Paro Rinpung Dzong

རིན་སྤུངས་རྫོང་

"Fortress of Heaped Jewels" built in 1646 beside the Paro River, the filming location of Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha (1993), with three highlights: the wooden bridge, the watchtower museum and the thongdrel tapestry shown during the festival.

Paro Rinpung Dzong (its full name, meaning "fortress heaped with jewels") was completed in 1646 by Shabdrung on the foundation of a 15th-century small fort. It houses the district administration and monastic body of Paro, and was the main filming location for Bernardo Bertolucci's 1993 film Little Buddha. From the town of Paro, you cross the Paro River by the covered wooden cantilever bridge Nyamai Zam and walk into the dzong, climbing stone-paved ramps into a complex of 14 halls. The courtyard murals depict mandalas and the Four Guardian Kings, and around the central tower monks chant scriptures and hold debates. On the hill behind the dzong, the round watchtower Ta Dzong (1649) now serves as the National Museum, with collections of thangkas, masks, weapons and Bhutan's natural history (admission 500 ngultrum, closed on Mondays). Every year the Paro Tshechu festival (usually late March to early April) runs five days of masked dances. On the final day, before sunrise, a giant thongdrel, a tapestry of Guru Padmasambhava about 30 metres tall, is unfurled on the hillside below the dzong. It is believed that seeing it brings blessings, and it is Bhutan's most famous festival scene. Admission to the dzong is 1,000 ngultrum (about CNY 90), and it is open 09:00–17:00. It is a 10-minute drive from Paro Airport and a 15-minute walk from the town centre. Allow 1–1.5 hours for the dzong, plus 1 hour for the National Museum. The best view of the dzong and the hill behind it is from the rice fields across the river in the evening. Note: the dzong is very crowded during the festival, so arrive early to secure a spot. Photography is forbidden inside the halls.

Paro Rinpung Dzong

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