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Exploring the Punakha dzong, the former capital of Bhutan
Punakha dzong, large, strong and beautiful
By the time we reached Punakha, it was almost 15:30 and the dzong was going to close in another 1.5 hours. Hurriedly, we went in to show our papers at the security office – they check your Travel permit and Special Area permits (more).
“Oh, you are from Mumbai?” (big pause, shaking his head in disapproval)
“We all deeply regret what happened in Mumbai, everyone is talking about it. Why did they attack and kill the innocent people?” he said as his peers looked at us.
My eyes got a bit moist, pained by the incidents that happened in Mumbai and guards’ gesture of genuine concern.
We heard the news only briefly on the radio – my home city Mumbai was attacked by terrorists (26/11 or November 26, 2008) from Pakistan yesterday. What a sad thing to happen, we felt guilty for being on vacation…
“Let me come in and show you. You don’t have a guide”
Punakha dzong, first courtyard (administrative) and Mo Chhu river, seen from the giant utse
History: Punakha Dzong was the seat of Bhutan’s government until Thimphu was established as the new capital in 1961. Building of this dzong was foretold by Guru Rinpoche in 8th century. Construction of the dzong begain in 1637 and was completed in one year. It was expanded in 1639 to celebrate victory over invading Tibetan army. Frequent fires, glacial burst and an earthquake damaged the dzong and it has since been repaired and restored.
Crossing the Mo Chhu to enter the dzong
Location: The dzong can be entered by crossing the Mo Chhu (Mo river) on the beautiful little bridge seen above. In addition to its strategic location at the confluence of two rivers – Mo Chhu (Mother river) and Pho Chhu (Father river), the dzong has provisions to protect it from invasions.
Punakha dzong, first courtyard (administrative), and the first tower
Structure: The dzong has three docheys1 or courtyards. The first (northern) courtyard is for administrative functions and houses a huge chorten with a Bodhi tree. The second courtyard houses the monastic quarters and is separated from the first by an utse2. The third (southern) courtyard has the main temple. Sacred remains and relics are placed in a closed room inside the temple and only the two guardian Lamas, the King and the chief Aboot of Bhutan (called Je Khenpo) may enter the room.
Punakha dzong, second courtyard (housing for monks)
The dzong is massive and the towering whitewashed walls of the utse felt very intimidating to me. 
After the guard left us to explore the place ourselves, I climbed to the top of the first utse (tower) and looked at the beautiful view below. I don’t know how they built such a high structure and as I climbed it, it reminded me of another 11-storey structure I had seen at Shringi Vatika, Himachal Pradesh.
Punakha dzong, first gigantic utse (central tower)
It was almost 16:30 and they had already closed the main temple. But Bhutanese hospitality is not just lip service. A young Lama, seeing our predicament (we were trying to push open the temple door not realizing that it was locked), went away and fetched someone that had keys to the temple.
The door was opened for us, and as we stepped in, the grand interiors of the temple seemed mesmerizing. The huge central statue of Buddha was so beautiful, powerful an engaging, that I automatically bowed to it out of sheer respect. For a moment, it felt that there was nothing else in my life except the grand statue of Buddha, in fact I lost a sense of existence and surroundings. The statue was speaking something to me and I think I was standing there simply looking at it until my friend nudged me. The feeling was surreal and incomprehensible to my otherwise rational self.
Punakha dzong, third courtyard
We got out at 17:00. The guards handed back our luggage and offered us water as we spinned the last prayer wheel at the Punakha monastery. A huge building but an humbling experience.
Footnotes:
1. Dochey: Inner courtyard of a dzong. Punakha dzong has three dochey’s
2. Utse: The central tower inside a dzong that houses a temple. The two utse’s in Punakha dzong were very tall and overpowering.
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This magnanimous structure is so real, yet the experience inside surreal!
Ah Mahendra, are you playing a rambodoc here
That is such a amazing place, and you have wonderfully captured the moments in your pics
Welcome to my blog Alok, and thanks for the comment! I’m happy you liked the pics
yes, really it was sooooo magnificient and hugeeeeeeee
nice! Liked the first courtyard picture. Wish you had also posted a picture of Buddha? Were they restricting tourists from taking pictures inside?
Gauri, unfortunately photography is not allowed inside the temple, anywhere in Bhutan… I wish I had a picture too, but then maybe not having one was a better idea. I couldn’t have captured all those feelings anyway…
@ Priyank : That is the most beautiful dzong in Bhutan as far as I have seen. I think the Je Khempo is also the oracle for Bhutan but I am not sure. I notice they have put in a new bridge in the days that I had been there it was just one of those rope type bridges.
Odzer, yes, they put a new cantilever bridge now. Years ago, there used to be a cantilever bridge of some kind (constructed in 1720) on both the rivers, but they got destroyed. A simple cable suspension bridge took their place for many years but now it seems they built this bridge back.
Fantastic! While the artwork and architecture seems similar to those in China and Thailand, these ones seem almost new and very well maintained.
Hi Shantanu, this place is very well maintained… But I wonder why you think the artwork and architecture is similar to China and Thailand. IMO it is completely different, the roof styles, wall styles and the religious art is not same at all!
Oh but Bhutani architecture is similar to European and Arab style, no? Pillars, roofs, windows, walls…. its so same.
@ Shantanu : Actually they are not similar at all to Chinese or Thai buildings. However if they are I am quite curious to know how you think they are similar?
loved the architecture…your pics are like a postcard
The architecture is beautiful!
Thanks Amit!
I have been through all your Bhutan pictures and needless to say they are impressive. I wish we had managed to go to Bhutan when we were in Calcutta, but now even if we are here I think that is one place one must not miss!
Thanks Nita. I’m sure that the next time you decide to go, this information will be very useful to you!
Beautiful pics again, are you planning on being in Bhutan for the Total Solar Eclipse July 22nd?
July 22? No way! I will be in school, writing my papers…
And reading your reports from China 
Wow! Great Architecture. Love your photographs.
I liked reading about your experience inside the temple.
Thanks! Punakha monastery is very beautiful indeed. I’ll post the art work shortly.
I’d like to see a picture of that grand statue of Buddha, but I assume taking photos weren’t permitted. Anyway, great post!
I wish I could take pictures…
But as you guessed, it wasn’t allowed.
[...] excursion: Thimpu – Punakha – Wangdue – Thimphu. We visited the temple of Divine Madman, the grand Punakha monastery, got blessings from Bhutan’s highest Buddhist monk and saw the scenic Wangdue monastery among [...]