On the hillside below the Sangchen Choekor Shedra, the small Kuenga Choeling Goemba is normally closed to tourists. If you can get in, a magnifying glass in a glass cabinet here reveals a tiny carving of Chenresig set in the forehead of another Chenresig statue. The upper floor has a finely carved altar and some superb murals depicting, among others, Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo. A scenic footpath runs from here down to the nearby Tsendo Girkha Lhakhang.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
15.49 MILES
This splendid dzong, north of the city on the west bank of the Wang Chhu, dominates the valley, looking out over a cascade of terraced fields. It's…
3.27 MILES
The 'Tiger's Nest Monastery' is one of the Himalaya's most incredible sights, miraculously perched on the side of a sheer cliff 900m above the floor of…
0.92 MILES
Kyichu Lhakhang is one of Bhutan's oldest and most beautiful temples. The main chapel has roots as far back as the 7th century, with additional buildings…
14.9 MILES
This traditional Bhutanese temple perched like a fortress on a ridge above central Thimphu hums with pilgrim activity. It was established in the 12th…
15.43 MILES
Thimphu's best museum is part of the Royal Textile Academy. It features a stunning display of ancient and modern textiles, and explores the rich…
2.73 MILES
Paro Dzong ranks as a high point of Bhutanese architecture. The massive buttressed walls that tower over the town are visible throughout the valley,…
17.37 MILES
About 5km south of Thimphu on the old road to Paro and Phuentsholing, the handsomely proportioned Simtokha Dzong was built in 1629 by Zhabdrung Ngawang…
2.75 MILES
Perched above Paro Dzong is its ta dzong (watchtower), built in 1649 to protect the undefended dzong and renovated in 1968 to house the National Museum…
Nearby Western Bhutan attractions
0.5 MILES
At night you'll see the Sangchen Choekor Shedra spotlit up high on the top of a hill on the north side of the valley. The shedra, a Buddhist college, is…
0.65 MILES
This interesting but little-visited 400-year-old lhakhang on the north side of the valley has some interesting relics and is said to have been carved out…
0.92 MILES
Kyichu Lhakhang is one of Bhutan's oldest and most beautiful temples. The main chapel has roots as far back as the 7th century, with additional buildings…
4. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche's Residence Memorial House
0.95 MILES
Just outside the Kyichu Lhakhang complex is this museum dedicated to Dilgo Khyentse (1910–91), the Tibetan Buddhist rinpoche (reincarnated Buddhist lama)…
1.61 MILES
A dirt road to this atmospheric but somewhat rundown monastery runs from the side road that leads to the Nak-Sel resort from near Kyichu Lhakhang. An easy…
1.77 MILES
This monastic school looks deceptively new but there are some fine darkened murals inside. Of note here is the mask-like statue of Tsering Ngodup, the…
1.92 MILES
Just north of town, by the road leading to the National Museum, is Dumtse Lhakhang, an unusual chorten-like temple that was built in 1433 (some sources…
1.99 MILES
Lovely Pena (or Puna) Lhakhang is ignored by most visitors to Paro, but is said to have been founded by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century,…