Ura Yakchoe - 12 days

Ura Yakchoe is both a festival and a dance. It is the festival, which is based on the story of an old woman. The woman was visited by a lama outside her house. The lama asked her for water, but when she came with water, she saw only a sack. When she opened the sack, she saw a statue. Since then, the statue has been passed on from the generation to generation of that woman. Every year, the people worship the statue in Ura Yakchoe to receive a blessing.

Ura Yakchoe is also related to Guru Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th century. Guru Padmasambhava passed through Ura village. Since then, the village has been known as Urbay, but the villagers call it Ura. Ura is nestled in a valley at an altitude of 3200 m, and is surrounded by trees, such as spruce, pine, larch, fir, juniper, bamboo, and rhododendrons.

Before attending Ura Yakchoe, you visit the National Library, where you see a collection of ancient Buddhist texts and manuscripts, as well as you visit Zorig Chusum, where you see a collection of paintings. Other places of interest that you visit are textile and Folk Heritage Museum. The museum provides an insight into Bhutanese material culture life.