Showing 1-18 of 18 results
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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.
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Changlimithang Stadium & Archery Ground
The national stadium occupies the site of the 1885 battle that helped establish the political supremacy of Ugyen Wangchuck, Bhutan's first king. It is now the site of the national archery ground, a large football stadium and parade ground, basketball, tennis and squash courts, as well as the headquarters of the Bhutan Olympic committee. It's always worth checking to see what event is taking place when you are in town.
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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.
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Drubthob Goemba
When you drive down the road from the Telecom Tower, you will find yourself on Gaden Lam, the road that runs high above the golf course. There are some great views of the town, and of Trashi Chhoe Dzong, and above you can see Drubthob Goemba, which now houses the Zilukha nunnery.
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Folk Heritage Museum
A restored three-storey, rammed-earth and timber building houses the Folk Heritage Museum. The house 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 a glimpse into traditional Bhutanese life. The house design and many of the implements are also reminders of how many rural Bhutanese still live today.
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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 mini-zoo. The king decided that such a facility was not in keeping with Bhutan's environmental and religious convictions, and it was disbanded some time ago.
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National Institute for Zorig Chusum
National Institute for Zorig Chusum is commonly known as 'the painting school'. It operates under the auspices of the National Technical Training Institute and offers four- to six-year courses that provide instruction in many of Bhutan's traditional arts to students from throughout the country whose aptitude is more artistic than academic. The students follow a comprehensive course that starts with drawing and progresses through painting, woodcarving, embroidery and statue-making.
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National Institute of Traditional Medicine
Established in 1978, one of the more interesting facilities in Thimphu is the National Institute of Traditional Medicine. The European Union (EU) provides funding for this project, which prepares and dispenses traditional herbal and other medicines. There is an impressive laboratory and production facility that manufactures quality products, the components of which may include plants, minerals, animal parts, precious metals and gems.
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National Library
The National Library was established in 1967 to preserve many ancient Dzongkha and Tibetan texts, and is a lavishly decorated and vibrant example of Bhutanese architecture.
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National Memorial Chorten
This large Tibetan-style chorten was built in 1974 to honour the memory of the third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The whitewashed chorten is decorated with richly carved annexes facing the cardinal directions, and features elaborate mandalas, statues and a shrine dedicated to the popular third king. There are numerous religious paintings and complex tantric statues housed inside reflecting both peaceful and wrathful aspects of Buddhist deities.
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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.
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Royal Academy of Performing Arts
The home of the Royal Dance Troupe is the Royal Academy of Performing Arts. It provides formal training for masked dancers and also works to preserve Bhutan's folk-dancing heritage. Unless there's a practice session on there's little to see here. The professional dancers from this school perform several of the dances at the Thimphu tsechu. With advance notice they will provide a one-hour performance for visitors.
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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.
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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.
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Trashi Chhoe Dzong
This large dzong, north of the city on the west bank of the Wang Chhu, manages not to impose on the valley or the city as a dominating, impenetrable fortress; rather, its splendid proportions and modest setting bestow a subtle, monastic magnificence.
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Voluntary Artists Studio Thimphu
The impressive Voluntary Artists Studio Thimphu is hidden away on the top floor of a not-so-impressive building on Chang Lam. After negotiating several flights of betel-stained stairs you emerge at the study, which can be incredibly busy with after-school and weekend classes in drawing and painting for young artists. The goal of the studio (which accepts donations) is to use Bhutanese artistic values to create both traditional and contemporary works and to provide vocational training.
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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 and remain until Sunday night. It's an interesting place to visit, where village people jostle with well-heeled Thimphu residents for the best and cheapest vegetables and foodstuffs.
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Zangto Pelri Lhakhang
This private chapel, built in the 1990s by Dasho Aku Tongmi, a musician who composed Bhutan's national anthem, is south of the weekend market. It's beside the older Yigja Dungkhar Lhakhang and is a replica of Guru Rinpoche's celestial abode. It is Bhutan's tallest lhakhang and houses many large statues, including a 4m-high image of Guru Rinpoche.
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Showing 1-18 of 18 results
