Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [153]
The road turns northwest and follows the Kulong Chhu valley towards Trashi Yangtse. The eastern fork of the river flows from Arunachal Pradesh in India and is known as the Dawung Chhu. There are proposals to build a dam along this section of the Kulong Chhu.
Climbing high above the Kulong Chhu, at Zangpozor the road passes the junction of a paved road that leads 9km to the village of Tshenkarla. Above the village school are the ruins of Tshenkarla dzong, which was built in the first half of the 9th century by Prince Tsangma, the eldest son of Tibetan king Trisong Detsen. The prince established himself in eastern Bhutan after he was banished from Tibet. The old name of this town is Rangthang Woong.
Beyond the small settlement of Shali the habitation gets more sparse as the valley becomes steeper and less suitable for cultivation. Snowy peaks at the head of the valley come in an out of focus. After traversing along a rocky cliff, a house-like building appears on a promontory where a side stream, the Dongdi Chhu, joins the valley. This is the original Trashi Yangtse Dzong, built by Pema Lingpa alongside the former trade route, and now houses the town’s community of 100 monks. The dratshang (monastic college) has a dramatic main assembly hall and an utse, which holds the dzong’s most precious relic, a statue of Chenresig that flew here from Ralung in Tibet. The dzong is 1.5km up a side road, past a wonderful traditional cantilevered bridge.
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TRASHI YANGTSE
04 / elev 1700m
The new settlement of Trashi Yangtse is near the Chorten Kora, 3km from the old dzong. The new dzong and rapidly growing town occupies a large bowl in one of the furthest corners of the kingdom, 550km from Thimphu. The dzong was inaugurated in 1997 and, being new, has little historical or architectural significance.
The town is known for the excellent wooden cups and bowls made here from avocado and maple wood using water-driven and treadle lathes. Trashi Yangtse is also a centre of paper making. They use the tsasho technique with a bamboo frame, which produces a distinctive pattern on the paper.
Orientation
The road enters from the south near the large Chorten Kora. North of the chorten is a bazaar area with a few shops and a tall, elaborately decorated Bhutanese-style chorten. From here one road leads to the impressive headquarters of the Bomdeling Wildlife Sanctuary and another climbs to the new dzong and administrative offices, on a ridge 130m above the town.
The turn-off to the local hospital and Institute for Zorig Chusum is in the south of town, just before you pass the Chorten Kora.
Sights
CHORTEN KORA
Chorten Kora is large, but not nearly as large as the stupa of Bodhnath, after which it was patterned. It was constructed in 1740 by Lama Ngawang Loday in memory of his late uncle, Jungshu Phesan, and to subdue local spirits. The lama went to Nepal himself and brought back a model of Bodhnath carved in a radish. He had it copied here so that people could visit this place instead of making the arduous trip to Nepal. The reason that Chorten Kora is not an exact copy of Bodhnath is because the radish shrank during the trip and distorted the carving.
During the second month of the lunar calendar there is a kora here, whereby people gain merit by walking around the chorten. It is celebrated on two separate dates, 15 days apart. The first day is for the people from the Dakpa community in Arunachal Pradesh, India, who make the three-day pilgrimage here to celebrate the sacrifice of an eight-year-old girl from Arunachal Pradesh who was enshrined in the chorten during its construction to appease a troublesome demon. The second kora is for the Bhutanese, who come from all over eastern Bhutan. A month before the festival the chorten is whitewashed anew, with funds earned from rice grown in the fields immediately surrounding the chorten.
In front of the chorten is a natural stone stupa, the sertho, which is referred to as the ‘mother’ of the chorten. There’s also a small goemba here. A popular recent Bhutanese film of