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This is not a “things to do”, it is a must. You cannot pass all the mountains to reach Bhutan. I know that. But it is also an amazing experience.
I don’t like amusement parks but there isn’t another thing to compare this feeling. We flied to Paro from Kathmandu and I was so sleepy after all the flights we had to reach Kathmandu. Luckily the gentleman sitting by me was so kind to share his excitement with me and he let me see the amazing path we were flying.
Paro Airport is located in the only place where they could build one. In a country surrounded by mountains, it is hard to find a plane area. So, there are high hills around the airport, too. That means you have to land the airport through a valley. The valley is a little bit small for the plane, so entertainment begins when the plane starts to descend. The valley, as any other ordinary valleys, was curvy. That means we have to change direction while descending. For changing direction, the plane was lowering one wing. When it was about to touch the trees, it was lowering the other wing.
It was the strangest flight I’ve ever had. The landing was smooth and we had a very comfortable flight, but it doesn’t change that it was the most exciting one for me. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
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This building (Ta Dzong) was the protection and the watchtower of the Rinpung Dzong. Built in 1651 by Tenzing Drugda. It’s been decided to turn into a museum in 1965 by Cigme Dorce Vangchuk and opened in 1968. Circular planned structure has 7 flats. Each one of them has different objects like thangkas (Buddhist banners used in religious ceremonies), sculptures, photographs of the royal family, weapons, valuable postage stamps, etc. (Yes, stamps. I’ve been told that Bhutan’s stamps were so popular among philatelists.) The top floor has a 3 dimensional mandala called the Tshogshing lhakhang or the 'Tree of Life'. So, the top flor is also a temple.
The collection of the museum is not so rich. But it is a good opportunity to understand the life in Bhutan and see the amazing structure. It has many holy relics, so local people visit the place as if it was a temple. Also you can see a model of Taktshang (aka Tiger’s Nest) monastery in this museum. It is luck, because this monastery is hard to see because of the mist.
Museum is located over the Rinpung Dzong and Paro. You can see Paro Valley perfectly, and have some nice shots of the Dzong around the museum.
There was a construction going on while we were there. It was a wooden building, may be an addition to museum, I think. They were still using the old methods for construction.
There was a construction going on while we were there. It was a wooden building, may be an addition to museum, I think. They were still using the old methods for construction.
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This place gave me everything I have as an image of mystic Far East. We visited the place on our last day in Bhutan and it was a rainy day. The mist was all around us. Everywhere was green; there were raindrops over the leaves. Climbed a small path and reached the Dzong.
Behind the Dzong, Chomolhari Mountain (7314m) can be seen. It is the border between Bhutan and Tibet and they believe that Goddess Jomo lives in this mountain.
“Drukh-yel Dzong” means “Castle of the Victorious Drukpas”.
This Dzong was built in 1647 by Shabdrung Ngavang Namgyel, as a reminder of the victory against Tibetan army in 1644. But it burned because of an oil candle in 1951. Now it is a mystic, beautiful ruin which covered by a replica roof according to a National Geographic photo taken in 1914.
Drukgyel is just 16 km far from Paro. On the road, from a certain point you can see Taktsang Monastery.
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Its name means “The Castle of the Jewels”. It’s first built in 15th century as a small monastery. Then it changed into a big Dzong in 1646. Dzong means “castle monastery”. It burned down in 1907 and lost its all treasures except huge Tangdrol Thangka (Buddhist banner used in religious ceremonies). It was built again by traditional methods right after the fire. Traditional methods of construction mean that this wooden building has no nails or bolts. It was built just by fitting the pieces together. It could be ordinary for making a shelf or table but it is an amazing way to build a huge structure like this.
Today Paro Dzong is the center of government administrative offices and 200 priests are living here.
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 Ta Dzong by illa
Unlike the rectangular shape of the Dzongs, Ta Dzong is round, more like parts of an European castle. It is the only round shape Dzong in the whole country. Leave a Comment Address: Immediately above the Rinpung DzongDirections: It is located on the top of a hill above the Paro Dzong overlooking Paro valley and the river.
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 Kyichu Lhakhang by illa
It is an important place of pilgrimage and of ceremonies for the royal family.
For those who are a bit more interested in the religion and the history, here's something to read:
"In the seventh century an event occurred that was decisive for Bhutan’s history: the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo (619-649) erected the first Buddhist temples, the Kyichu-Lhakhang in Paro and the Jampe-Lhakhang in Bumthang.
The display of the monuments marked the victory of Buddhism over pre-Buddhist deities. Songtsen Gampo wanted to tame a huge demon whose body covered all of Tibet and its neighbouring areas, which posed a particularly big problem to the spreading of buddhism. The king thus decided to erect a temple on each of the demon’s joints so that she would no longer be able to move. Songtsen Gampo was said to have magically multiplied himself and to have sent all of his emanations into the various areas of Tibet so as to erect 108 temples in one day. Towering over the heart of the demon there is the famous Jokhang-Temple in Lhasa. The demon’s left knee is held by the Jampe-Lhakhang of Bumthang and her left sole is fixed by the Kyichu-Lhakhang in Paro. This, however, does not imply that Tibet held sovereignty over the southern valleys of the Himalayas. At that time, Bhutan's valley people did not seem to have any objections against the erection of the temples. " Leave a Comment
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 Taktsang Monastery by illa
It's an ideal place for a short trek. The round trip hike takes about 4 hrs.
A picture of this Taktsang Monastery appeared as a cover picture of one edition of Lonely Planet "Bhutan". Leave a Comment Directions: 10kms out of Paro
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 Rinchen Pong Dzong by illaLeave a Comment Directions: You cannot miss it... It's the landmark of Paro.
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I couldn’t find out which word is the most proper one to describe them. So, I am still using “male organ” or phallus to mention them. In Bhutan, houses are generally decorated with many different pictures from Buddhist culture. Also they use male organs with ribbons as a decorative picture at the entrance of a house. It is very common in a certain part of Paro. We saw many examples on our way to Drukyel Dzong. We even stopped by a house to see them in the middle of nowhere.
Their origin is the Divine Madman, Drukpa Kunley. This distinguished character has a powerful effect and many stories in Bhutan.
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 Drugyal Dzong by illaLeave a Comment Directions: 16kms from Paro town
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