The Nagqu Horse Racing Festival is one of the largest nomadic gatherings in Tibet, held each August on the plateau just outside town. For ten days, tens of thousands of Tibetan nomads descend from across the surrounding high plateau to race horses, compete at archery, and participate in traditional games. The event combines a county fair, a religious gathering, a trading market, and a display of horsemanship that represents one of the defining elements of Khampa and northern Tibetan culture.
The racing itself is spectacular — riders in elaborate traditional dress, horses selected and trained year-round, circuits that cover several kilometres across the flat plateau. Alongside the formal competitions, the festival grounds fill with tents selling yak-butter tea, dried meat, jewellery, and textiles. Women wear their finest silver and turquoise ornaments; men display the long-handled knives and embroidered coats that signal status in nomadic communities. August is also when the plateau is at its greenest and most pleasant, which makes the festival the best time to experience Nagqu's landscape as well as its culture.