Adventure in the Himalayas

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Friday, 6 September 2019 - Visited Sangchen Chokhor Monastery and the surrounding Paro valley, photographed prayer wheels and painted figures in the monastery courtyard, explored the Rinpung Dzong fortress with its detailed woodwork and sacred spaces, enjoyed views over the river and fields from the monastery hilltop, and captured spiritual and architectural details of Bhutanese Buddhist culture.

Sangchen Chokhor monastery was built by Trulku Choglay Shacha Tenzin in 1765.

india2019 — The shedra is a Buddhist college, is home to about 150 monks, studying for six years before they move on to Tango Monastery.

india2019 — Once again the four harmonious animals - they are very popular.

india2019 — Another a tiger - of odd shape.

india2019 — Beautiful prayer wheels inside the courtyard.

india2019 — Wodden door.

india2019 — Painting on a corner support and a window - figures painted everywhere.

india2019 — A stupa of some size that we were allowed to climb.

india2019 — Virginia Ann spinning prayer wheels.

india2019 — I think it is so interesting to see the figures painted behind the prayer wheels.

india2019 — Prayer flag.

india2019 — The top level of the stupa.

india2019 — On the big stupa were these little stupas.

india2019 — The views of Paro valley from Sangchen Chokhor monastery are great. This is the Rinpung Dzong - fortress in Paro.

india2019 — The Paro valley to the south. The town of Paro along the Paro River.

india2019 — Sangchen Chokhor monastery from the Paro River.

india2019 — National Museum of Bhutan was established in 1968, in the renovated ancient Ta-dzong building, above Rinpung Dzong under the command of His Majesty, the King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the third hereditary Monarch of Bhutan.

Unfortunately, this building was damaged in an earthquake and a new building houses the museum contents.

india2019 — The view of the Paro valley green with fields.

india2019 — The door to the National Museum - a design seen on several monastery doors.

india2019 — The view north along the Paro valley from the National Museum.

india2019 — An interesting custom is to dry chilies on top of the roofs - I missed a great shot when women were laying out chilies.

india2019 — Rinpung Dzong is a buddhist monastery and fortress looking over Paro from a hillside.

In the 15th century local people offered the crag of Hungrel at Paro to Lama Drung Drung Gyal. He built a small temple there and later a five-storied Dzong or fortress which was known as Hungrel Dzong. In 1644, the Zhabdrung dismantled the existing dzong and laid the foundations of a new dzong. In 1646, the dzong was reconsecrated and established as the administrative and monastic center of the western region and it became known as Rinpung Dzong.

india2019 — The hillside up to the National Museum with prayer flags for the dead halfway up.

india2019 — Young monks laughing as they cross the courtyard inside the Rinpung Dzong.

india2019 — I liked the rodent in the painting.

india2019 — The administrative section of the Rinpung Dzong with people waiting their turn for cases heard in civil court.

india2019 — Prayer wheels near the temple of Rinpung Dzong.

india2019 — Detailed wooden window sills in the Rinpung Dzong.

india2019 — The residence of the king when he is in Paro - just below the fortress Rinpung Dzong along the Paro river.

india2019 — Flag with the Bhutan dragon.

india2019 — A monk pets a cat in the Rinpung Dzong courtyard.

india2019 — Painting of a musician on the walls of the palace.

india2019 — The wooden balconies of the religious section of Rinpung Dzong. Like the other Dzongs half is designated for government administration and half is for religious administration.

india2019 — Young monks helping with the daily laundry.

india2019 — Top of a building in Rinpung Dzong.

india2019 — The assembly hall building.

india2019 — Rain in the Paro River valley. It rained a few days while we were there but fortunately not while we were out and about.

india2019 — Jangtsa Dumgtseg Lhakhan. The temple is notable as it is in the form of a chorten (a Tibetan Lamaist shrine or monument), very rare in Bhutan. The Buddhist iconography depicted in the Chorten is considered a unique repository of the Drukpa Kagyu school.

The stupa-temple was built in 1421 by an eminent Tibetan Lama named Thangtong Gyalpo, who is remembered for his building of some eight iron bridges in Bhutan. His reason for building a temple in chorten form is because it is said the demon, Mara, tried to tempt and attack Buddha, but he came out the conqueror.

india2019 — Temple Prayer wheels at Jangtsa Dumgtseg Lhakhan.

Inside (no pictures) it was very dark - no natural or electric light - only candles. But you could still make out the frescoes on the walls - which went from floor to ceiling and were very intricate.

india2019 — A small stupa outside the Jangtsa Dumgtseg Lhakhan.

india2019 — The door on the stupa.

india2019 — A small gold drawing with little stupas.

india2019 — On the way back to the hotel we stopped to take a picture of a woman moving methodically through the fields.

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