Season: July

Location: Haa valley

To showcase its traditional living culture, nomadic lifestyle, unique local cuisine, local sports and religious performances, Haa Summer Festivals was introduced in 2011. Haa valley is unparalleled in Bhutan in terms of the diversity of the folk culture, legends and shamanistic rituals and this two-day festival provides an insight into lives and traditions of nomadic herders and an opportunity to immerse oneself in variety of local experiences by playing local sports, enjoying home-cooked cuisine and enjoying traditional songs and dances.

Haa Summer Festival with objective of show casing the rich alpine flowers, folklore and culture enrich visitors with wide range of activities & experiences such as:

* Yak Cham and other mask dances
* Local sports and games; Archery, Khuru (dart game), Soksum (javelin throw)
* Demonstration and experiencing Haaps cuisine; Hoentey (traditional buckwheat dumpling), Khuley (buckwheat pancake), Puta (buckwheat noodles), Yaksha kam (dried yak meat), Ezay (chili paste), Tse thu (local porridge), & Mushroom dishes
* Show casing traditional, cultural skills (Choeshum - shrine room in a Bhutanese household architecture, thangkha painting, bamboo products, yak’s products, and household items)
* Haap’s nomadic life experience in the yak tent (demonstration of yak milking, butter & cheese processing, competition with rice and butter measurement with traditional measuring scale)
* Alpine flower exhibition and competition (competition on the identification, significance and scientific terms of the flowers found in Haa district)
* Ara tshogchang ceremony, ara served in a formal traditional way along the bon fire (Ara-the native spirit)