When it happens
The Haa district administration fixes the festival to the eighth, ninth and tenth days of the ninth Bhutanese lunar month, so it runs for three days.
Its dates are usually described as moving each year with the lunar calendar and as falling around October, sometimes in November.
Where it happens
The festival is held in the courtyard of Lhakhang Karpo, the White Temple, which sits at the base of the Meri Puensum peaks in Haa valley.
Lhakhang Karpo also hosts a prayer festival, the Moenlam Chenmo. Lhakhang Karpo also opens App Chundu Lhasel, a separate annual observance. Ap Chundu is the principal protective deity of Haa.
History
Lhakhang Karpo’s founding is placed in the seventh century under the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo, which makes it one of the valley’s oldest sites. The king is also credited with its counterpart, Lhakhang Nagpo, the Black Temple.
According to tradition, the king chose the two sites by releasing doves. The white dove is said to have alighted at the base of Meri Puensum to mark Lhakhang Karpo, and the black one to have marked Lhakhang Nagpo.
Haa opened to foreign tourists only in 2002.
Dances and rituals
Monks and laymen perform cham (sacred masked dances) that depict tales from Buddhist mythology. The dances are believed to invoke blessings and ward off evil spirits.
The festival also includes regional folk songs and dances and shared traditional Bhutanese food, and the community gathers in its finery.
Being there
Haa adjoins Paro over Chelela, one of Bhutan’s highest road passes. The crossing from Paro takes roughly two and a half hours, with views of Jomolhari and Jichu Drake.
Haa remains one of Bhutan’s least-visited districts, and Haa Tshechu is still largely a local, devotional gathering. The district covers roughly 1,706 square kilometres and has about 12,000 people, so crowds are small and local compared with Paro or Thimphu.