Jonathan Gregson

Western Bhutan

Whether you arrive by air at the dramatic, mountain-bound Paro valley or by road at steamy Phuentsholing, it soon becomes clear that you have arrived at an otherworldly destination. Prayer flags flutter from nearly every rooftop, men and women dress in traditional garb, chortens and stupas decorate river and road junctions, and fortress-like monasteries command mountaintops.

The west is the region of Bhutan that most tourists see, and for good reason. It's the heartland of the Drukpa people and is home to the major airport, the capital, the most popular festivals and the most spectacular dzongs (fort monasteries) in the kingdom. Throw in the trekking, the scope to get off the beaten track and the minimal driving times, and the appeal is obvious. Whether it's the beginning of your trip or the only part of Bhutan that you will explore, the west is a spectacular introduction to this magical country.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Western Bhutan.

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Taktshang Goemba
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 the Paro valley. Visiting is the goal of most visitors to Bhutan and while getting there involves a bit of uphill legwork, it's well worth the effort. The monastery is a sacred site, so act with respect, removing your shoes and hat before entering any chapels. Bags, phones and cameras have to be deposited at the entrance, where your guide will register with the army. As you enter the complex you pass underneath images of the Rigsum Goempo (Jampelyang, Chenresig and Chana Dorje). Turn to the right and look for the relic stone; Bhutanese stand on the starting line, close their eyes and try to put their thumb into a small hole in the rock as a form of karmic test. Most groups then visit the Drubkhang (Pelphu Lhakhang), the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated for three months. Outside the cave is a statue of Dorje Drolo, the manifestation the Guru assumed to fly to Taktshang on a tigress. The inner cave is sealed off behind a spectacularly gilded door and is said to hold the phurba (ritual dagger) of the Guru. Murals of the Guru Tsengye, or eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, decorate the walls. Behind you, sitting above the inside of the main entrance, is a mural of Thangtong Gyalpo holding his iron chains. From here ascend to the Guru Sungjonma Lhakhang, which has a central image of Pema Jungme, another of the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche. This statue incorporates the ashes of a famous 'talking' image that was lost in the 1998 fire. Various demonic animal-headed deities and manifestations of the deity Phurba decorate the walls alongside the 25 disciples of Guru Rinpoche, while outside is an image of the long-life protector Tseringma riding a snow lion. Passing a small prayer hall, the Langchen Pelgye Sengye Lhakhang on the left has connections to Dorje Phagmo, with a rock image of the goddess's crown hidden in a hole in the floor. The inner chorten belongs to Langchen Pelgye Sengye, a 9th-century disciple of Guru Rinpoche, who meditated in the cave. Behind the chorten is a holy spring. Further on inside the complex to the left is the Dorje Drolo Lhakhang, where the monks sometimes sell blessed lockets, while to the right is the Guru Tsengye Lhakhang, which features an image of the monastery's 17th-century founder, Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye. Look down through the glass into the bowels of a sacred cave. Further up is a butter-lamp chapel (light one for a donation). You can climb down into the original Tiger's Nest cave just above the chapel, but take care as it's a dusty path down a hairy series of wooden ladders to descend into a giant slice of the cliff face. After visiting the Tiger's Nest and reascending to the previous viewpoint, it is possible to take a signed side trail uphill for 15 minutes to the charming Machig-phu Lhakhang, where Bhutanese pilgrims come to pray for children. Head to the cave behind the chapel and select the image of the Tibetan saint Machig Labdron on the right (for a baby girl), or the penis print on the cave wall to the left (for a boy). The main statues inside the chapel are of Machig and her husband Padampa Sangye.
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Paro Dzong
Paro Dzong ranks as a high point of Bhutanese architecture. The massive buttressed walls that tower over the town are visible throughout the valley, especially when floodlit at night. It was formerly the meeting hall for the National Assembly and now, like most dzongs, houses both the monastic body and district government offices, including the local courts. Most of the chapels are closed to tourists but it's worth a visit for its stunning architecture and views. The dzong courtyard is open daily, but on weekends the offices are deserted. Foreign visitors should wear long sleeves and long trousers and remove their hats when entering. Citizens from South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries are charged an entry fee but foreign tourists are not, since they pay a daily minimum tariff that includes most entry fees. The dzong's formal 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 great stones stored in the rafters of the dzong's veranda. The dzong survived a 1897 earthquake but was severely damaged by fire in 1907. The dzong is built on a steep hillside, and the front courtyard of the administrative section is 6m higher than the courtyard of the monastic portion. The road to the National Museum branches down to the dzong's northeastern entrance, which leads into the dochey (courtyard). The utse (central tower) inside the dochey is five storeys tall and was built in the time of the first penlop (governor) of Paro in 1649. The richly carved wood, painted in gold, black and ochres, and the towering whitewashed walls reinforce the sense of established power and wealth. A stairway leads down to the monastic quarter, which houses about 200 monks. The kunrey, which functions as the monks' classroom, is on the southern side (to the left) and centred around an image of Buddha aged 16. Look left of the exterior vestibule for the mural of the 'mystic spiral', a uniquely Bhutanese variation on the mandala. Other murals here depict Mt Meru, the legendary centre of the universe, surrounded by seven mountain ranges and four continents. The large dukhang (prayer hall) opposite has lovely exterior murals depicting the life of Tibet's poet-saint Milarepa. The first day of the spring Paro tsechu is held in this courtyard, which fills to bursting point. The views from the courtyard's far windows are superb. Outside the dzong, to the northeast of the entrance, is a stone-paved festival ground where masked dancers perform the main dances of the tsechu. A thondrol – a huge thangka (painted or embroidered religious picture) of Guru Rinpoche of more than 18 sq metres, is unfurled shortly after dawn on the final day of the tsechu – you can see the huge rail upon which it is hung. It was commissioned in the 18th century by the eighth desi (secular ruler of Bhutan), also known as Druk Desi, Chhogyel Sherab Wangchuck. Below the dzong, a traditional wooden covered bridge called Nyamai Zam spans the Paro Chhu. This is a reconstruction of the original bridge, which was washed away in a flood in 1969. Earlier versions of this bridge were removed in times of war to protect the dzong. The most picturesque photos of Paro Dzong are taken from the west bank of the river, just downstream from the bridge. An interesting side note: scenes from Bernardo Bertolucci's 1993 film Little Buddha were filmed here.
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National Museum
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. The unusual round building is said to be in the shape of a conch shell, with 2.5m-thick walls. The ta dzong suffered damage in the 2011 earthquake but reopened in 2019 as the nation's premier museum. The 4th-floor entrance kicks off with a description of early history that perfectly illustrates how magic and science are inseparable in Bhutan. Information on Stone Age tools sits next to descriptions of battles between gods and demons. The thangka gallery has displays on the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Sakya, Nyingma, Gelug and Drukpa). Next is the Namse Phodrang with its collection of bronze statues, notably of the god of wealth Kubera, and it’s then down to a collection of relics discovered by Bhutan’s treasure finders, featuring 15 links from Thangtong Gyalpo’s original iron bridge at Tamchog. Go down again to the displays on Bhutanese dress and Bhutan’s ties with Tibet. The 3rd floor has a royal gallery before it’s down once again to the museum's most revered treasures, including a stone egg laid by a mule and a ritual dagger belonging to the protector Dorje Lekpa. An underground tunnel is said to lead from the watchtower to the water supply below. Cameras are not allowed inside the museum, but you can photograph the ta dzong and surrounding grounds. More exhibits (festival masks, natural history and temporary exhibits) are on display in an adjacent annex. The museum plans to raise entry fees to Nu 200/500 for Indians/foreigners. Driving to the museum involves a 4km loop into the Dop Shari valley. After visiting, you can walk down a path from the museum to the dzong and back to the town, enjoying good views of the valley and of the Ugyen Pelri Palace. Alternatively, you can start the excellent hike to Zuri Dzong from just above the museum.
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Gangte Goemba
Gangte Goemba enjoys prime real estate, on a forested hill overlooking the green expanse of the entire Phobjikha valley. The extensive complex consists of the central goemba, monks' quarters, a small guesthouse and outlying meditation centres. Much of the interior and exterior woodwork of the 450-year-old goemba was replaced between 2001 and 2008 due to a beetle-larvae infestation. During a visit to the Phobjikha valley, the 15th-century treasure-finder Pema Lingpa prophesied that a goemba named gang-teng (hilltop) would be built on this site and that his teachings would spread from here. Pema Thinley, the grandson and reincarnation of Pema Lingpa, built a Nyingma temple here in 1613, and the larger goemba was built by the second reincarnation, Tenzing Legpey Dhendup. The current Gangte trulku (reincarnation), Kunzang Pema Namgyal, is the ninth reincarnation of the 'body' of Pema Lingpa. The tshokhang (prayer hall) is built in the Tibetan style with 18 great pillars around an unusual three-storey inner atrium, and is one of the largest in Bhutan. The inner sanctum houses the funeral chorten of founder Tenzing Legpey Dhendup. The monastery's three-day tsechu (September/October) ends with the hanging of a large thondrol on the final day; at other times the huge thangka (painted or embroidered religious picture) is stored in a steel box in the inner sanctum. Upstairs is the Machey Lhakhang, holding the central funeral chorten of the sixth Gangte trulku. Monks will tell you that when the lama died, his body shrank down to the size of a baby and then the size of a peanut.
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Black-Necked Crane Information Centre
Your first stop in Phobjikha should be the information centre of the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN), which has informative displays about the black-necked 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 watch a 15-minute video. Star of the centre is Karma, an injured black-necked crane who was discovered as an eight-month-old with a broken wing and now lives in a neighbouring enclosure. It's a rare chance to see these magnificent cranes up close. Donations are accepted for a project to build a bigger enclosure.
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Dumtse Lhakhang
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 say 1421) by the iron-bridge builder Thangtong Gyalpo to subdue a demoness. Look for a mural of Thangtong to the right by the entrance. As you climb clockwise up through the atmospheric three-storeyed mandala-shaped temple core you'll pass some of the finest murals in Bhutan. It's essential to bring a good torch. The middle floor is devoted to wrathful protectors and the animal-headed deities that the deceased face on their journey through the bardo, the transition between death and rebirth.
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Archery Ground
After a visit to Paro's weekend market or Druk Choeding temple, it's well worth wandering down to this local archery ground to see if there's a traditional archery game on.
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Zuri Dzong
Zuri Dzong was built in 1352 as a fort and the five-storey main building is still well protected by double walls and a bridge. There are some particularly fine murals in the upper chapels, one of which is dedicated to the protector Zaa (Rahulla). It's best visited on a hike from Gönsaka Lhakhang.
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Juneydrak Hermitage
About 1km north of Haa, just before the main bridge, a paved road branches east 1km to Katsho village, from where you can take a lovely 40-minute hike to Juneydrak hermitage (also known as Juneydrag). The cliffside retreat contains a footprint of Machig Labdrom (1055–1132), the female Tibetan tantric practitioner who perfected the chöd ritual, whereby one visualises one's own dismemberment in an act of 'ego annihilation'. From Katsho village a trail follows the stream past the Chorten Dangrim mani (prayer) wall for 15 minutes to a two-legged archway chorten (known as a khonying). Cross the stream and ascend the trail through a charming rhododendron forest. At a red sign in Dzongkha script, take the trail to the left and climb up to a chorten that marks the entry to the hermitage. You'll need to find the caretaker in his nearby residence in order to gain access to the lhakhang. You climb up steep steps with the aid of a rope before squeezing between a stone entryway guarded by the faded rock painting of a green-faced demon. From just below the hermitage, a rough trail scrambles up the hillside and curves round the exposed bluff. Don't attempt this if you are afraid of heights or if it's raining; simply return from Juneydrak the way you came. The trail curves around to Katsho Goemba, which has fine views down over Katsho village, where your vehicle can meet you. It's worth popping into the temple to see the fine antique thangkas (painted religious pictures, usually on canvas). Bring a thermos of tea to drink in the monks' treehouse just outside the goemba. It's also possible to hike to Juneydrak from Wangtsa village, joining the main trail near the Chorten Dangrim. Figure on 2½ hours from Wangtsa to Katsho village.