Punakha Dzong DZONG This dzong ( 8am-5pm) was the second dzong to be built in Bhutan and it served as the capital and seat of government until Thimphu was promoted to the top job in the mid-1950s. It’s arguably the most beautiful dzong in the country, especially in spring when the lilac-coloured jacaranda trees bring a lush sensuality to the dzong’s characteristically towering whitewashed walls. Elaborately painted gold, red and black carved woods add to the artistic lightness of touch. Guru Rinpoche foretold the construction of Punakha Dzong, predicting that ‘…a person named Namgyal will arrive at a hill that looks like an elephant’. When the Zhabdrung visited Punakha he chose the tip of the trunk of the sleeping elephant at the confluence of the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu as the place to build a dzong.

Lonely, Planet (2012-06-21). Bhutan Travel Guide (Country Travel Guide)

Author

Sven Tetzlaff

Created on

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Posted on

Saturday 31 August 2019

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Asia, Bhutan, geography, Landscape

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