Punakha sits on an elevation of 1,300 meters (4100 feet) in a fertile, warm and beautiful valley. The sub-tropical environment allows cultivation of rice and numerous fruits such as oranges, mangoes and bananas, to name a few. The valley and its surrounding mountain sides offer a large variety of attractive places to hike and bike. You can also explore monasteries and Bhutanese farming traditions as they have been carried out for centuries. Below, we have listed some activities, outings and hikes that you might like to venture on whilst traveling with us here in Punakha.
The paths throughout the valley have largely been created by the locals and the animals wandering from pasture to pasture. These paths can become quite muddy and wet during the rainy season. For your own safety and convenience, we would suggest you keep to the recognizable footpaths and roads and always wear sturdy footwear or trekking boots. Due to the high altitude, the sun is relatively strong during the summer months and we would therefore recommend you carry sunscreen whenever you are outdoors.
Visit to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten : Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten is a 30-meter (100-feet) tall structure which can be seen in the distance. The three-leveled chorten took eight and a half years to build and was consecrated in 1999. It is dedicated to the 5th King and serves to protect him as well as the country. It is therefore filled with every form of colorful protector imaginable.
Time: 1 hour walk to/from the chorten to the suspension bridge.Difficulty level – Moderate.
Visit to Punakha Dzong : Early in the morning, the 300 – 500 monks (depending on the season) who reside in Punakha Dzong get together in the main altar room to conduct their daily prayers. It is quite an experience to hear and see them all engaged in their chanting, while also admiring the impressive, colorful and detailed artistry of the surroundings, including huge statues of Buddha, Guru Rinpoche and the Zhabdrung, as well as paintings of one-thousand Buddhas.
Punakha Dzong is considered one of the most important and also one of the most beautiful Dzongs in the Kingdom. It was built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel in 1637, and was the seat of the government every winter until Thimphu was established as the permanent capital in the 1960s. It is still the winter residence of the Dratshang (The Central Monk Body).
Vegetable Market Visit : If you are interested in Bhutanese cooking and food culture, we recommend a weekend morning visit to the weekly Khuruthang or Wangdue vegetable markets. You will find local fruits and vegetables used in Bhutanese cuisine. Khuruthang market is open every Saturday morning. Wangdue market is open on Sundays.
Prayer Flag Hoisting and picnic Lunch at Chorten Nyeabu : A short and peaceful hike to this special 15th century temple to see the largest statue of Jowo Jampa – The Future Buddha, and Gum Shing – “the upside-down tree” can be combined with hoisting of prayer flags and picnic lunch on the temple’s scenic hilltop. Prayer flags are hoisted for happiness, long life, prosperity, luck and merit, to clear one’s’ sins, and to offer karmic merit to all sentient beings. When the wind blows, it carries the prayers on the flags, blessing all beings that get a whiff of the prayers. Find the spot where you want to hoist your prayer flags, and if you wish, a local monk will accompany you to consecrate the hoisting.
Chorten Nyeabu’s main temple is situated between two smaller chortens; therefore the name Nyeabu means ‘between two chortens’. It is believed that once while Drukpa Kuenlay was preparing tea in Giligang, a mountain top visible from Chorten Nyeabu, he spotted demons up to no good nearby. He used his supernatural powers to subdue their evil plans by throwing a piece of burning firewood from his fireplace across the valley in the direction of Chorten Nyeabu. The story says that this torch is the current tree growing upside-down outside the chorten. You can still see the burnt-out charcoal inside the trunk of the tree.
Time: 30 minutes drive to the starting point, 30 minutes walk uphill to the Chorten. Difficulty level – Easy
Archery : Whilst in Bhutan, we strongly urge you to have a go at the country’s national sport. In the past, the hunting bows were made of long single pieces of bamboo, bound with leather. They have now been replaced by more modern versions and are solely used for sporting events. However a version of the original bow is still used in local archery contests. We have several of these bows available.
Long Life Blessing in Dho Jhaga Lam Lhakhang : The blessing for long life is called the Tshewang and is a ritual blessing to extend the astrologers-purported prophecies. This elaborate one-hour ritual by six to eight monks involves ample prayers, mantras and a final Dorji (thunderbolt) or a sacred scripture blessing on the head.
Dho Jhaga Lam Lhakhang’s inviting gardens shelter a huge boulder split miraculously in two. It is said that the Indian guru-magician Nagi Rinchen’s mother was trapped inside the big rock (symbolizing hell) due to her dreadful sins. To free her to heaven, Nagi Rinchen sent lightning to split the rock into two to liberate his mother who was trapped inside in the form of a frog.
Wangdue Excursion : On the way from Punakha towards Bumthang, you will pass Wangdue town, located 1,350 meters above sea level (4,400 feet), on an exposed promontory overlooking the river. A trip to Wangdue can be a half day or a full day excursion depending on what you wish to experience.
A visit to the 300-year-old Nyezergang Monastery is an easy and interesting morning walk. Nyezergang means ‘a hill where a sun beam falls’, and it is believed that people who suffer from diseases caused by the sun can come here to be cured by the use of natural medicine in the form of holy water and mantras. To increase your chances of being healed further, it is also highly recommended to visit and meditate in the Namgay La Drup Khang; a cave situated a six hour hike from Nyezergang.
Wangdue Dzong is also worth a visit. It is positioned remarkably on a rocky spur shaped like a sleeping elephant, with an impressive view over both the north-south and the east-west highway. This dzong was built by the Zhabdrung in the year 1638, and was named Wangdue Phodrang meaning ‘palace where the four directions are gathered under one power’. This is the only dzong in the country roofed traditionally with shingle and overlaying stones due to the heavy winds in the Wangdue area.
A wander through Wangdue town whilst peaking into the many small shops and bars along the roadside can also be quite interesting. On Sundays, you can see the buzz of the Wangdue Market laid out in the town centre.
After passing the checkpoint on your way back to Punakha, we recommend a last stop for a short walk up and through Rinchengang Village – the oldest clustered village in the country. It is believed that the original inhabitants of Rinchengang were laymen who had come to Bhutan on a pilgrimage from India. They were captured and kept as hired workers. Their masonry expertise is still sought-after during the construction of dzongs and lhakhangs. A small stone path leads through the 44 households; all built out of home-made mud bricks. From the village, you have a great view of Wangdue Dzong and Nyezergang.
Time: 40 minutes drive (33 km) from Punakha town to Wangdue, 40 minutes hike up to Nyezergang, 30 minutes down.
Visit to the Fertility Temple – Chhimi Lhakhang
If you are wishing for a child, a visit to the Divine Madman’s temple, Chhimi Lhakhang, might help increase your chances! Thousands of people visit this temple on pilgrimage and numerous couples visit the lhakhang to pray to become pregnant and receive a wang (blessing) from the saint with the ‘magic thunderbolt of wisdom’. Many parents also bring their newborn children to receive the baby’s name from the local lama. While you are there, you can also ask the lama for your personal Bhutanese name with its own very special meaning.
Chhimi Lhakhang: It is believed that a demoness who had been terrorizing the valley transformed herself into a black dog to escape the wrath of Drukpa Kuenlay, the Divine Madman. However, he caught the dog and buried it under a pile of earth shaped like a woman’s breast. He then built a chorten on top of this mount and prophesied that a temple would one day be consecrated over it. True to the prophecy, his brother, Lam Ngawang Chogyal, built Chime Lhakhang in 1456 on a hillock in the centre of the valley below Metshina