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The Paro tsechu scheduled in spring is a major attraction in Paro district. People come from all over to be a part of the festivities.

Tsechus are religious festivals of the Drukpa people. The Paro tsechu is the biggest of the tsechus in terms of participation and audience.

The focal point of the tsechus are the sacred dances, the costumed masked dances are based on incidents from the life of the 9th century Nyingmapa teacher Padmasambhava and other saints.

An important aspect of the Paro festival is the unfurling of a thongdrel (or thangka) - a large tapestry typically depicting a seated Guru Rinpoche surrounded by holy beings. The thongdrel is unrolled before dawn and rolled up by morning. It is said that those that see the thongdrel are cleansed of their sins.

The dance schedule for the festival generally consists of the following dances.

On the first day, the performances covered are the Dance of the Four Stags (Sha Tsam), the Dance of the Three kinds of Ging (Pelage Gingsum), the Dance of the Heroes (Pacham), the Dance of the Stags and Hounds (Shawo Shachi) and the Dance with Guitar (Dranyeo Cham).

On the second day the dances performed are the Black Hat Dance (Shana), the Dance of the 21 black hats with drums (Sha nga ngacham), the Dance of the Noblemen and the Ladies (Pholeg Moleg) and the Dance of the Drums from Dramitse (Dramitse Ngacham).

On the third day the dances performed include the Dance of the Lords of the Cremation Grounds (Durdag), the Dance of the Terrifying Deities (Tungam) and the Dance of the Rakshas and the Judgement of the Dead (Ragsha Mangcham).

On the last day of the festival, the dances performed cover the Dance of Tamshing in Bumthang, the Dance of the Lords of the Cremation grounds (the same dance as day 3), the Dance of the Ging and Tsoling (Ging Dang Tsoling) and the Dance of the Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche (Guru Tshen Gye).

The last day of the festival also marks the unfurling of the Thongdrel, a very large scroll painting or thangka, which is unfurled early in the morning. Before sunrise, the painting is rolled up and kept in the Dzong before it is displayed again one year later.

Festivals in Bhutan are a very important and are a great way to get a glimpse into the Bhutanese way of life. The Paro festival held in spring is ideal as the weather is perfect making this festival quite popular. Come and join in the travel Bhutan celebrations and witness the culture and tradition of the Bhutanese people.

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