Royal Highland Festival

by sjsonnenbergmd

“The 8th Royal Highland Festival in Laya, held on 23–24 October 2025, was made especially memorable by the presence of the Royal Family. This year’s theme, “Celebrating Highland Resilience and Prosperity,” highlighted the strength and cultural richness of Bhutan’s highland communities through vibrant performances, traditional sports, and local exhibitions.” From the Daily Bhutan

Starting from our apartment at 7765 ft altitude, our first stop en route to the festival was Dochula Pass, altitude 10,300 ft. Of our half dozen trips to Dochula, this was our first with a clear sky and a view of the high Himalaya. In the distance is Mount Masagang, altitude 23,602 ft. The festival is at Mount Masagang’s base, at 13,100 ft. The tiny white dot center far left, is the village of Gasa, at 8356 ft. Gasa is our next stop but the route is circuitous as we go over and around the mountains in the foreground and the road conditions tortuous after Punakha.
The Mo Chhu river. Three weeks before the festival, Bhutan was hit with the largest storm of the year, washing away fourteen bridges and numerous roads, cutting off many communities. From Punakha onward, there were between fifteen and twenty landslides and washouts along the precipitous mountainside in the process of being cleared. Although the final portion of the road from Gasa to the Laya expedition base was only a year old, it was unpaved and the condition so rough that we were able to drive no more than 10 km/hr most of the way.

Having spent the night at a homestay in Gasa, with an alpine start, we drove three additional hours to the road’s end, a three hour hike from there to Laya. Before this last portion of the road was completed, it was a two day hike. The Layap people have depended on horses for centuries to transport goods and for trade. Two years ago we met a school principle at a book store in Thimphu who was purchasing supplies to be transported by horseback over two to three days to his school. The festival preparations and the movement of tourist luggage depends heavily on the continued use of the horses and mules, providing essential income to their Layap owners.

In Thimphu, we go to sleep with the barking and howling of the dogs. In Laya, it was the neighing of the horses and the braying of the mules as they freely moved about the paths between the houses.

Sonam and Kesang, our guide and driver at the road’s end, 11,717 ft, the start of a three hour hike to our homestay at 12,313 ft.
View from the outdoor bathroom at our homestay. If you heard footsteps while you were doing your business, it was more likely a horse than a human.
Our homestay bedroom was the family altar room. Note the heater and the piles of blankets. Electricity was on and off, but mostly on. Wireless reception was better than our home in the Adirondack Mountains of Northern New York.
The final hike to the festival grounds at 13,100 ft. Mount Masagang dominating the landscape. We had the advantage over many tourists of having acclimated for six weeks at 8000 ft. and we also took acetazolamide to prevent altitude sickness. We were told that the grounds were a one day’s walk from the border with Chinese Occupied Tibet and we needed a special permit from the nearby army base to visit Laya.
Yaks covering the hillside above the festival grounds. Traditionally, yak wool, cheese and meat were the primary source of income. They have been supplanted by the harvesting of Cordyceps, a fungus that parasitizes a catapillar, worth it’s weight in gold.
The royal family entering the festival grounds, king center, crown prince to his right, queen between and behind them, princess to the crown prince’s right and second prince to king’s left. This is an official photo. Photos of the royal family were otherwise prohibited.
The festival grounds with a perimeter of traditional yak wool tents of the nomadic highland people. Behind the orange and yellow Bhutanese flag is the tent of the royal family. Photos of the royals were not permitted, but it was fun watching the two princes and the princess running about like any child would, the princess swinging on the flagpole, the princes fighting with wooden swords, both the king and the queen chasing after them at times
The pole climbing competition, spectators on their feet, cheering them on.
Layap school children, waiting their turn to perform traditional dances.
Traditional Layap dress at the”walkway” fashion show. Eight different highland districts from across Bhutan were represented.
Traditional dress for highlanders from Merak and Sakteng. It was a two to three day journey from Merak to Laya.
Horse racing, beginning and ending at the festival grounds after a race along the ridge. Two brothers from Paro were the winners.
The tug-of-war competition
A majestic contestant in the Parade of Animals. Watching the parade disappear over the ridge at the conclusion of the festival was especially moving. At one level it signaled the conclusion of the event. At another it reminded us that this may be our last trip to Bhutan. At still another level, it may portend a way of life threatened by modernization and climate change. It’s a way of life highly valued by the monarchy and felt to be essential to the identity of Bhutan, hence the commitment to its preservation through the Royal Highland Festival.

With the conclusion of the festival, the party moves to the Laya Middle Secondary School grounds, from traditional dance and music to contemporary. Coincidentally, the rhythm of Bhutanese pop music works for western swing style dancing, so we danced the night away and impressed a few of the locals. Everyone in the crowd knew the lyrics and sang along. Kesang knew all the appropriate moves to the individual songs and had fun encouraging Margaret to follow along.

2 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing this amazing adventure! The photos are so striking, capturing the vastness of the terrain and the rich culture you observed.

    X- Maia

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  2. Steve, excellent write up and photos. And an inspirational event in Bhutan. It could, I suppose, be classified as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Congratulations to you both for experiencing it. I hope the Bhutanese can continue their balancing act in this (hopeless) world.

    L. Lorenz M Worden – lorenzworden@gmail.com – 518-489-0866

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