After lunch back at the hotel, we returned to the monastery or Gangtey Gompa. This small chorten near the parking area was very unusual in that it had a roof over it.
Chorten outside walls of Gangte Gompa
See the bird on the roof of the building on the right. It’s a Red-Billed Chough, a very noisy member of the crow family that seems to prefer lots of company.
Red-billed Chough
Pema Lingpa, a famous saint of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism who was born near Bumtang in Bhutan, prophesied the construction of a gonpa here while visiting the valley. His grandson and first reincarnation Gangteng Tulku (Gyalse Pema Thinley or Rigdzin Pema Tinley (1564-1642)) started the monastery in 1613 by building a temple on the site. The 2nd Gangteng Tulku completed the monastery later in the century.
Exterior of Gangtey Gonpa
Details of Exterior Painting
If you’re wondering how a 17th century wooden building looks so magnificent after 300 years, it’s because a seven-year reconstruction effort was just completed in 2008 with the aid of the Landmarks Foundation. In fact, some work continues today. For a video showing how the gonpa looked during renovations, check out this youtube video Gangte Gompa.
Woodcarvers at work
The carvings are very detailed
One enters the monastery through this porch-like structure.
Entrance porch to Gangte Gonpa
Detailed painting on entranceway
The walls of the porch are covered with paintings.
The three-story central tower contains several temples and prayer halls, but we could find no one to open them for us.
Temple Building at Gangte Gonpa
Carving on central tower
Details of painted carvings
The above woodworkers were in an open, covered pavilion on one side of the courtyard in front of the central tower.
Woodworkers' workroom
Opposite was an interesting enclosed building, and
Building facing central courtyard
there were, of course, some fabulous “gargoyles.”
Roof ornament
I’m not sure where I saw this carving, but it doesn’t appear to be on the front of the central tower.
Skull carving
After leaving the monastery we visited the Black-Necked Crane Information Center, which had just a couple of pretty basic displays and two spotting scopes. The crane is about 4-ft tall with a distinctive red crown patch. It’s life span is 70 to 80 years.
A Black-Necked Crane
Since it was mid-afternoon, most of the live cranes had moved out of the valley to shadier, cooler locations, but with the scopes we found a pair of Northern Lapwings.
Northern Lapwing by Nigel Pye
The next morning as we were leaving the valley the light was just right to get some good pictures of a pair of cranes in a farmyard.
Black-Necked Cranes
Before closing this post, let me tell you about the hotel I stayed at in the valley–the Dewachan, although the fact this hotel has its own website should tell you something. According to LP the hotel was built in conjunction with a US travel company. It is a beautiful stone-and-wood building set on a hillside with fabulous views across the valley.
Dewachen Hotel in the Phobjikha Valley
The rooms are huge with two beds, a large sitting area, and a nicely tiled shower. The furnishings are stylish, like what you would find in a better-than-average lodge in the US. There is a small wood stove and electricity for a few hours in the morning and evening.
My messy room at the Dewachen
The dining room was on the second floor with bay windows looking out over the valley. The first floor probably was used as a bar when there were more people at the hotel, although with just sixteen rooms I doubt that it ever feels crowded.
The Dewachen at dawn from my room