Sights in Western 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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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 ecosystem.…
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Sunday Market
Paro's weekly vegetable market isn't all that expansive but it's 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 is busiest between 06:30 and 10:00.
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Ugyen Pelri Thang
The Ugyen Pelri Palace is in a secluded wooded compound on the south side of the river just west of the dzong. This 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 one of the most beautiful examples of Bhutanese architecture. You can get views of the palace from above from the dzong.
On the road beside Ugyen Pelri Palace are five square chortens that were built in memory of the first king, Ugyen Wangchuck.
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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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National Museum
At the top of the hill is an old watchtower that was renovated in 1968 to house the National Museum. The unusual round building is said to be in the shape of a conch shell, with 2.5m thick walls; it was completed in 1656 and was originally the ta dzong (watchtower) of Paro Dzong.
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Crocodile Breeding Centre
If you have half an hour to kill, you can visit the sleepy collection of marsh mugger and gharial crocodiles at the Crocodile Breeding Centre, a 10-minute walk north of the bus station. The crocs are fed every other day at noon.
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Chhoeten Lhakhang
The tower-like Chhoeten Lhakhang is south of the town square. The caretaker may allow you to visit the upstairs chapel, which features a central Jowo Sakyamuni, with Guru Rinpoche and Chenresig to the side.
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