White walls
Red band.
Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 4.0
The first fortress of its kind in Bhutan, built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the country's unifier, in the 1620s, becoming the model for every dzong built across the kingdom after it. Today it houses an institute for the study of Dzongkha, the national language. The dzong is small compared with others, on a low hill above the valley road, with thick white walls and a red band at the top, carved wooden windows, and inside a central temple ringed by many prayer wheels, its murals among the oldest paintings in Bhutan. It stands on the main road south of the capital, so it is usually visited on the way to Dochula and Punakha, and is far quieter than the big town dzongs, where you can hear students and monks chanting. Entry is with a licensed guide, and sources differ on the fee. Dzongs and temples are places of worship and state: wear long sleeves and long trousers or skirts, remove hats, walk clockwise and take no photos inside the halls. Most visitors to Bhutan pay a Sustainable Development Fee of USD 100 per person per night, fixed until August 2027, and a licensed guide is required at dzongs and major temples.
Red band.
Round the temple.
Away from crowds.
About 5 km south of Thimphu, on the road to Paro and Punakha
It is the first fortress of its kind, built by Bhutan's unifier, and the model for every dzong after it.