Individual Package PHUENTSHOLING/THIMPHU/WANGDUE/PUNAKHA

Package Overview

SIGHTSEEINGS

Thimphu
Kuensel Phodrang
Great Buddha Dordenma Is A Gigantic Shakyamuni Buddha Statue In The Mountains Of Bhutan Celebrating The 60th
Anniversary Of Fourth King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The Statue Houses Over One Hundred Thousand Smaller Buddha
Statues, Each Of Which, Like The Great Buddha Dordenma Itself, Are Made Of Bronze And Gilded In Gold. The Great
Buddha Dordenma Is Sited Amidst The Ruins Of Kuensel Phodrang, The Palace Of Sherab Wangchuck, The Thirteenth Desi
Druk, Overlooking The Southern Approach To Thimphu, The Capital Of Bhutan. Construction Began In 2006 And Was
Planned To Finish In October 2010, However Construction Did Not Conclude Until 25 September 2015. The Completed Work
Is One Of The Largest Buddha Rupas In The World, At 169 Feet (52 M) And Contains 100,000 8-Inch-Tall And 25,000 12-
Inch-Tall Gilded Bronze Buddhas.

Thimphu
Folk Heritage Museum

The Museum Was Opened On 28 July 2001 From The Initiative Of Founder Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo
Wangchuck.The Museum Is Housed In A 3-Story 19th Century Traditional Rammed Mud And Timber House Aged More Than
150 Years. It Includes Paddy, Wheat And Millet Fields, Watermill, Kitchen Gardens, Hot Stone Bath Etc. The Ground Floor
Resembles Barn, The Upper Floor Resembles Safe Store And The Top Most Floor Resembles Living And Dining Area

Thimphu
Tashichho Dzong

The Original Thimphu Dzong (The Do-Ngön Dzong, Or Blue Stone Dzong) Was Built In 1216 By Lama Gyalwa Lhanapa
(1164-1224), Founder Of The Lhapa Branch Of The Drikung Kagyu, At The Place Where Dechen Phodrang Monastery Now
Stands On A Ridge Above The Present Tashichö-Dzong. In 1641 Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal Took Over That Dzong From
The Lhapa Kagyu, Reconsecrated, And Renamed It Tashichö-Dzong. It Was Then Established As The Main Seat Of The
Southern Drukpa Kagyu And The Summer Residence Of The Monastic Body Or Sangha Headed By Shabdrung Rinpoche.
Most Of This Original Dzong Was Destroyed By Fire In 1772 And A New Dzong Was Built At The Present Site By The
Sixteenth Desi, Sonam Lhudrup, And It Was Then Consecrated By The Thirteenth Je Khenpo, Je Yonten Taye, Who Named
The New Dzong Sonamchö-Dzong. Following The Death Of The Desi It Was Renamed Tashichö-Dzong After The Old Dzong.

Punakha/Wangdue
Punakha Dzong

The Punakha Dzong, Also Known As Pungthang Dewa Chhenbi Phodrang (Meaning “The Palace Of Great Happiness Or
Bliss”), Is The Administrative Centre Of Punakha District In Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed By Ngawang Namgyal, 1st
Zhabdrung Rinpoche, In 1637–38, It Is The Second Oldest And Second Largest Dzong In Bhutan And One Of Its Most
Majestic Structures. The Dzong Houses The Sacred Relics Of The Southern Drukpa Lineage Of The Kagyu School Of Tibetan
Buddhism, Including The Rangjung Kharsapani And The Sacred Remains Of Ngawang Namgyal And The Tertön Pema
Lingpa.Punakha Dzong Was The Administrative Centre And The Seat Of The Government Of Bhutan Until 1955, When The
Capital Was Moved To Thimphu. It Is Listed As A Tentative Site In Bhutan’s Tentative List For UNESCO Inclusion.

Punakha/Wangdue
Dochula Pass

The Dochula Pass Is A Mountain Pass In The Snow Covered Himalayas Within Bhutan On The Road From Thimpu To
Punakha Where 108 Memorial Chortens Or Stupas Known As “Druk Wangyal Chortens” Have Been Built By Ashi Dorji
Wangmo Wangchuk, The Eldest Queen Mother. Apart From The Chortens There Is A Monastery Called The Druk Wangyal
Lhakhang (Temple), Built In Honour Of The Fourth Druk Gyalpo (Head Of The State Of Bhutan), Jigme Singye Wangchuck;
The Open Grounds In Its Front Yard Is A Venue For The Annual Dochula Druk Wangyel Festival. The Pass With 108
Memorial Chortens Is Adjacent To The Country’s First Royal Botanical Park.

Punakha/Wangdue
Chimi Lhakhang

Chimi Lhakhang, Also Known As Chime Lhakhang Or Monastery Or Temple, Is A Buddhist Monastery In Punakha District,
Bhutan. Located Near Lobesa, It Stands On A Round Hillock And Was Built In 1499 By The 14th Drukpa Hierarch, Ngawang
Choegyel, After The Site Was Blessed By The “Divine Madman” The Maverick Saint Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529) Who Built

A Chorten On The Site.In Founding The Site It Is Said That Lama Kunley Subdued A Demon Of Dochu La With His “Magic
Thunderbolt Of Wisdom” And Trapped It In A Rock At The Location Close To Where The Chorten Now Stands. He Was
Known As The “Mad Saint” Or “Divine Madman” For His Unorthodox Ways Of Teaching Buddhism By Singing, Humour
And Outrageous Behaviour, Which Amounted To Being Bizarre, Shocking And With Sexual Overtones. He Is Also The Saint
Who Advocated The Use Of Phallus Symbols As Paintings On Walls And As Flying Carved Wooden Phalluses On House Tops
At Four Corners Of The Eaves. The Monastery Is The Repository Of The Original Wooden Symbol Of Phallus That Kunley
Brought From Tibet. This Wooden Phallus Is Decorated With A Silver Handle And Is Used To Bless People Who Visit The
Monastery On Pilgrimage, Particularly Women Seeking Blessings To Beget Children. The Tradition At The Monastery Is To
Strike Pilgrims On The Head With A 10-Inch (25 Cm) Wooden Phallus (Erect Penis). Traditionally Symbols Of An Erect Penis
In Bhutan Have Been Intended To Drive Away The Evil Eye And Malicious Gossip.

Paro
Royal Botanical Park

The Royal Botanical Park, Lampelri Is The First Botanical Park In Bhutan And Forms The Backdrop Of The Dochula Pass. The
Park Forms A Biological Corridor Of 47 Square Miles (120 Km2) Between The Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park And
The Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Park And Has A Popular Botanical Garden Within It Which Is Spread Over An Area Of
125 Acres (51 Ha). This Is Planted With 46 Species Of Rhododendron Of Which 18 Species Are Native To The Park While
The Other 26 Species Are Brought From Other Regions Of Bhutan And Planted Here. These Bloom During Mid March To
Early August. The Botanical Garden Of The Park Has Within Its Limits The 108 Stupas (Chortens) At The Dochula Pass
(3100m). The Park Was Formally Declared Open In June 2008 To Mark The Anniversary Of The Coronation Of King Jigme
Kesar Namgyel Wangchuk And Centenary Of Bhutan’s Monarchic Rule. Mr. Phenden Gyamtsho Is The Park Manager,
Heading A Technical Team Of Young, Humble And Hardworking Staff. The Park Facility Centre Opens From 9am To 5pm In
Summer And From 9am To 4pm In Winter. The Park Seriously Embarks On Waste Management Advocacy Programs To
Educate The General Public. Garbage IN And Garbage OUT Policy Is Being Emphasised.

Paro
Ta Dzong

National Museum Of Bhutan Is A Cultural Museum In The Town Of Paro In Western Bhutan. Established In 1968, In The
Renovated Ancient Ta-Dzong Building, Above Rinpung Dzong Under The Command Of His Majesty, The King Jigme Dorji
Wangchuck, The Third Hereditary Monarch Of Bhutan. The Necessary Infrastructure Was Created To House Some Of The
Finest Specimens Of Bhutanese Art, Including Masterpieces Of Bronze Statues And Paintings. Suitable Galleries Were
Constructed To House The Extensive Collections. Works Of Art Were Elegantly Displayed On Scientific Lines. Today The
National Museum Has In Its Possession Over 3,000 Works Of Bhutanese Art, Covering More Than 1,500 Years Of Bhutan’s
Cultural Heritage. Its Rich Holdings Of Various Creative Traditions And Disciplines, Represent A Remarkable Blend Of The
Past With The Present And Is A Major Attraction For Local And Foreign Visitors.

Paro
Tashichho Dzong

Drukgyal Dzong Was A Fortress And Buddhist Monastery, Now In Ruins, Located In The Upper Part Of The Paro District,
Bhutan. The Dzong Was Probably Built By Tenzin Drukdra In 1649 At The Behest Of Ngawang Namgyal, Zhabdrung
Rinpoche, To Commemorate Victory Over An Invasion From Tibet.In The Early 1950s, Drukgyal Dzong Was Almost
Completely Destroyed By Fire. It Is Listed As A Tentative Site In Bhutan’s Tentative List For UNESCO Inclusion.In 2016, To
Celebrate The Birth Of The Gyalsey, As Well As To Commemorate Two Other Significant Events, Namely, The Arrival Of
Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel To Bhutan In 1616 AD And The Birth Year Of Guru Rinpoche, The Prime Minister Lyonchen
Tshering Tobgay Announced That The Dzong Will Be Rebuilt And Reinstated To Its Former Glory. The Announcement And
Ground Breaking Ceremony Took Place A Day After The Prince Was Born.