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at the temple, which is surrounded by a row of prayer wheels and some beautiful slate carvings. No permit is required for entrance to the temple, so you may visit and see the central statue of the lama and his dog Sachi, as well as statues of the Zhabdrung, Sakyamuni and Chenresig. Make a small offering and you’ll be rewarded with a blessing from the lama’s wooden and bone phalluses and his iron archery set. Mothers-to-be then select their future baby’s name from a collection of bamboo slips. The small chorten on the altar is said to have been crafted by Drukpa Kunley himself. Murals to the right of the chapel depict events from Kunley’s colourful life.

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PUNAKHA & KHURUTHANG

02 / elev 1250m

Punakha sits in a fertile, warm and beautiful valley at the junction of the Mo Chhu (Mother River) and Pho Chhu (Father River). Commanding the river junction is the gorgeous Punakha Dzong, one of Bhutan’s most impressive buildings. Punakha served as Bhutan’s capital for over 300 years and the first king was crowned here in 1907. The third king convened the new Bhutan National Assembly here in 1952.

From Punakha, the Punak Tsang Chhu continues past Wangdue Phodrang, dropping away into southern Bhutan, where it is known locally as the Sankosh. The low altitude of the Punakha valley allows two rice crops a year, and oranges and bananas are in abundance.

All of Punakha’s shops and facilities are in the unappealing new town of Khuruthang, 4km to the south. The older village opposite the dzong has only private homes, a hospital and an antique-looking fire engine.

Punakha also has one of the most famous festivals in the country, dedicated to the protector deity Yeshe Goenpo (Mahakala).

Sights

PUNAKHA DZONG

Punakha Dzong was the second of Bhutan’s dzongs and until the mid-1950s it served as the seat of the government. It’s arguably the most beautiful dzong in the country, especially in spring when the lilac-coloured jaracanda trees bring a rare sensuality to the dzong’s characteristically towering whitewashed walls. Elaborately painted gold, red and black carved woods add to the artistic lightness of touch.

The construction of Punakha Dzong was foretold by Guru Rinpoche, who predicted that ‘…a person named Namgyal will arrive at a hill that looks like an elephant’. The Zhabdrung visited Punakha and chose the tip of the trunk of the sleeping elephant at the confluence of the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu as the place to build a dzong. It’s not obvious, but with a bit of imagination you may be able to visualise the hill as an elephant.

As early as 1326 a smaller building called Dzong Chug (Small Dzong) housed a statue of the Buddha here. It is said that the Zhabdrung ordered the architect, Zowe Palep, to sleep in front of the statue. While Palep was sleeping, the Zhabdrung took him in his dreams to Zangto Pelri and showed him the palace of Guru Rinpoche. From his vision, the architect conceived the design for the new dzong, which, in keeping with tradition, was never committed to paper.

Construction began in 1637 and was completed the following year, when the building was christened Pungthang Dechen Phodrang (Palace of Great Happiness). Later embellishments included the construction of a chapel to commemorate the victory over the Tibetans in 1639. The arms captured during the battle are preserved in the dzong.

The Zhabdrung established a monk body here with 600 monks from Cheri Goemba in the upper Thimphu valley and he lived out the rest of his life here. Punakha is still the winter residence of the dratshang.

Punakha Dzong is 180m long and 72m wide and the utse is six storeys high. The gold dome on the utse was built in 1676 by the dzongpen (lord of the dzong), Gyaltsen Tenzin Rabgye. Many of the dzong’s features were added between 1744 and 1763 during the reign of the 13th desi, Sherab Wangchuk. One item he donated was the chenmo (great) thondrol, a large thangka depicting the Zhabdrung that is exhibited to the public once a year during the tsechu festival. A brass roof for the dzong was a gift of the seventh