Thimphu is the capital city of the royal kingdom of Bhutan. The distance between Phuentsholing and Thimphu is about 175 kms which takes about 6 hours in bus. We stayed 3 days in Thimphu and visited all interesting places. This video shows all important places in and around Thimphu.
Tashi Cho Dzong is the most respectful Dzong in Thimphu. The king of Bhutan sits in this dzong. Besides this is also used for various high level ministerial offices. Interestingly tourists are also allowed to visit this place, but only after the working hours, i.e., between 4.30 to 5.30 PM. Hence this is considered as one of the most important tourist attractions. We had to go through a thorough security checking and produce our Permits/documents before entering the Dzong. But the best thing is that they allowed our cameras to take inside and take pictures of the dzong (except inside the Lahkhang). There is no ticket or entry fee to visit this dzong.
The National Memorial Chorten is the most popular tourist attraction of Thimphu. It is very easily accessible as it is located about one km from Thimphu bus stand. This is a Tibetan style stupa constructed in 1974 in the memory of Bhutan’s king Late His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. You can see many people, both locals and outsiders, walking around the chorten as a religious practice. Apart from the chorten there is also a small Buddha temple at the back side. Besides there are some large prayer wheels at the left side of the entrance. This chorten is a marvelous example of Buddhist architecture and a must visit for anybody going to Thimphu.
The Coronation Park is located on the banks of the river Wang chu in Thiphu city. This is the biggest park in the city spread over 6 acres of land. There is no ticket or entry fee to visit this park. There is a big statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in the park. This is a pleasant and relaxing environment and you can get good views of the city as well as of the Himalayan mountains. The views of river wang chu is enjoyable which flows by the side of coronation park.
Dechen Phodrang Lakhang is one of the oldest and most sacred monasteries of Thimphu. We had to walk for about 4 kms from Norzim lam to reach here. This is located on a ridge about 200 mtrs high from Thimphu valey. From this hight you can get nice views of Thimphu city, Wang chu river, Tashicho dzong, Buddha point etc. There are three main attractions here, (i) the chorten in the front, (ii) the large prayer wheels and (iii) the main lakhang (temple). We went inside the lakhang and felt the spiritual bliss of the environment. There is a separate hall at the side for burning thousands of butter candles. A large number of buddhist monks stay near the lakhang for religious studies and practice.
The Tangtong Dewachen Dupthop Nunnery in located in the Zilukha area of Thimphu. This is often called as Zilukha nunnery in short. There is a beautiful lakhang inside the nunnery and a beautiful statue of Drupthop Thangtong Gyalpo also known as the Great Chagzopa. This is because the nunnery was built by a saint called Rickey Jadrel, who is believed to be 16th emanation of Drupthop Thangtong gyalpo himself. The pillar in front of the main building depicts teachings of Buddha, First Sermon in Deer park, which is represented by the 2 deer looking at the Auspicious wheel. The Wheel is a representation of teachings of Buddha..
Changankha Lakhang is a very old (15th century) monastry and considered to be very important from religious point of view. Bhutanese people must wear their traditional dress in order to enter the Lakhang. However Indians (and other foreigners) are allowed to enter with pants and shirts. We went inside and saw the beautiful buddha inside the lakhang. We were also very lucky to see the prayer of the monks. The atmosphere inside the lakhang was extremely spiritual and cannot be expressed in words.
Kuensel Phodrang (or Buddha dordenma or Buddha Point) is the recent most attraction of Thimphu. It is located on a hill about 8 kms from Thimphu. There is a 52 meters tall bronze statue of Lord Buddha. The statue is so big that it is visible from almost everywhere in the city. There are 125000 small buddha statues are placed inside buddha dordenma. The throne on which Buddha sits is a large meditation hall. As the place is located at a height we could see the beautiful views of Thimphu city and magnificent views of Himalayan mountains around the place. We also saw “Kuensel Phodrang Nature Park” which is very close to the place of Buddha statue.
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