Jambay Lhakhang Singye Cham

Singye Cham, the Dance of the Snow Lions, is an after-dark performance within the broader Jambay Lhakhang Drup festival at Bumthang's 7th-century Jambay Lhakhang, distinct enough in costume, timing and symbolism that it is often marketed and attended as its own named event. Dancers in elaborate lion masks and manes perform by firelight to honor Guru Rinpoche's victory over obstructing forces, a striking contrast to the festival's better-known midnight Tercham fire-and-nakedness ritual that follows later the same night.

Jambay Lhakhang, one of the 108 temples said to have been built in a single day in the 7th century by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo to pin down a demoness obstructing the spread of Buddhism, hosts one of Bhutan's most layered festival nights, and Singye Cham is the performance most visitors are told to specifically watch for.