Paro Tshechu

A tshechu is a festival in honour of Guru Rinpoche, held on or around the tenth day of a lunar month, and every district has one. Paro's is among the largest and the most visited. For five days in March or April, monks and lay dancers in silk costumes and carved masks perform cham dances in the courtyard of Rinpung Dzong and on the ground outside. Each dance has a meaning: some show the defeat of evil spirits, others the judgement of the dead or the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche.

The crowd is half the experience. Families from across the Paro valley come in their best gho and kira, sit on the steps and the grass with picnic baskets, and stay all day. Atsaras, masked clowns, move through the audience making jokes and blessing people with wooden phalluses. Children run between the stalls selling sweets and toys. For Bhutanese, watching the dances earns merit, and attending is a social event as much as a religious one.

The final morning is the high point. Before sunrise, a huge thongdrel, an appliqué thangka depicting Guru Rinpoche and his manifestations, is unrolled on the wall of the dzong. Wikipedia notes it is shown only at dawn so that sunlight does not touch it, and it is rolled up again by early morning. Bhutanese believe seeing it frees one from sin. Plan to be there by 4–5 am, dressed warmly, with your guide.