The Dochula Druk Wangyel festival is a vibrant and colorful festival of mostly masked dances, held at the spectacular Dochula pass, at an altitude of 3000m. Despite the freezing weather, the first ever festival held this year on the 13th of December had the 2000 odd spectators entertained throughout the 4 hour spectacle.
The Dochula Druk Wangyel festival is held as a tribute to the wise leadership of the 4th King, and the continuous efforts of the Royal Bhutan Army in protecting the sovereignty and the stability of the country.
Gadpo Ganmo – the dance of the old men and women.
The Gadpo Ganmo dance is meant to bring prosperity, longevity and happiness to the spectators.
These old men and women point out in the performance all the memorable and auspicious sites seen from Dochula.
The costumes of the performers are based on age-old dances from various parts of the country.
Some 2000 people braved the freezing temperature at Dochula to celebrate the achievements of their Majesties the Kings, to whom the festival is dedicated to.
The mist added a sense of enigma to the festival and made for some very interesting photography.
The head dress of the musicians as seen from the other side on the mound on which the dances were performed.
The yogi Jetsun Milerapa levitates in the thin air. The bare bodied performer withstood the icy temperature for more than 40 minutes.
A series of folk dances performed mostly by the Royal Academy of Performing Arts served as interludes between the mask dances.
The Farewell of the Heroes is a dance depicting the departure of a hero and his combatants. This performance is sentimental to all Bhutanese as it depicts a certain Hero from 2003.
In the Combat of the Heroes, the heroes wear the same Gho as worn by our brave soldiers in 2003.
The heroes carry swords and shields in the same way as medieval Bhutanese warriors.
The Return of the Heroes is a celebratory dance symbolizing peace after meeting the objectives of the expedition, which is dislodging the enemy and returning home safely.
One of the many colourfully adorned musicians.
Prayers composed by His Majesty the King is set to music and sung as a backdrop in a fitting end to the Dochula Druk Wangyel Festival.
As with all celebrations in Bhutan, the festival ended with everybody dancing the auspicious Tashi Labey.
Official website of the Dochula Druk Wangyel Festival: http://www.dochulafestival.com/
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