Location: Punakha, Bhutan
Accommodation: Mendrelgang Homestay
The fortress in Punakha or locally known as Dzong is one of the most beautiful structures of its kind in the country. A local story about the construction of the Dzong has it that the chief carpenter back in the day was instructed to sleep within the vicinity of the site of construction. It is said that the architectural design of the Dzong was revealed to him in his dream.
The impressive structural aesthetics embodies the traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan. The Dzong was constructed in 1637. After the extended civil war ended, the First King of Bhutan was crowned at the Punakha Dzong institutionalizing hereditary monarchy in 1907. Every King has begun his reign by offering prayers at the Dzong since.
The Dzong was built on the confluence of two rivers and it is approached by a traditional cantilever bridge. The six storied central tower (Utse) houses Bhutan’s most sacred relic Rangjung Kharsapani “a self-created image of the Bodhisattva of compassion.” The Dzong also has a big assembly hall graced by a towering statue of the Buddha, Zhabdrung and Guru Padmasambhava
It is here that the spiritual leader Zhabdrung who unified Bhutan was laid to rest. His body is said to have been embalmed and the temple housing his body is off limits to everyone except the King and the Chief Abbot.
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