For the longest time, Haa remained largely undiscovered. Even though Bhutan opened its door to travelers in 1974, Haa opened to tourism in 2002. While this has helped the valley remain untouched, it has also fallen back in the tourism aspect. To boost tourism in Haa, the Haa Summer Festival, now called the Haa Spring Festival, was started.
A Brief History of Haa
Haa is a western district in Bhutan, located about sixty kilometers from Paro International Airport. Like the people of Paro, it also celebrates Lomba. Haa shares its borders with Sikkim in the south and China in the north. An interesting fact about Haa is that it is home to the Indian Military Training Team, which conducts a separate festival called the Haa Mela (meaning festival in Hindi).
Haa is also home to a rich religious and cultural history. One lore that stands out is that of Ap Chundu, the local deity of Haa. He is said to have been banished to Haa by Zhabdrung after an altercation with Ap Gyenyen, the local deity of Thimphu. He was also involved in a fight with the local deity of Paro, resulting in the deity stealing water from Haa, which is why no rice is grown in Haa. To this day, Haaps make their annual offering to App Chundu, keeping true to their Bon past.
Haa Spring Festival
The Haa Spring Festival will take place next month, April 7 to 9. During this time, a variety of activities will take place, which includes: fly fishing, cycling, hiking, display of traditional food such as yak cheese, butter, locally fermented alcohol, Indigenous games such as Degor, Khuru, and Soksum, and the famous Haa Nyagoe, Bhutanese wrestling. During Haa Nyagoe, the strongest men in Haa, akin to a Sumo in Japan or the WWE in America, come together to fight and entertain crowds.
The Haa Spring Festival is a great meeting place for like-minded travelers.
This year, we curated a festival tour package called the Haa Spring Festival Group Tour. In addition to the reduced Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), we are providing an additional group discount of twenty-five percent.
During this week-long tour, we will explore Paro, Thimphu, and Punakha in addition to Haa. We will also hike to the Tiger’s Nest. After all, does a trip to Bhutan count if you haven’t seen the Tiger’s Nest?
We hope to see you and your loved ones on this memorable trip. Come discover Bhutan. Come discover yourself.
Book your trip to Bhutan today! Contact us at [email protected] or call +975 1711-2338 any time, anywhere!