Architecture sights in Bhutan
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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 tower over the town and 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 g…
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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 Phunts…
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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 the Kunrey Lhakhang is a statue of the deity Gasin-re or Yama, the wrathful aspect of Chenresig. He is a protector of the faith, the god of death and the king of law, and the one that weighs up the goo…
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Dechen Phodrang
At the end of Gaden Lam is Dechen Phodrang, the site of Thimphu's original Trashi Chhoe Dzong. Since 1971 it has housed the state monastic school, and a long procession of monks often travels between here and the dzong. A team of 15 teachers provides an eight-year course to more than 450 students. On any regular day the grounds hum with assorted recitations emanating from the windows.
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 the goenkhang (chapel devoted to protective and terrifying deities). The central figure in the downstairs chapel is the Buddha Sakya…
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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.
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Changangkha Lhakhang
Changangkha Lhakhang is an old fortresslike temple and monastic school perched on a ridge above Thimphu, southeast of Motithang. It was established in the 12th century on a site chosen by Lama Phajo Drukgom Shigpo, who came from Ralung in Tibet. The central statue is Chenresig in an 11-headed, thousand-armed manifestation. There are enormous prayer wheels to spin and even the prayer books in the temple are larger in size than usual Tibetan texts.
Don't leave without taking in the excellent view from the courtyard.
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Dumtse Lhakhang
Dumtse Lhakhang is an unusual chorten-like temple that was built in 1433 by the iron bridge builder Thangtong Gyalpo. Its three floors represent hell, earth and heaven and the murals inside are said to be some of the finest in Bhutan. It's essential to bring a good torch. Your travel agency will need to get a special permit to visit the interior so mention this in advance.
Beyond Dumtse Lhakhang, to the east of the road, the tiny privately-maintained Puna Lhakhang is said to date from the seventh century.
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Druk Choeding
Also known as Tshongdoe Naktshang, the quiet and peaceful Druk Choeding is the town temple. It was built in 1525 by Ngawang Chhogyel (1465-1540), one of the prince-abbots of Ralung in Tibet and an ancestor of the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The main statue is of a seated Jampa (Future Buddha). Also present is the Bhutanese protector deity Gyenyen, surrounded by a fearsome collection of old Bhutanese shields and weapons.
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