Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [94]
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PARO
08 / elev 2280m
The charming small town of Paro lies in the centre of the valley on the banks of the Paro (or Pa) Chhu, just a short distance northwest of the imposing Paro Dzong. The main street, built only in 1985, is lined with colourfully painted wooden shop fronts and restaurants, though a modern concrete extension is taking root to the side.
Some of the older shops in Paro have doors at the back; a strange ladder system provides access through the front window. An unusual local regulation has, for a while, prohibited bicycle riding within Paro town.
Orientation
The road from Thimphu and the airport enters the town from the south, near the archery ground. The town square is marked by the tower-like Chhoeten Lhakhang. North of the centre, by the Dumtse Lhakhang, a paved side road gives vehicle access to Paro Dzong and the National Museum.
If you follow the main street southeast, you’ll pass five chortens (stone Buddhist monuments), the Ugyen Pelri Palace and the covered bridge that provides foot access to the massive Paro Dzong. Up on the forested hill above town is Zuri Dzong, home to the valley’s local protector gods and therefore off-limits to tourists.
Most of the hotels are on the hillsides west and southeast of town, giving great views over valley.
Information
INTERNET ACCESS
ITSS (Map; 9am-9pm; per min Nu 1.33) You can burn digital photos onto a CD here.
Papu’s Internet Café (Map; 8.30am-8.30pm; per min Nu 3) Also offers telephone calls.
Post Office (Map; per min Nu 1.25)
MEDICAL SERVICES
Kuen Phuen Medical Shop (Map) Stocks basic medical supplies, opposite Made in Bhutan.
Hospital (Map; 271571) On a hill to the west of town and accepts visitors in an emergency.
MONEY
Bank of Bhutan (Map; 271230; 9am-1pm & 2-4pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat)
Bhutan National Bank (Map; 9am-3pm Mon-Fri, to 11am Sat)
POST
Post Office (Map; 8.30am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-1pm Sat)
Sights
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 great stones stored in the rafters of the dzong’s veranda.
The dzong survived the 1897 earthquake but a fire severely damaged the dzong in 1907. 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.
Scenes from Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1995 film Little Buddha were filmed here.
Visiting the Dzong
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. A road climbs the hill to the dzong’s northern entrance, which leads into the dochey (courtyard) on the 3rd storey. 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. To the east of the utse is another small lhakhang dedicated to Chuchizhey, an 11-headed manifestation of Chenresig. The richly carved wood, painted in gold, black and ochres, and the towering whitewashed walls serve to reinforce the sense of power and wealth.
A stairway leads down to the monastic quarter, which houses about 200 monks. In the southeast corner (to the left) is the kunre, which is where the monks eat their communal meals. Look out for the mural of the ‘mystic spiral’, a uniquely Bhutanese variation on the