Seasons and festivals
Month by month across Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal: when the mountain shows, when the tea is plucked, which festivals fall when, and what the monsoon and December cold really mean.
In short
The best time to visit Darjeeling, Sikkim and Bhutan is mid October to mid December, when the monsoon has washed the air and Kanchenjunga shows on most dawns. March to May is the second season, with first flush tea and rhododendrons but more haze. January and February are cold, bright and quiet. June to September is the monsoon: Darjeeling takes about 650 mm of rain in July, roads slip and the peaks hide, while Bhutan's western valleys stay far drier.
Month by month
Choose a month. The darker the cell, the better the weather and the clearer the mountain. Hatched cells are monsoon.
| Destination | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darjeeling | Quiet: Coldest month, 2 °C nights; Maghe Sankranti mid month | Quiet: Cold and dry, the first leaf only late in the month; Losar at the gompas | Good: First flush in full; Campbell's magnolias in flower | Best: First flush teas, mild days, spring haze builds | Good: Second flush starts; Buddha Jayanti at the full moon | Monsoon: Monsoon arrives, about 420 mm, mist on the ridge | Monsoon: Wettest month, about 650 mm; Bhanu Jayanti on 13 July | Monsoon: Heavy rain, deep green gardens, monsoon flush | Monsoon: Rain easing late in the month, slips still likely | Best: The mountain returns; Dashain and Puja fill the town | Best: Dry and sharp, autumn flush; Tihar, 7 to 11 November | Good: Driest month, 3.5 °C nights; carols, full after the 25th |
| Kalimpong | Quiet: Coldest month, 7 °C nights, clear dry days | Quiet: Dry and crisp; the Flower Festival on the Mela Ground, mid February in 2026; Losar at the gompas | Best: Warming fast, gardens coming into flower | Best: Mild days, some afternoon haze over the peaks | Good: Warm, with pre-monsoon storms, 153 mm of rain | Monsoon: Monsoon arrives, about 350 mm of rain | Monsoon: Wettest month, about 630 mm; NH10 slides | Monsoon: Heavy rain, the warmest nights of the year | Monsoon: Rain easing, 330 mm, green and cloud-wrapped | Best: Monsoon gone, the mountain returns; Dashain in every home | Best: Driest month, under 5 mm; Tihar lamps on the house steps | Best: Cool and clear, 9 °C nights; carols in Nepali, Namsoong in December or January |
| Gangtok & East Sikkim | Quiet: Coldest month, 6 °C nights; Detor chaam at Enchey, Jan or Feb | Quiet: Cold and dry; Rumtek's Gutor chaam, then Losar (7 Feb 2027) | Best: Clear mornings, 18 °C days, spring flowers begin | Good: Rhododendrons bloom, afternoon storms build | Good: Rain most days, flowers at Tsomgo; Saga Dawa in May or June | Monsoon: Monsoon sets in, about 650 mm, cloud on the ridge | Monsoon: Wettest month, 655 mm, NH10 slips are common | Monsoon: Heavy rain, orchids and moss; Tendong Lho Rum Faat, 8 Aug | Monsoon: Rain easing late; Pang Lhabsol, late Aug or early Sep | Best: Skies clear, the mountain returns; Dashain tika 21 Oct 2026 | Best: Under 40 mm of rain in the month; Tihar, 7 to 11 Nov 2026 | Good: Driest month; Kagyed dances, then Losoong, 9 to 13 Dec 2026 |
| Pelling & West Sikkim | Quiet: Coldest month, 1 °C nights; Kok Phekwa, Limbu new year, 14 Jan | Quiet: Cold and clear; the cham at Pemayangtse, then Losar | Good: First rhododendrons; Bumchu at Tashiding, Feb or Mar | Best: Rhododendrons at Barsey, mild 18 °C days | Good: Warm and hazy, showers building by afternoon | Monsoon: Monsoon sets in, the peaks hidden most days | Monsoon: Wettest month, about 900 mm, slips on valley roads | Monsoon: Heavy rain, waterfalls at full strength | Monsoon: Rain easing late; Pang Lhabsol falls Aug or Sep | Best: Skies clear; Dashain tika 21 Oct 2026; Chho-Tsho at the lake | Best: Dry and sharp; Tihar 7 to 11 Nov 2026; Chasok Tangnam | Best: Driest, sunniest month, 3 °C nights; Losoong and Namsoong |
| Bhutan | Quiet: Coldest nights, dry clear days, frost at dawn | Quiet: Punakha Tshechu 16 to 18 Feb 2027; cranes leave mid month | Good: Rhododendrons open; Paro Tshechu 18 to 22 Mar 2027 | Best: Warm days, Dochu La in flower; Ura Yakchoe from 18 Apr | Good: Warmer and greener, afternoon haze on the peaks | Monsoon: Monsoon from mid month, about 14 wet days | Monsoon: Wettest month, about 150 mm over 19 days | Monsoon: Rain most afternoons until mid September, slips on the border road | Good: Rain eases from mid month, clear evenings return | Best: Clear skies, harvest gold; Thimphu Tshechu 10 to 12 Oct 2027 | Best: Driest month; cranes back, crane festival on 11 Nov | Good: Crisp and clear; Druk Wangyel at Dochu La on 13 Dec |
| Nepal | Good: 3 °C mornings, valley fog, clear dry afternoons | Good: Dry and bright, the cleanest mountain mornings of winter | Best: Warm walking days; Shivaratri at Pashupati on 6 Mar 2027 | Good: Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur about 14 Apr, hazy 29 °C afternoons | Quiet: Hot, storms building; Buddha Jayanti on 20 May 2027 | Monsoon: Monsoon arrives, about 240 mm of rain | Monsoon: Wettest month, about 380 mm, small aircraft slip | Monsoon: Heavy rain, green valley, Gai Jatra and Teej | Monsoon: Rain easing; Indra Jatra, the Kumari's chariot, 25 Sep 2026 | Best: Skies clear; Dashain Tika on 21 Oct 2026, peaks return | Best: Driest stretch; Tihar 7 to 11 Nov, Mha Puja 10 Nov 2026 | Good: 4 °C nights; Yomari Punhi on 24 Dec 2026, crisp days |
Journeys at their best in January
Journeys at their best in February
Journeys at their best in March
Journeys at their best in April
Journeys at their best in May
Journeys at their best in October
Journeys at their best in November
Journeys at their best in December
The year in four parts
The hills run on two clocks: the monsoon, which decides whether you see the mountain, and the tea bush, which decides what is in your cup. These seasons describe Darjeeling and Sikkim; Bhutan and Nepal keep the same broad pattern, with a lighter monsoon in Bhutan's western valleys.
The clearest weeks of the year. The rains usually ease in early October, Kalimpong averages under 5 mm in November, and Kanchenjunga stands out at dawn from Tiger Hill, Deolo and Pelling. Dashain, Tihar and the autumn flush fall here, and so do the fullest weeks of the year, so write early.
Cold, dry and bright. Darjeeling nights average under 2 °C in January and Pelling about 1 °C, and snow can shut Nathu La, the Zuluk road and North Sikkim. The tea bushes rest, the towns empty after New Year, and cranes winter in Phobjikha.
First flush from March, rhododendron forest at Barsey and on Dochu La from mid March into April, and mild days of 16 to 24 °C. Haze thickens towards May and often hides the range by breakfast, so spring is for flowers, walks and tea more than views.
Green, empty and wet. July is the wettest month in Darjeeling and Gangtok alike, slides close NH10 and the roads up from Siliguri, and West Bengal's parks shut from mid June. Estates stay open, but the peaks hide on most days.
The calendar
Buddhist, Hindu and Newar festivals follow lunar calendars, so most move by a few weeks from one year to the next. Where a date is published we give it; otherwise we give the month it usually falls in, and we check the year's dates before we build your days around one.
Usually around 14 January, when the Nepali month of Magh begins: a fair on the bank of the Rangeet held every year since 1961, easy to fold into a winter stay at Pelling or Darjeeling.
Usually February or early March. Pemayangtse holds masked dances on the 28th and 29th days of the old year's last month, and families carry khadas and butter lamps to the monasteries of Gangtok and Pelling.
Two days of the town's flowers and nurseries on the Mela Ground in mid February, on 14 and 15 February in 2026. The district sets the dates each year, and it pairs well with a quiet winter week on the ridge.
Plucking stops in December and starts again in late February, as the pruned bushes put out their first tender shoots. The last week of February is the earliest chance of the year to watch the pluckers at work.
Usually February or March, on the 14th and 15th days of the first Tibetan month. Monks open a sacred vase of water and read its level as the fortune of the coming year, and pilgrims walk in from across Sikkim.
From March into April the first pluck gives light, floral teas with a pale gold cup. Factories start early in the day, and tasting the new leaf beside last autumn's shows you what the fuss is about.
Five days of masked dances, usually in March or early April, closing before dawn on the last day with the great thongdrel raised on its wall. 2027 is published as 18 to 22 March, though operators disagree, so we confirm with the district.
Tree rhododendrons open from mid March at Barsey on the Singalila ridge and usually peak there by late April. The forest behind Dochu La turns red and pink in April, and the Yumthang road in North Sikkim flowers into May.
The Nepali solar new year, around 14 April. Bhaktapur's upper and lower town pull Bhairava's chariot against each other in a tug of war at Taumadhi, and a pole of about 25 m is raised with red banners.
A chariot built at Pulchowk is pulled through Patan's streets for about a month from a lunar date in spring. It ends at Jawalakhel with Bhoto Jatra, when a jewelled vest is held up from all four sides.
May and June bring the fuller, coppery second flush, the tea whose muscatel character made Darjeeling's name. Showers build most afternoons, so plan factory mornings and tastings rather than mountain dawns.
The full moon of the fourth Tibetan month, usually late May or June, marks the Buddha's birth, awakening and passing. Monks carry the scriptures in procession from Tsuklakhang through Gangtok, and butter lamps burn in every gompa.
West Bengal's protected areas close from 16 June to 15 September, Singalila, Neora Valley and Jaldapara among them. Treks to Sandakphu, red panda walks and rhino safaris wait for the autumn.
The gardens keep plucking between the downpours, and the estates stay open, green and quiet. The mountain rarely shows in July, and the roads up from the plains can close for a day or more after heavy rain.
Usually late August or September, on the 15th day of the seventh Tibetan month. Sikkim honours Kanchenjunga as its guardian with the Pangtoed chaam, recalling the Lepcha and Bhutia brotherhood sworn with the mountain as witness.
Eight days of the Newar festival for Indra, with the Kumari carried through the old city in her chariot. The main day falls on 25 September in 2026 and 14 September in 2027.
Three days of masked dances in the dzong courtyard, usually in September or early October, with families in their best gho and kira. Rooms in Thimphu and seats on the Paro flights go early for festival week.
The longest Nepali festival, fifteen days that end at the full moon. In 2026 Ghatasthapana falls on 11 October and the Tika day on 21 October, when elders give red tika and blessings; Durga Puja fills the same weeks.
From mid October to mid December the air is dry and the range stands clear on most mornings from first light. December is the driest month on these ridges, with about six hours of sun a day at Pelling.
October and November bring the mellow, darker autumn teas, and plucking carries on until late November. It is the last season of the year to follow the leaf from the bush through the factory.
Five days of lamps in late October or November: crows, dogs, cows and oxen honoured in turn, then Bhai Tika. In 2026 it runs from 7 to 11 November, with Laxmi Puja, Diwali in the plains, on 8 November. In the Kathmandu valley, 10 November is also Mha Puja, the Newar new year.
The cranes fly in from the Tibetan Plateau in late October and stay until mid February. Gangtey Goenpa holds its Black-necked Crane Festival every year on 11 November, the Fourth King's birthday, when schoolchildren dance as cranes in the courtyard.
The Bhutia new year, on the 18th day of the tenth Tibetan month: in 2026 Sikkim keeps Losoong from 9 to 13 December. The Kagyed masked dances at Tsuklakhang and Rumtek come just before it, to close the old year.
A one-day festival of masked dances on 13 December among the 108 chortens of Dochu La, with the winter range behind when the sky is clear. It pairs well with crane evenings in Phobjikha.
Carols in English and Nepali, a lit Chowrasta and plum cake at Glenary's. The towns stay calm until the 25th and fill in the week after, so the days just before Christmas are the ones to be here.
The full moon of Thinla, on 24 December in 2026. Newar kitchens steam yomari, dumplings of new-harvest rice flour shaped like fish and filled with cane sugar and sesame.
Beyond the six places
The month chart above covers the six places most journeys stay. These run to calendars of their own: a high road that snow can close, a park shut for the rains, a valley that waits for the cranes.
| Destination | Best months | Why then | Think twice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La | Oct to Dec; Apr to May | Clear air in autumn; the lake frozen hard in January and in flower after mid May | Snow can shut Nathu La from December; Nathu La is for Indian citizens only |
| North Sikkim: Lachung, Yumthang | Apr to May; Oct to Nov | Rhododendron along the Yumthang road in spring; clear skies in autumn | Late Dec to Feb: snow can close the north road |
| Zuluk and the Old Silk Route | Oct to mid Nov; Apr to May | Dry roads and Kanchenjunga at dawn from the high switchbacks | Dec to Mar: snow can close the road above Zuluk |
| Singalila Ridge, Sandakphu | Oct to Nov; Mar to May | Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Kanchenjunga on one horizon in autumn | Park closed 16 Jun to 15 Sep |
| Goecha La trek | Mid Oct to late Nov; Mar to mid May | Settled weather after the rains; rhododendron and magnolia in spring | Dec to Feb snow at the high camps; monsoon leeches |
| Phobjikha, Bhutan | Nov to mid Feb | Black-necked cranes winter on the marsh | Late Feb to Oct: the cranes are in Tibet |
| Pokhara | Oct to early Dec; Feb to Apr | The Annapurnas from the lodge verandahs | Mid Jun to mid Sep: cloud hides the range, and the Pokhara lodge we use closes |
| Lumbini | Oct to Nov; Feb to Mar | Warm, clear days at the Maya Devi Temple | Apr to early Jun passes 36 °C; Dec and Jan fog |
| Jaldapara, the Dooars | Nov to Apr | Parks open and the grass short enough to see rhino | Mid Jun to mid Sep: parks closed |
June to September
The rains arrive in June and stay until late September. Darjeeling averages about 420 mm in June and 650 mm in July, Gangtok is much the same, and the peaks sit behind cloud on most days. The real cost is the road: slides closed NH10 at Sevoke in June 2026 and cut NH110 near Kurseong the same month, and one closed road can cost you a day.
If these are your only weeks, come, but plan for the rain: fewer places and longer stays, a spare day in the plan, half a day of slack before any flight out of Bagdogra, and a house where rain is part of the pleasure, such as a tea estate that plucks right through the season. The monsoon flush comes off the bushes between downpours, the gardens are at their greenest, and the leeches are out on the forest paths. West Bengal's national parks shut from 16 June to 15 September, and we run no treks.
Bhutan is the better monsoon choice. Thimphu's wettest month averages about 150 mm, under a quarter of Darjeeling's July, and it tends to fall in the afternoons. Paro flights are delayed more often, so we keep every connection loose. How we drive in these months is set out under On the road.
December to February
Winter here is dry cold, not snow in the streets. Darjeeling averages about 3.5 °C at night in December and under 2 °C in January, Pelling falls to 1 to 3 °C, Kalimpong, 800 m lower, stays near 7 to 9 °C, and Thimphu drops below freezing. Days are often bright, between 11 and 18 °C. Snow falls on the passes: Nathu La, the road above Zuluk and North Sikkim can close, and Tsomgo freezes hard.
The harder part is indoors. Many older hill houses have no central heating, so we book rooms with fireplaces or heaters, ask for fires laid and hot-water bottles in the beds, and check heating and hot water before you arrive. Glenburn, low in the Rangeet valley, reports winter nights of 7 °C or more.
Pack a down jacket, hat and gloves for dawn at Tiger Hill, and warm socks for monastery floors, where shoes come off. The towns fill between Christmas and New Year, and Windamere adds 25 percent to its tariff on 24, 25, 26 and 31 December.
Questions
North Sikkim and Bhutan. The Yumthang road flowers into May, Tsomgo is in flower after mid May, and Bhutan's western valleys stay mild and dry until the rains in mid June. Darjeeling has the second flush, but haze often hides the range by breakfast, and Indian school holidays fill Darjeeling and Gangtok from May. Lumbini passes 36 °C, so leave it for the winter.
Yes, if you pack for cold. December is the driest month in Gangtok and Pelling, and the mountain is out on most mornings. Nights fall to about 7 °C in Gangtok and 3 °C in Pelling. Snow can close Nathu La and, from late December, the roads to North Sikkim and above Zuluk, so a winter plan keeps a second morning in reserve. Losoong runs from 9 to 13 December in 2026, with the Kagyed dances just before it.
Yes, and it is gentler than Sikkim. July, Thimphu's wettest month, averages about 150 mm of rain over 19 days, mostly in the afternoons, against about 650 mm in Darjeeling. Mornings are often good for dzongs and valley walks, but Paro flights are delayed more often, slides can close the Phuentsholing road and the passes sit in cloud. We fly you in rather than drive, and keep every connection loose.
November, with late October and early December close behind. The monsoon has cleared the dust, rain is rare, and the range usually shows from first light until mid morning at Tiger Hill, Deolo and Pelling. From February the haze builds, and by May it often hides the peaks by breakfast. We plan at least two dawns wherever the view matters, and three where the mountain is the reason for the trip.
Plucking stops in December and restarts with the first flush in late February. The first flush, light and floral, runs through March and April; the second flush follows in May and June, the monsoon flush through the rains, and the autumn flush in October and November. From December the pruned bushes rest and the factories fall quiet, so a journey built around tea belongs in spring or autumn.
In the Durga Puja and Diwali weeks of October and November, between Christmas and New Year, and in the school holidays of May and June. Good rooms, toy train seats and Tiger Hill tokens go first in those weeks. Write early, how far ahead is set out on our planning page, and expect earlier starts on the days that matter: Tiger Hill before the jeep queue, Chowrasta before the shops open. Kalimpong and the tea estates stay calm when the towns are full.
Yes, for travellers who like cold, clear and quiet. Skies stay dry, the mountain shows on many mornings, the lanes are empty after New Year and Phobjikha's cranes stay until mid February. The trade is nights near freezing in Darjeeling and Pelling, bare tea bushes until late February, and snow that can close Nathu La, North Sikkim, the upper Silk Route, the Sandakphu track, Chele La and the Tsomgo road.
Yes, if it is the right kind of trip. Plan one or two places, not five: a tea estate that plucks through the rains, Kalimpong, or Bhutan's western valleys, which take under a quarter of Darjeeling's July rain, most of it in the afternoons. Leave out treks, West Bengal's parks, which are shut for the rains, and anything that depends on a clear dawn, and keep a spare day and an afternoon flight home.
Checked September 2026. We confirm every rule, fee and flight again for your dates.
Plan my journey
Send the weeks you have and who is coming, and the reply names the places at their best in those weeks and the festivals that fall inside them.