Sights in Bhutan
-
Paro (Rinpung) Dzong
The Paro Dzong is one of Bhutan's most impressive and well-known dzongs, and perhaps the finest example of Bhutanese architecture you'll see. The massive buttressed walls that tower over the town are visible throughout the valley.
The dzong's correct name, Rinchen Pung Dzong (usually shortened to Rinpung Dzong), means 'fortress on a heap of jewels'. In 1644 Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal ordered the construction of the dzong on the foundation of a monastery built by Guru Rinpoche. The fort was used on numerous occasions to defend the Paro valley from invasions by Tibet. The British political officer John Claude White reported that in 1905 there were old catapults for throwing…
reviewed
-
Swiss Farm
The Swiss Farm is a development project established by Fritz Maurer, one of the first Swiss to work in Bhutan, and now run by his son. The project introduced brewing, farming machinery and fuel-efficient, smokeless wood stoves to the valley, as well as its first tourist guesthouse. The milk from large Jersey cattle is used in Bhutan's only commercial cheese factory and Bhutan's only native beer, Red Panda, is brewed here.
It's possible to visit the farm but your guide needs to arrange this in advance. Yoser Lham Shop is the main outlet for the Swiss Farm.
reviewed
-
Lamey Goemba
High on a hill sits Lamey Goemba, a large palace and monastery built in the 1800s as a residence for King Ugyen Wangchuck. Its design is in the palace style of the time and is similar to Wangdichholing. It is now being used by the Integrated Forest Development Project and isn't formally open to visitors.
reviewed
-
A
Trashi Chhoe Dzong
This splendid dzong, north of the city on the west bank of the Wang Chhu, seems to fit seamlessly into the valley, lending the city both regal splendour and monastic weight. The dzong was the site of the lavish formal coronation of the fifth king in 2008 and hosts the city's biggest annual bash, the colourful tsechu festivities.
The building you see is actually not the original Thimphu dzong. In 1216 Lama Gyalwa Lhanangpa built Dho-Ngen Dzong (Blue Stone Dzong) on the hill above Thimphu where Dechen Phodrang now stands. A few years later Lama Phajo Drukgom Shigpo, who brought the Drukpa Kagyu lineage to Bhutan, took over the dzong. In 1641 the Zhabdrung acquired the dzong…
reviewed
-
B
Jakar Dzong
According to legend, when the lamas assembled in about 1549 to select a site for a monastery, a big white bird rose suddenly in the air and settled on a spur of a hill. This was interpreted as an important omen, and the hill was chosen as the site for a monastery and for Jakar Dzong, which roughly translates as 'castle of the white bird'. The Zhabdrung's great-grandfather, Ngagi Wangchuck, founded the monastery.
Jakar Dzong is in a picturesque location overlooking the Chokhor valley. The current structure was built in 1667 and has a circumference of more than 1500m. Its official name is Yuelay Namgyal Dzong, in honour of the victory over the troops of Tibetan ruler…
reviewed
-
C
Weekend Market
The weekend market is crammed into a set of stalls on both banks of the Wang Chhu, just north of Changlimithang Stadium. Vendors from throughout the region arrive on Thursday and Friday, setting up evening stalls in Norzin Lam, and remain until Sunday night. The most interesting selection is upstairs.
Wander around and you'll find a pungent collection of dried fish, strips of fatty pork and balls of datse (home-made soft cheese). During the winter you can even pick up a leg of yak (with the hoof still attached). The incense area is one of the most interesting sections, full of deliciously pungent raw ingredients, as well as pink cubes of saffron that look like dice but are…
reviewed
-
Trashigang Dzong
The dzong is on a high promontory that overlooks the confluence of the Drangme Chhu and the Gamri Chhu. It was built in 1667 by Mingyur Tenpa, Bhutan's third desi. The entire eastern region was governed from this dzong from the late 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century.
This dzong is unusual in that both the administrative and monastic bodies face onto a single dochey (courtyard). As always, the gorikha (porch) has paintings of the Four Guardian Kings. Inside are several lhakhangs. One lhakhang holds the statue of the deity of Gasin-re or Yama, the wrathful aspect of Chenrisig. He is a protector of the faith, the god of death and the king of law, and the…
reviewed
-
D
Wangdichholing Palace
The extensive palace of Wangdichholing was built in 1857 on the site of a battle camp of the penlop of Trongsa, Jigme Namgyal. It was the first palace in Bhutan that was not designed as a fortress. Namgyal's son, King Ugyen Wangchuck, the first King of Bhutan, chose it as his principal residence. The entire court moved from Wangdichholing to Kuenga Rabten each winter in a procession that took three days. Wangdichholing was also for a time the home of the third king, before he moved the court to Punakha in 1952.
Wangdichholing was inherited by Ashi Choeki Wangchuck, an aunt of the fourth king, and the grand but rather neglected building is now used as a lobdra (monastic…
reviewed
-
E
Motithang Takin Preserve
A short distance up the road to the telecom tower is a trail leading to a large fenced area that was originally established as a minizoo. Some years ago the king decided that such a facility was not in keeping with Bhutan's environmental and religious convictions, and it was disbanded. The animals were released into the wild, but the takins, Bhutan's national animal, were so tame that they wandered around the streets of Thimphu looking for food, and the only solution was to put them back into captivity. It's worthwhile taking the time to see these oddball mammals, which look a bit like a cross between a gnu and a bison. The best time to see them is early morning when they…
reviewed
-
F
Black-Necked Crane Information Centre
Your first stop should be the Royal Society for Protection of Nature’s (RSPN) Black-Necked Crane Information Centre, which has informative displays about the cranes and the valley environment. You can use the centre’s powerful spotting scopes and check what you see against its pamphlet ‘Field Guide to Crane Behaviour’. If the weather’s iffy you can browse the library and handicraft shop, and watch videos at 10am and 3pm (Nu 200). This is also the centre of the valley’s fledgling ecotourism initiative and they can arrange mountain-bike hire (Nu 700 per day), a local guide (Nu 300), an overnight stay in a local farmhouse (Nu 500) or lectures on the local…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
G
Voluntary Artists Studio Thimphu
The impressive Voluntary Artists Studio Thimphu in Clocktower Sq is the capital's main centre for artists. The goal of the studio is to promote both traditional and contemporary works of Bhutanese art, to provide vocational training for young artists and to act as a creative meeting place for artists. It's a great place to plug into the Thimphu art scene and chat with artists. Art by the students and instructors is sold here. The studio location may well change, so check the website.
reviewed
-
H
Dechen Phodrang
At the end of Gaden Lam is Dechen Phodrang, the site of Thimphu's original 12th-century dzong. Since 1971 it has housed the state monastic school, where a team of 15 teachers provides an eight-year course to more than 450 students. The 12th-century paintings in the goemba's Guru Lhakhang have been restored, and the upper floor features a large figure of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal as well as a goenkhang (chapel dedicated to protective deities).
reviewed
-
I
SAARC Building
The large traditional Bhutanese-style building across the river from Trashi Chhoe Dzong was built in the early 1990s to provide a venue for a meeting of the heads of state and government from the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). That meeting was never held in Bhutan but plans are in the pipeline now that Bhutan boasts several hotels that meet the five-star needs of the SAARC officials.
The impressive structure now houses the planning and foreign ministries, and the National Assembly was relocated to this building in 1993. Long 'corridors of power' lead to the elaborately decorated National Assembly (held twice a year), while nearby is the Royal…
reviewed
-
J
Paro Sunday Market
Paro's weekly vegetable market isn't very large but it has a more traditional feel than Thimphu's weekend market and is a fine introduction to some of Bhutan's unique local products. You'll see strings of chugo (dried yak cheese), either white (boiled in milk and dried in the sun) or brown (smoked). The fruit that looks like an orange egg is actually fresh husky betel nut, imported from India. The jars of pink paste contain lime, which is ingested with the betel nut. There are also exotic-looking ferns, powdered juniper incense, squares of dried jellied cow skin known as khoo (a local snack!) and slabs of datse, the cheese used in almost every Bhutanese dish. The market…
reviewed
-
Institute
This red-roofed institute was opened in June 1997 to provide opportunities in vocational training for those who do not continue in the system of higher education. The school strives to produce technically proficient craftspeople, while providing them with a basic educational foundation. Six of the Zorig Chusum (13 arts and crafts) are studied here, including thangka painting, sculpture, metalwork and woodcarving. You can visit the school, watch the 96 students at work and take photographs, though the selection of crafts for sale was disappointing during our recent visit. The students are on holiday from December to March and for two weeks in July.
reviewed
-
Taktshang Goemba
Taktshang is the most famous of Bhutan's monasteries, perched on the side of a cliff 900m (2952ft) above the floor of Paro valley, where the only sounds are the murmurs of wind and water and the chanting of monks. The name means 'tiger's nest'; Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown to the site of the monastery on the back of a tigress.
On 19 April 1998 a fire (which some say was arson) destroyed the main structure of Taktshang and all its contents. It had already suffered a previous fire and was repaired in 1951. Reconstruction started on an auspicious day in April 2000 at a great cost and the rebuilt site was reconsecrated in the presence of the king in 2005.
reviewed
-
Ogyen Chholing Museum
The family that owns Ogyen (or Ugyen) Chholing has turned the complex into a museum to preserve its legacy and provide a place for religious studies, research and solitude. The fascinating and well-captioned exhibits offer real insights into the lifestyle of a Bhutanese noble family. Highlights include a book of divination, a dakini dance costume made of bone and the revelation that petrified yak dung was one of the ingredients for Bhutanese gunpowder. Bring a torch. The complex is supported through the Ogyen Chholing Trust, which produces an excellent museum booklet (Nu 180).
reviewed
-
K
Ugyen Pelri Thang
The secluded wooded compound of the Ugyen Pelri Palace was built by the Paro penlop, Tshering Penjor, in the early 1900s and is now a residence of the queen mother, thus closed to the public. It is designed after Guru Rinpoche's celestial paradise, Zangto Pelri, and is a beautiful example of Bhutanese architecture. For views from the palace from above, head to the dzong.
On the road beside Ugyen Pelri Palace are five square chortens that were built in memory of the first king of Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck.
reviewed
-
L
Telecom Tower
There's a wonderful view of Thimphu valley from the hillside below the telecommunications tower (2685m), high above the town at the end of a road that branches off from the approach to the youth centre. The complex also houses the broadcasting studios of Bhutan TV and is festooned with prayer flags. Don't photograph the telecommunications installation, but the valley is worth a few snaps particularly in the afternoon.
The area is known as Sangaygang and the access road attracts fitness fanatics after work and becomes a lover's lane after dark.
reviewed
-
M
National Textile Museum
Thimphu’s National Textile Museum is worth a visit to get to know the living national art of weaving. Exhibitions introduce the major weaving techniques, styles of local dress and textiles made by women and men. There is usually a small group of weavers working their looms inside the shop, which features work from the renowned weaving centres in Lhuentse Dzongkhag, the ancestral home of the royal family in northeastern Bhutan. Each item is labelled with the name of the weaver, at prices ranging from Nu 1500 to 25,000.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
N
Changangkha Lhakhang
This popular fortresslike temple perched on a ridge above central Thimphu regularly hums with pilgrim activity. It was established in the 12th century on a site chosen by Lama Phajo Drukgom Shigpo, who came from Ralung in Tibet. Parents traditionally come here to get auspicious names for their newborns or blessings for their young children from the protector deity Tamdrin (to the left in the grilled inner sanctum, next to Chenresig). Don't leave without taking in the excellent view from the back kora (pilgrim path), with its lovely black and gold prayer wheels.
reviewed
-
O
Namkhe Nyingpo Goemba
On the hill to the east of Jakar is the Namkhe Nyingpo Goemba. This Nyingma monastery was founded in the 1970s and has more than 300 monks in residence. The new prayer hall has massive statues of Guru Rinpoche, Chenresig and Sakyamuni. If you're here between 4.30pm and 6pm check out the mass debating in the courtyard of the shedra, behind the main monastery, where monks reinforce their theological arguments with a stamp of the foot and a victorious slap. Don't disturb the debating with your photography.
reviewed
-
P
Folk Heritage Museum
This restored three-storey, rammed-earth and timber building replicates a traditional farmhouse and is furnished as it would have been about a century ago. A guided tour of this almost-living museum is included in the admission and provides an interesting glimpse into traditional Bhutanese life. Details that jump out include the traditional noodle press, the leopardskin bags and Brokpa yak-hair 'spider' hats.
reviewed
-
Q
Dumtse Lhakhang
To the west of the road leading to Paro Museum is Dumtse Lhakhang, an unusual chorten-like temple that was built in 1433 (some sources say 1421) by the iron-bridge builder Thangtong Gyalpo. The temple was built to subdue a demoness and so is chained firmly to the ground. Its three floors represent hell, earth and heaven, and hold some of the finest murals in Bhutan. It's essential to bring a good torch. Your travel agency will need to have Dumtse listed on your permits so mention you'd like to stop here in advance.
Beyond Dumtse Lhakhang, to the east of the road, the tiny privately maintained Puna Lhakhang is said to date from the 7th century.
reviewed
-
R
National Memorial Chorten
This large Tibetan-style chorten is one of the most visible religious structures in Thimphu, and for many Bhutanese it is the focus of their daily worship. It was built in 1974 as a memorial to the third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1928–1972).
The whitewashed chorten is decorated with richly painted annexes facing the cardinal directions, and features elaborate mandalas, statues and a shrine dedicated to the popular king. Four stone snowlions guard the corners.
Throughout the day people circumambulate the chorten, whirl the large red prayer wheels and pray at a small shrine inside the gate. Particularly charming is the timeless collection of old timers hauling away at…
reviewed