yamdruk Lake
Historical sight of Lhasa and Buddhist monasteries
Scenic Himalayan flight to kathmandu