Trails and Treasures

Not every dzong has been restored after suffering a devastating fire.  Drukgyel Dzong, which was built in 1647 to commemorate victory over the Tibetans in 1644, was left in ruins when it suffered a fire in 1951.  Drukgyel Dzong means “Fortress of the Victorious Drukpa.”

Prayer wheel and flags at Drukgyel Dzong

Exterior walls of Drukgyel Dzong

Old steps up to entrance of Drukgyel Dzong

Entrance courtyard

There's no stucco left on this wall

This tower still had its stucco and paint

The walls were an interesting mix of building materials.

Mix of building materials in walls

Cut-stone walls

Rough stone walls

The dzong is at the end of Paro valley near a major route to Tibet, so the mountains loom up behind the dzong.

The way to Tibet

In the valley, some of the rice fields had been planted.

Paro Valley from Drukgyel Dzong

Rice fields

The dzong at Wangdue Phodrang was built by the Zhabdrung in 1638 at the confluence of the Punak Tsang Chhu and the Dang Chhu.

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong on a bluff

To discourage attacks cacti were planted on the hillside.

However, once one attains the hilltop, the way into the dzong was much easier than at the others I’d visited.

Entrance to Wandue Phodrang Dzong

This dzong was under renovation; thus, the pile of building materials in the above photo.  For me one of the more interesting facets of this dzong was the fact it had not been restored; it looked old.

Dochey in administrative area

The painting on the utse may date from when the dzong was rebuilt after the 1897 earthquake.

Utse at Wangue Phodrang Dzong

At Wangdi one can see the mountains between the buildings.

Unlike the dzongs with walls around them, at Wangdi one can see the mountains between the buildings.

In the religious sector of the dzong the monks’ quarters leave little room for outdoor gatherings.

Religious sector of Wangi Dzong

The building at the far end houses the main assembly hall.  Note the rocks holding the wooden roof in place.

Wangdi Assembly Hall

If the wall paintings were a century old, they were remarkably preserved.

This wheel of life was much less colorful than some, but the detail was amazing.

As we were leaving the dzong we saw a group of young buys using part of a chorten as a swimming pool.

I had two choices for the day–birding and a local gathering or a trek up to Korphu village.  I elected to take it easy and go birding, but let me save all my birding finds for later.  Instead, I want to talk about Nabji.

My guide Pelden was born in Nabji, and he lived here until going away to school. 

Several of his sisters still live in the area; one in the village.  Because I was a party of one, she graciously invited me to stay in her home.  Thus, I had an opportunity to glimpse what rural life in Bhutan is really like–sort of.  Being an honored guest in a home where no one speaks your language, the only chair is the one brought for you, and the kitchen is so smoky that it makes your eyes water, nose run, and lungs cough means there is little interaction between you and your hosts.

Pelden's sister's home

While most of the homes look multi-storied, only one level is used for living space.  The ground level is for storage, as is the open space between the first floor and roof.  If you’ve not read or heard about the Bhutanese’ favorite good-luck symbol, here it is.

For comparison purposes, here are two other homes in Nabji village.

Neighbor's home from my bedroom window

Neighbor's house

 To get to the living quarters, one climbed these steps.

Steps into Pelden's sister's home

On the main floor there was a kitchen, storage room, family sleeping room (no beds), guest bedroom with a set of twin beds, parlor/sitting room, and a room set aside for worship.  Pelden said the guest room was only used by guests; I never found out if the room they set aside as my sitting room was used regularly or not by the family, but there was a pile of sleeping mats in the corner.  Otherwise, it was empty.

Parlor? with door to the family's Buddhist shrine

 There were several cabinets used for storage in the guest bedroom.  One of them was beautifully painted.

The glass-fronted one to the right was filled with foodstuffs and other kitchen things.  The items on the right are all thermoses–one for tea and three for hot food.

The windows had no glass, just sliding wooden panels.

Every family had chickens that started to crow at 4:30 a.m.  (No sleeping in here!) and cows.  This one also had donkeys.

There was a haystack close at hand. 

The little tent housed the hole in the ground they erected for my use.  I asked where the family went and he said it was nearby.  Getting to this outhouse was not easy.  I had to negotiate the steep steps, climb through the fence or over the wall of the enclosure for the cows and donkeys, negotiate with the chickens, and avoid all of their droppings.

From my window I could see the “public baths”–a tap to which everyone came with a bar of soap, towel, and toothbrushes.  I believe most people had to haul their water from here, but some may have had a garden hose for piping some to their yards.

The one thing I was not prepared for both in Bhutan and Nepal was the lack of separation between people and farm animals.  There are no barns, no stables, no chicken coops.  It’s a free-for-all, so watch where you step and it’s a good idea to leave your shoes outside.  It’s no wonder the water needs to be boiled.

Trongsa Dzong is more evocative of a Western European castle like Heidelberg than most Bhutanese dzongs. 

Model of Heidelberg Schloss

Perched on a bluff high above the Mangde Chhu, it commanded a defensible position along the major east-west trade route.   

Trongsa Dzong and Ta Dzong from the west

Looking Westward with Trongsa Dzong in foreground

A stream flows alongside the eastern perimeter of the dzong

The Chhoekhor Raptentse Dzong (the official name for this dzong) was the original seat of power in modern Bhutan, starting when the Trongsa penlop Jigme Namgyal (the first king’s father) established control of most of Bhutan.  The first and second kings ruled from here, and by tradition, the crown prince gets on-the-job training in governance by filling the post of Trongsa penlop (district administrator).

Chhoekhor Raptentse Dzong, Trongsa

Today's entrance to the dzong; historically one had to walk two hours up the mountain to the eastern gate

Inside the walls there’s a feeling of spaciousness with numerous buildings and large courtyards. 

Inside Trongsa Dzong

Lots of office space and 23 lhakhangs inside this dzong

The timber and stucco are reminiscent of half-timbering

 The watchtower for the dzong was built above it on the hillside.

Ta Dzong is situated above Trongsa Dzong

Ta Dzong from the west on a sunny day

Ta Dzong from Trongsa Dzong in the rain and fog

With support from the Austrian government, the tower is been converted into a splendid museum that is a steep climb up from the road.

The last flight of stairs up to Ta Dzong

Ta Dzong tower

Tomorrow I’ll be heading into the Black Mountains to begin the six-day trek along the Nabji Trail.  No more dzongs for a while!

On the morning before leaving Jakar for the drive back to Trongsa we made a whirlwind tour of some of the many lhakhangs in the area.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, Guru Rinpoche made his first visit to Bhutan and conversions to Buddhism here and one of Nyingma Buddhism’s most important saints was born here.

We started our rounds of lhakhang at the Jampey (or Jampa) Lhakhang, which shares the claim for being the first temple constructed in Bhutan by King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet in 659 with the Kyichu Lhakhang in the Paro valley.  Gampo built 108 temples in Tibet and throughout the Himalayas on a single day to overcome a giant supine demoness by pinning her to the earth.  Jampa Lhakhang was placed on the demoness’s left knee.  Four temples were added in the latter half of the 19^th century.  The complex was partially restored in 1905, but that’s still more than a century ago, so this place feels old.

Just a short walk away was the new (2008) Zangtopelri Lhakhang.  It was built over a period of seven years with financial assistance from Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck.  It was built in memory of her grandfather Gongzim Ugyen Dorji, her grand aunt Ane Thukten Wangmo and her parents Gongzim Sonam Tobgye Dorji and Mayum Choying Wangmo Dorji. 

Did you notice how much more painting there is on the new versus the old lhakhang?

Further up the road was the Kurjey Lhakhang, a much larger complex built on a site where Guru Rinpoche meditated and left the imprint of his body on a rock.  The temple over Guru Rinpoche’s imprint was built in 1652; the second temple was built in 1900 by Ugyen Wangchuck, the First King of Bhutan, while he was still the Penlop of Trongsa.  The third temple dates from 1900 and was sponsored by the then Queen Mother Ashi Kesang.

Across the river, we visited the Tamshing Goempa which was established in 1501 by Pema Lingpa.  It is the most important Nyingma gonpa in Bhutan.  Tamshing supports a body of over 80 monks. Mostly under the age of 15, these monks are either orphans or from very poor families who can’t afford to send their children to a state school.

We then visited Jakar Dzong, a much smaller dzong than the one’s I’d seen so far.  Originally built as a monastery in 1549, it was converted into a dzong in 1646.  It was badly damaged by the 1897 earthquake and rebuilt on a smaller scale in 1905.  Here the courtyards were very small compared to those at Thimphu and Punakha, giving this dzong a more intimate feel.

Now it’s time to head inside the walls of this huge (590 by 236 feet) structure, but first we must pass through a small gate in a low wall that creates a small, grassy entrance plaza.

Entrance Gateway to Punakha Dzong

From this plaza, it’s a long way up the wooden entrance steps.  Designed in the 17th century so that they could be pulled up in the event of an attack, they’re not the easiest steps to climb.

Main Entrance to Punakha Dzong

Just inside there are a number of paintings, including one of the Four Harmonious Friends.  For an explanation of the symbolism, see  Thuenpa Puen Zhi.

Four Harmonious Friends

This dzong has three instead of the usual two courtyards or docheys.  To give you an overall view of the dzong, here’s a photo of the model I saw in Thimphu.  The largest building on the left is the utse; the open space to its left is the administrative courtyard.

Model of Punakha Dzong in National Library at Thimphu

The utse is massive;

Utse of Punakha Dzong

the carving in the window bays spectacular.

Upper Story Windows of Utse

The decorations on the roof corners are not gargoyles in the sense that they carry water from the roof.

The second courtyard, which is surrounded by monk’s quarters, is fairly small since a temple was built there in 1978 (or 1983, depending on the source) to the Tantric deity Cakrasamvara.  

Temple in Second Courtyard of Punakha Dzong

In the third is a large assembly hall or kuenrey (kunre) for the monks, as this is the winter home of His Holiness the Je Khenpo and 250 monks.

Kuenre or Large Assembly Hall

Also located in the third courtyard is a temple containing the remains of the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the man who unified Bhutan and built the dzongs across Bhutan.  Only the king and the Je Khenpo can enter the room where the remains are kept.

Temple in Punakha Dzong

The following photo provides a close-up of the ground floor windows.

Close-up of Window Painting

Also hidden away in the utse is Bhutan’s most treasured possession–the Rangjung Kharsapani, which I’ll discuss in my next post.

Did you notice the lovely cantilevered bridge across the Mo in my last post?

Punakha Dzong on the Mo Chhu

The original cantilever bridge (bazam) over the Mo Chhu was destroyed by a GLOF in 1958, which also widened the channel to be spanned from about 105 feet to 165 feet.  It was replaced by a steel cable bridge, presumably with more character than these two nearby bridges across the Pho.

Steel Cable Pedestrian Bridge over the Pho Chhu

Steel Cable Bridge near Punakha

But, obviously, any steel bridge would not have been in keeping with the 350-year-old wood and stucco dzong.  The problem was the new channel width.  No one knew how to span such a wide channel with a wooden cantilevered bridge.  In 2000 Pro Bhutan–Germany, an organization which had planned, financed, and built Punakha’s hospital and medical training facility, was asked by the prime minister to build a new wooden, cantilevered bridge.  It, in turn, solicited the help of Walt + Galmarini AG, a Swiss engineering firm that specializes in bridge building.

The Bazam to Punakha Dzong

The result is a spectacular bridge that uses hidden steel elements “to stabilise the high bridge arch and to prevent it from twisting or falling sideward.”  The new bridge was completed in May, 2008.  At 55m, it is the longest unsupported span in the traditional cantilever architecture in the world.  Be sure to follow the link above to see construction photos.

Also note the location of the dredges in the above photo viz a viz their location in my last post.  The above photo was taken Sunday morning when the yellow dredge was stuck. 

Punakha Dzong from Northwest with Mo Chhu in foreground

Built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1637-38, Punakha’s dzong is the second oldest and second largest of Bhutan’s dzongs.  It’s official name “Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong” means palace of great happiness or bliss.  Until the capital was moved to Thimphu, this was the administrative center of Bhutan; the clergy still winter here. 

Punakha Dzong with Mo Chhu in foreground

The dzong is beautifully situated at the confluence of the Pho (Father) Chhu and Mo (Mother) Chhu.

 Over the centuries there have been additions and renovations, some necessitated the 1897 earthquake and numerous fires, the last of which was in 1986.  In addition to the 1986 fire, many of the wooden structures within the walls had been allowed to deteriorate over the years.  Therefore, in the late 1980s the king ordered a complete reconstruction.  After a significant amount of work had been done, the foundation was determined to be inadequate, and much of the work had to be redone after the foundation was strengthened.  Then, in 1994, a massive flash flood occurred on the Pho, and additional restoration work was added to the already long list of projects, along with flood control.  If my interpretation of this website about the dzong’s reconstruction is correct, work was not completed until 2004.

Work continues on flood control though, and even more is planned.   The problem is GLOFs—Glacial Lake Outburst Floods—at the headwaters of the Pho.  According to Pelden, the Pho once flowed as close to the dzong as the Mo still does.  Plans call for the confluence to be moved 900 feet downstream.

Dredging the Mo Chhu