Tashichho Dzong, Thimphu

Bhutan Tours - Tashichho Dzong, Thimphu

Thimphu's Tashichho Dzong, located on the west bank of the River Wang Chu, is the main secretariat building which houses the throne room of the King of Bhutan.The dzong is host to the annual Thimphu Festival (or tsechu).  You enter the dzong through the northeast gate, continuing into the attractive courtyard where the sound of prayer wheels turning is the loudest noise you will hear.  There are some fine painted mandalas (Buddhist diagrams with a circle within a square) on the ceiling of the assembly hall, where there is also a large statue of a Sakyamuni Buddha and the thrones of the kings.  The dzong has been rebuilt many times since its original founding in 1216; the current structure owes much to the renovations and additions of King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck in the 1960s.