Thimpu lies in the
wooded valley, sprawling up a hillside on the west bank of the Wang Chhu.
There were goembas and a small population in the Thimpu valley even
before the time of the Shabdrung, but
Thimpu didn't really exist as a town until it became the capital of
Bhutan in 1961. The first vehicles appeared in Thimpu in 1962 and the town
remained very rural until the late 1970s. The population
has grown dramatically since 1990, and is now estimated to be 46,000.
It is often said that Thimpu is the only
world capital without traffic lights.
One was installed several years ago, but the residents complained
that it was impersonal and ugly, so it
was removed within days. Traffic continues to be directed by
policemen stationed at two traffic
circles, one at the north end and another near the south end of Norzin
Lam, Thimpu's wide, tree-lined
main street.
They keep Thimpu's
traffic flowing throughout the day using elegant, exaggerated
gestures. They disappear at night and
leave drivers to sort things out themselves.
Several
north-south streets run through the town, and numerous smaller streets weave
their way uphill to government offices and the posh suburb of Motithang
above the town. Most shops and hotels are centered on Thimpu's main
intersection at the southern traffic circle.
Trashi Chhoe
Dzong - In
1216 Lama Gyalwa Lhanangpa built Dho-Ngen Dzong (Blue Stone Dzong) on the
hill above Thimpu where Dechen Phodrang now stands. A few years later Lama
Phajo Drukgom Shigpo, who brought the Drukpa Kagyu lineage to Bhutan, took
over Dohon Dzong. In 1641 the Shabdrung acquired the dzong from the
descendants of Lama Phajo and renamed it Trashi Chhoe Dzong (fortress of the
Glorious Religion). He arranged to house both monks and civil officials in
the dzong, but it was soon found to be too small for both. The Shabdrung
then built
another dzong, known as the lower dzong, for the civil officials
and used the original building for the monks. The 13th Druk Desi,
Chhogyel Sherab Wangchuck (1744-63), later enlarged Trashi Chhoe Dzong so
that it could again accommodate both civil officials and monks.
The original dzong was destroyed by fire in 1771 and was abandoned in favor
of the lower dzong, which was expanded. That dzong itself suffered a fire in
1866 and twice since then. The five-storey utse (central tower)
was damaged
in the 1897 earthquake and rebuilt in 1902.
When he moved the capital to Thimpu in 1962, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
began a five-year project to completely renovate and enlarge the dzong. The
royal architect performed the repairs without touching the utse, Lhakhang
Sarpa or any other of its chapels at the center. Other than these
structures, the entire dzong was rebuilt in traditional fashion, without
nails or written plans.
The dzong housed the original National Assembly and now houses the
secretariat, the throne room and offices of the king and the ministries of
home affairs and finance. The northern portion is the summer residence of
the dratshang (central monk body).
The outer structure is two storeys high with three-storey towers at the four
corners projecting out over the walls. The outer walls are built of trimmed
and fitted granite blocks, unlike other dzongs, which were made of roughly
dressed stones. Similarly, the dochey (courtyard) is paved with rectangular
stone slabs, in contrast to other dzongs, which use only rough, irregularly
shaped stones as paving.
Unlike most other dzongs, Trashi Chhoe has two main entrances. One leads to
the administrative section at the south and another at the north leads to
the monastic quarter where the dances of the annual tsechu festival are
performed. The dzong’s Sangay Tsokhorsum Thondrol depicts the Buddha
Sakyamuni and his two disciples.
Simtokha
Dzong -
Officially known as Sangak Zabdhon Phodrang (Palace of the Profound Meaning of Secret Mantras), Simtokha Dzong was built in 1629 by Shabdrung Ngawang
Namgyal. It is often said to be the first dzong built in Bhutan. In fact,
there were dzongs in Bhutan as early as 1153, but this is the first dzong
built by the Shabdrung and is the oldest dzong that has survived as a
complete structure. It is the home of the Institute for Language and Culture
Studies; the students are both monks and lay people.
The site is said to have been chosen to guard over a demon that had vanished
into the rock nearby, hence the name Simtokha, from simmo (demoness)
and do (stone). Conveniently, the site is also an excellent location
from which to protect the Thimpu valley and the valley leading to the Dochu
La and eastern Bhutan.
The utse is three storeys high and behind the usual prayer wheels around
the
outside, there is a line of more than 300 fine slate carvings with painted
faces depicting saints and philosophers. The large central figure in the
central lhakhang is of Sakyamuni. He is flanked by images of eight
Bodhisattvas: Jampelyang, Channa Dorji, Chenresig, Jampa and the less
familiar Sai Hingpo (Shritigarva), Dupa Nampasel, Namkhe Hingpo (Akash Garva)
and Kuentu Zangpo. The paintings inside this Lhakhang are said to be some of
the oldest and most beautiful in Bhutan. One of the lhakhangs, Gen Khang,
may be visited only by the lamas. In the west lhakhang chapel
are paintings
of Chenresig, Taras and an early painting of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal,
which was restored and cleaned in 1995. Large paintings of mandalas and the
guardians of the four directions adorn the gorikha (veranda).
During its construction, Simtokha Dzong was attacked by a coalition of
Tibetans and five Bhutanese lamas who were opposed to the Shabdrung’s rule.
The attack was repelled and the leader of the coalition, Palden Lama, was
killed. In 1630, the Tibetans again attacked and took control of the dzong.
The Shabdrung regained control when the main building caught fire and the
roof collapsed, killing the invaders. Descriptions of the original Simtokha
Dzong were provided by the two Portuguese Jesuit priests who visited here in
1629 on their way to Tibet.
Expansion and restoration of the dzong was performed by the third Druk Desi,
Mingyur Tenpa, in the 1670s after Tibetan invaders attacked it in 1630. It
has been enlarged and restored many times since.
Tango Goemba
- The trail to Tango Goemba is a climb of 280m and takes about half an hour
if you follow the steeper shortcut, or about an hour if you take the longer,
more gradual trail. Lama Gyalwa Lhanampa founded the goemba in the 12th
century. The present building was built in the 15th century by
the ‘divine madman’, Lama Drukpa Kunley. In 1616, Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal
visited Tango Goemba and meditated in a cave nearby. His meditation helped
ensure the defeat of an invading Tibetan army. The head lama, a descendent
of Lama Drukpa Kunley, presented the goemba to the Shabdrung, who carved a
sandalwood statue of Chenresig, which he installed in the monastery.
The picturesque three-storey tower and several surrounding buildings were
built in the 18
th century by the eighth desi (secular ruler),
Druk Rabgye. The Shabdrung Jigme Chhogyel added the golden roof in the 19th
century. Tango is the residence of an important young trulku
(reincarnate lama) who is recognized as the seventh reincarnation of the
highly respected fourth desi, Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye, whose previous
incarnation passed away in 1830.
Folk
Heritage Museum
- A three-storey rammed mud and timber building houses the Folk Heritage
Museum. The house has been turned into a replica of a traditional farmhouse
as it would have been equipped about a century ago. A tour of this
almost-living museum will give you a glimpse into the way most Bhutanese
lived then, and how many rural people still live today. Bring a torch
(flashlight) as some of the rooms are quite dimly lit.
Changangkha
Lhakhang -
Changangkha Lhakhang is an old fortress-like temple and monastic school
perched on a ridge above Thimpu, south-east of Motithang. It was established
in the 12
th century on a site chosen by Lama Phajo Drukgom Shigpo,
who came from Ralung in Tibet. The central statue is Chenresig in an
11-headed manifestation and the books in the temple are larger in size than
usual Tibetan texts. There is an excellent view of Thimpu from the
courtyard.
