Places to Visit in Punakha City & Top Tourist Places

Punakha Dzong, The Greatest Dzong In Bhutan

Punakha is a town in the Himalayas of Bhutan. It's known for the Punakha Dzong, a 17th-century fortress at the juncture of the Pho and Mo Chhu rivers. The fortress hosts the Punakha Tshechu, a religious festival featuring masked dances and music. In the surrounding Punakha Valley, temples include the fertility-focused Chimi Lhakhang and the hilltop Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, which has river and mountain views.

Punakha was the capital of Bhutan from 1637 to 1907, and the first national assembly was hosted here in 1953. It is the second oldest and second largest dzong in all of Bhutan and one of the most majestic and famous structures in the country. It took only about a year to finish the building of this Dzong, but by far the most impressive thing about this Dzong is that it was built without the use of nails, not even one.

The Punakha Dzong is by far the most famous sight in Bhutan, at par with The Tiger’s Nest in Paro, so it´s easy to understand why the Punakha Dzong it´s one of the top three sights in Bhutan, the two others being the Tiger Nest Monastery and Dochula Pass.

Punakha Dzong is 180m long and 72m wide, and the Utse (central tower) is six stories high. The Dzong is located between the two major rivers in Bhutan, the Pho Chhu (pho means male) and Mo Chhu (mo means female). Therefore the only way to access the Dzong is to cross the Bazam (bridge) which was rebuilt in 2008 after the original 17th-century bridge was washed away during a flood in 1958.

Punakha Dzong in western Bhutan it’s often considered the most beautiful Dzong in the country, it is also the most important Dzong in Bhutanese history.