Saga Dawa is an important Tibetan Buddhist festival, held each year on the full moon of the fourth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar. This festival is celebrated throughout Tibet to commemorate the triple auspicious events related to Shakyamuni's life: birth, enlightenment and parinirvana (death).

This is the most important festival in western Tibet.  Tibetans from various parts of the country flock to sacred Mount Kailash for the ritual raising of the prayer-flagpole, which foretells the yearly fortunes of the country. The flagpole should stand perfectly upright, or else things are not good for Tibet.  The whole ceremony is led by a Lama from the nearby monastery.  It's his job to make it work 'right the first time'. Further more, Saga Dawa is a carnival of Tibetan music, chants and Tibetan marketplace - an event not to be missed.