Things to do
5-
Chimi Lhakhang
A twenty minute walk through rice fields and a village painted with phalluses leads to the fertility temple of the Divine Madman, a fifteenth century lama who taught through obscenity and scandal. Couples come to be blessed with a wooden effigy and a bow. The path is flat and hot at midday, and the village sells woodcarvings.
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Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten
Uphill through paddies on the west bank, a queen commissioned this four storey chorten in the nineteen nineties to remove obstacles for the country and the king. Murals climb floor by floor to a rooftop view along the Mo Chhu. The walk takes about an hour each way, with a river crossing at the start and little shade.
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Pho Chhu
Meltwater from the Lunana glaciers comes down this river to the confluence at the dzong, and rafting trips run the upper section past chortens and cremation grounds in a couple of hours over modest rapids. A glacial lake outburst flooded the valley in the nineteen nineties, and warning systems now line the banks. Water runs highest after the monsoon, when commercial trips pause for a while.
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Punakha Dzong
Whitewashed walls rise straight from the spit where the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu meet, and the steep wooden entrance stairs can still be drawn up. Founded in 1637, it holds the remains of the Zhabdrung, hosts royal weddings and serves as the monk body's winter seat. Jacaranda flowers around it in spring, which is when the light is kindest.
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Punakha Suspension Bridge
Prayer flags whip along one of the longer spans in the country, a steel walkway of around one hundred and sixty metres crossing the Po Chhu below the dzong to villages on the far bank. It sways underneath as farmers and schoolchildren cross with loads. Morning light and low water suit photographs, and the approach is a short drive.