Public Holidays

Discover upcoming public holiday dates for Bhutan and start planning to make the most of your time off.

2026 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
2 Jan	Fri	Winter Solstice (Nyilo)
19 Jan	Mon	Traditional Day of Offering
18 Feb to 19 Feb	Wed to Thu	Losar New Year
21 Feb to 23 Feb	Sat to Mon	Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the King
26 Apr	Sun	Shabdrung Kuchoe
2 May	Sat	Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo
31 May	Sun	Lord Buddha's Parinirvana
24 Jun	Wed	Birth Anniversary of Guru Rinpoche
18 Jul	Sat	First Sermon of Lord Buddha
17 Sep	Thu	Thimphu Drupchen Dromchoe *
21 Sep to 23 Sep	Mon to Wed	Thimphu Tshechu *
23 Sep	Wed	Blessed Rainy Day
21 Oct	Wed	Dashain Festival
1 Nov	Sun	Coronation of His Majesty the King
1 Nov	Sun	Descending Day of Lord Buddha
11 Nov	Wed	Birth Anniversary of Fourth Druk Gyalpo
17 Dec	Thu	National Day
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2027 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
2 Jan	Sat	Winter Solstice (Nyilo)
8 Jan	Fri	Traditional Day of Offering
7 Feb to 8 Feb	Sun to Mon	Losar New Year
21 Feb to 23 Feb	Sun to Tue	Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the King
16 Apr	Fri	Shabdrung Kuchoe
2 May	Sun	Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo
20 May	Thu	Lord Buddha's Parinirvana
13 Jun	Sun	Birth Anniversary of Guru Rinpoche
6 Aug	Fri	First Sermon of Lord Buddha
23 Sep	Thu	Blessed Rainy Day
6 Oct	Wed	Thimphu Drupchen Dromchoe *
10 Oct	Sun	Dashain Festival
10 Oct to 12 Oct	Sun to Tue	Thimphu Tshechu *
1 Nov	Mon	Coronation of His Majesty the King
11 Nov	Thu	Birth Anniversary of Fourth Druk Gyalpo
20 Nov	Sat	Descending Day of Lord Buddha
17 Dec	Fri	National Day
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2027 are released.

2028 Public Holidays

Date	Day	Holiday
2 Jan	Sun	Winter Solstice (Nyilo)
9 Feb	Wed	Traditional Day of Offering
21 Feb to 23 Feb	Mon to Wed	Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the King
28 Feb to 1 Mar	Mon to Wed	Losar New Year
2 May	Tue	Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo
7 May	Sun	Shabdrung Kuchoe
2 Jun	Fri	Lord Buddha's Parinirvana
10 Jul	Mon	Birth Anniversary of Guru Rinpoche
3 Aug	Thu	First Sermon of Lord Buddha
23 Sep	Sat	Blessed Rainy Day
28 Sep	Thu	Dashain Festival
28 Sep	Thu	Thimphu Drupchen Dromchoe *
2 Oct to 4 Oct	Mon to Wed	Thimphu Tshechu *
1 Nov	Wed	Coronation of His Majesty the King
11 Nov	Sat	Descending Day of Lord Buddha
11 Nov	Sat	Birth Anniversary of Fourth Druk Gyalpo
17 Dec	Sun	National Day
The dates in this table are an estimate. We will update this page once the official public holiday dates for 2028 are released.

The Labour and Employment Act of 2007 establishes employment and labour regulations in Bhutan, including entitlement to paid holidays and annual leave. The majority of public holidays in Bhutan are based on traditional Asian religious and cultural observances. All employees are entitled to a minimum of nine paid holidays per year including the Birthday of His Majesty the King and National Day.

Holidays are paid at an employee’s regular salary. An employer may allow an employee to substitute a public holiday for another holiday. If an employee is requested to work on a nationally recognized holiday, compensation is paid at normal wages, in addition to a 50 percent bonus, which amounts to time and one-half.

Significant religious holidays include Lord Buddha’s Parinirvena, the Birthday of Guru Rinpoche and Durkpa Tshezhi, in honor of the first sermon delivered by Buddha, Dasham and the National Day of Bhutan. Buddhist spiritual observances and festivals are held throughout the country.

Time off for regional and territorial observances are at the discretion of the employer and subject to the terms of an employment contract or bargaining agreement.