Hemis Festival 2009

The Hemis Festival is an important cultural event that takes place each year in Ladakh at the Hemis Monastary. The festival marks the end of the 40 day Padyatara, a pilgrimage that begins in Manali and travels over 400 kilometers over some of the highest and most remote mountain terrain in the world finally terminating at the Hemis Monastary.


Leading the hundreds long procession of monks, nuns, and lay people is His Holiness the 12th Gwalyang Drukpa, the head of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism which celebrates over 800 years of unbroken lineage since its conception.



The festival begins with the arrival of the procession at the Hemis Monastary, which was built in the late 1600s, and lasts for two days. The celebrations are attended by people from all over the world who come to witness the traditional Tibetan and Ladakhi forms of music, dance, and Buddhist ritual. The Hemis Festival plays an important role in preserving these cultural and religious traditions.


While the festival is marked by the realization of age old customs the 12th Gwalyang Drukpa spoke about modern issues confronting the Ladhaki people including ecological awareness and the preservation of Ladakhi culture in the face of encroaching development.