CITIES OF TOURIST INTEREST

PARO
Paro valley is one of the most populated areas of the whole country. The valley of Paro contains a wealth of attractions and requires a few days to be properly explored. Casting a shadow across the town of Paro is the elegant and perfectly symmetrical Rinpung Dzong. Built in 1646 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the first spiritual and temporal ruler of Bhutan. Eighteen kms from Paro town on the south side of the valley are the burnt ruins of Drugyel Dzong (victorious fortress). It was from this monastery that the Bhutanese repelled several invading Tibetan armies during the 17th century.

THIMPHU
Thimphu, perhaps the most unusual capital city in the world, is a bustling town on the banks of its own river and set gloriously in the hills of its own valley. A regal town, Thimphu is home to the revered Bhutanese Royal family and to several foreign missions and development projects. On the bank of the river lies Tashichho Dzong,the main,the main secretariat building which houses the throne room of His Majesty the king of Bhutan. Five miles from Thimphu stands the 17th Century Simtokha Dzong on a lifty ridge.Built in 1627,the oldest Dzong in the land houses the school for Buddhist studies.The road to Dorchula Pass and on to eastern Bhutan winds its way upwards from Simtokha Dzong.

PUNAKHA
The road winds up from Simtokha Dzong into pine forest and through small villages for 20Kms and then opens miraculously onto the northern ridge of the mountain.The view over the Himalayan panoply at Dorchula Pass at 10,500 Feet is one of the most sepactacular in all Bhutan. Punakha lies about two hours drive from Dorchula down low in its valley.Punakha served as the capital of Bhutan untill 1955.Punakha Dzong was strategically built at the junction of the two rivers in the 17th Century by the first Shabdrung to serve as the religious and admininistrative centre.Punakha Dzong houses sacred temples including the Marchen where the embalmed body of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal lies in the state.

TONGSA
In the cenre of Bhutan and four hours by road from Wangduephodrang, Tongsa offers a welcome rest to travellers.The approach to the town involves a frustrating 14Kms trip around Tongsa Valley. A vantage point from the opposite side of the valley,still 14Kms from Tongsa,provides a spectacular view of Dzong and the town.Like alomost all towns in Bhutan,the secular and the religious centre,the Dzong,dominates the horizon,dwarfing the surrounding buildings. Tongsa is the Royal Family’s ancestral home.Protected from invaders by an impenetrable valley,Tongsa Dzong is an impregnable fortress.The Dzong itself is a labyrinth of temples corridors and offices holding court over the local community.It is built on many levels into the side of the hill and can be seen from every approach to Tongsa heralding its strength as a defensive stronghold.

BUMTHANG
Bhumtang has an individuality that charms its visitors and separates it from other regions. Comprising of four smaller valleys,the deeply spiritual region of Bhumthang is shrouded in religious legend.It is also the traditional home to the greatest Buddhist teacher Pema Lingpa to whose descendants the present dynasty traces its ancestry.

WANGDIPHODRANG
The last town on the central highway before Bhutan,Wangdiphodrang is like an enlarged village a few well provided shops,Located towards the south of Punakha,the higher reaches of the Wangdiphodrang valley provides rich pastureland for cattle.This district is also famous for its fine bamboo work and its stone carving.

GANSTEY / PHOBJIKHA
Towards the east of Wangdiphodrang there is an old monastery of Gangtey Gompa dating back to the 17th Century.A few Kms past the Gompa on the valley floor is the village of Phobjikha.This is the home of Black necked cranes that migrate from the arid plains in the north to pass winter in milder and loving climates.

MONGAR
The second largest town in the subtropical east Mongar,like Tashigang further east,is situated on the side of a hill instead of next to the river on the valley floor like other towns in Bhutan.

TASHIGANG
In the far east of Bhutan,on the bank of Gamri Chu river,lies Tashigang,the country’s largest district.Tashigang once the centre of a busy trade with Tibet,is today the junction of the east west highway with road connection to Samdrup Jongkhar and then to the Indian state of Assam.This town is also used as the market place for the hill people from Merak and Sakteng who are ramarkable for their exceptional feature and costume.

TASHIYANGTSE
A few kms north of Tashigang,Tashiyangtse Dzong is a half hour walk from the road.The monk body leaves the monastery during the winter for warmer surroundings.A town has been developed around Kora,one of only two temples built in a style prevalent in Nepal and the spot where Guru Rimpoche is believe to have had a vision that a temple and chorten would be built.

SAMDRUP JONGKHAR
The road from Tashigang to Samdrup Jongkhar was completed in the early 1960s and enables the eastern half of the country to access and benefit from trade with the south as well as to cross the Indian border.There is little for travellers to see in this area but it is used as more convinient exit town.This town is no more than frontier post with couple of decent hotels and restaurants.