The Punakha valley, Bhutan
Western Bhutan

Punakha

The warm rice valley where two rivers meet at the most beautiful dzong in the kingdom.

Altitude 1,240 m Best season October to April Worth 2 nights Getting there Three hours from Thimphu over Dochula

Punakha Dzong stands where two rivers meet the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu, the father and the mother. No photograph has ever quite carried it.

This was Bhutan’s capital for three hundred years, and the monastic body still moves here each winter for the warmth. The valley is subtropical by Bhutanese standards: rice terraces stepping down to the water, bougainvillea against whitewash, and jacaranda turning the dzong lavender each May.

It pairs naturally with Thimphu and Paro to make the classic western circuit, and it is the gentlest place in the kingdom to simply be warm and unhurried.

Most guests arrive from Thimphu over Dochula, where on clear mornings the eastern Himalaya line up along the pass, so leave early. The valley stays warm when Thimphu is cold, which makes October to April the best time. Spring brings the Punakha Drubchen and tshechu, and summer is hot, green and wet. Two nights is enough to see the dzong, the bridge and the temple walk without rushing.

While You Are Here

Things worth your time

  1. 01 Dochula Pass on the way One hundred and eight chortens, prayer flags, and on a clear morning a line of Himalayan peaks.
  2. 02 Punakha Dzong Cross the covered bridge and take it slowly: the jacaranda courtyard, the hundred pillar hall, the light off the river.
  3. 03 The suspension bridge One of the longest in Bhutan, strung with prayer flags above the Pho Chhu. Halfway across is the valley's best view.
  4. 04 Walk to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal An hour up through rice terraces to a chorten built by the queens. The whole valley unrolls below.
  5. 05 Chimi Lhakhang The temple of the Divine Madman, reached through mustard fields, where blessings are delivered with a certain famous irreverence.
  6. 06 The Mo Chhu by raft Two gentle hours on cold silver water, drifting past the dzong the way it was always meant to be seen.
Festival Season

Festivals in Punakha

Punakha Drubchen each spring re enacts the seventeenth century defence of the valley, followed by the tshechu.

How You Experience It

Journeys through Punakha

best-time-to-visit-bhutan Druk Wangyel Tshechu A winter tshechu at 3,116 metres, with the entire Himalayan range visible north of the stage. People in traditional dress walking with horses along a mountain trail. Royal Highland Festival Trek to Laya village at 3,820 metres and arrive for the only festival held above the treeline in Bhutan. Punakha Tshechu Travel In the Footsteps of Drukpa Kunley The fifteenth century monk who drank too much, loved freely, and is still the most beloved saint in Bhutan.

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Things To Do

Experiences in Punakha

Cooking Lesson Bhutanese Cooking Experience Three to four hours in a Bhutanese kitchen, where chillies are vegetables and butter goes on everything. A spread of traditional Bhutanese dishes served in bowls and on banana leaves Farmhouse Meal A home cooked meal grown on the family's own land, in a farmhouse. Performers in yellow costumes bow during a dance at the Thimphu Tshechu festival. Festival Access Guided access to whichever tshechu falls during your trip, with a guide explaining the dances as they happen. A helicopter flying against a clear blue sky in Bhutan Helicopter Picnic Land in a highland, picnic where there is no road, fly home before sunset. A helicopter flying against a clear blue sky in Bhutan Helicopter Scenic Ride Fifteen to forty five minutes above Bhutan's valleys and dzongs, weather permitting. A helicopter flying against a clear blue sky in Bhutan Helicopter Trek Connection Fly in to a remote trek end-point. Walk the part that matters. Fly out.

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Where You Stay

Stays in Punakha

&Beyond Punakha River Lodge &Beyond Punakha River Lodge Amankora lodge in Bhutan Amankora Punakha COMO Uma Punakha COMO Uma Punakha

All stays

From the Journal

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