Besides the free days in the weekends, there are a few one or two day recesses at different occasions during the year. There is only one extended vacation in the whole year, which is normally after the completion of the academic session.

After the examinations, the students attend the Karma Gunchoe (winter course debates) and Kagyu Monlam Chenmo (prayers for world peace) at Bodhgaya, India. The institute remains closed after that and most of the students go home. Those who remain at Karma Lekshey Ling are provided with food and lodging.

The extended vacation starts from the middle of the eleventh Tibetan month, which usually falls in January, and ends at the beginning of the second month, which roughly falls at the beginning of March.