Places to visit in Thimphu
Thimphu is the capital of Kingdom of Bhutan and interestingly only capital in the world without any traffic lights!
Thimphu is the political and economic center of Bhutan where Dechencholing Palace, official residence of the King is located to the north of the city. I had stayed in Thimphu for 2 days in the month of April’19. Apart from government buildings, there are many tourist places which one can visit.
Here is the list of “must visit” places in Thimphu:
- Buddha Point: There is a gigantic Buddha statue along with 125,000 smaller Buddha statues which are made of bronze and gilded in gold (Thimphu with population of approximately 100,000 has more Buddha statues than Thimphu population :D). It is one the largest Buddha rupas in the world with 168ft (52m) height of Buddha statue.
The Buddha point is little away from the main market and thus, I would highly recommend booking a taxi for to and fro to the point which will roughly cost you INR 500. After reaching Buddha point which is at approximately 177ft, you will see magnificent view from the top. Plan to visit the place in morning around 11 as it becomes quite windy in evening. There is no entry fees to visit the place. I found the place very serene and many people meditating inside the place.
- Folk Heritage Museum: The museum was opened in the year 2001 and depicts very well Bhutanese culture and lifestyle. It has great rural artefacts, objects, tools and equipment on display. The entry fees is INR 50 and all master pieces had self-explanatory description.
There is also souvenir shop where one can buy Bhutan handicraft. Clicking photos inside the museum is not allowed and one needs to remove shoes to enter the museum.
From there 2 minutes walking distance is National Institute of Zorig Chusum. It is also known as painting school where students specialize in painting, woodcarving and embroidery. There is no cost charged by authorities in visiting the place. You can this opportunity to interact with students and understand their culture.
- Memorial Chorten: Memorial stupa also popularly known as “the most visible religious landmark in Bhutan” was built in 1974. It is located very close to main city and entry fees for tourist is INR 300. The stupa was built in memory of 3rd Druk Gyalpo to represent the mind of Buddha. You will see many people circumambulating the Chorten (in clockwise direction) throughout the day. The Chorten is decorated with richly carved statues and a shrine dedicated to the third king.
- Changangkha Lhakhang: A traditional Bhutanese temple established in 12th century which is famous for blessing young children from the protector deity Tamdrin and get auspicious names for newborns. You can see excellent view from the pilgrim path around the compound.
- Jungshi handmade paper factory: The handmade paper factory is located approximately 1km from the Thimphu city. The factory uses traditional methods to produce Bhutanese paper Deh-sho from Daphne tree and Dhekap tree. You can observe entire process of manufacturing handmade paper starting from barks of tree to last stage of cutting and drying of sheets. The entry fees is INR 50 which is worth the experience. The factory is managed by very experienced staff who work day and night to manufacture paper, stationery and greeting cards. One minute from there is an exhibition shop which displays extricate paintings and can buy the masterpieces (amount in $).
- Motithang Takin Preserve: Takin which is the national animal of Bhutan, resembles like goat-cow hybrid animal. Motithang is dedicated in preserving the takin in the forest area. The entry fees is INR 100 for foreign nationals.
- Centenary Farmers market: I had also visited Thimphu weekend market (Centenary Farmers market) as it was walkable distance from my hotel. It is a huge local market where you will see different sections — vegetable & fruits, rice & pulses and meat & dairy. You will see many farmers selling locally produced fresh vegetables and fruits.
I had also visited “Simply Bhutan” which had entry fees of INR 300. To my experience, I felt it was overly charged and same was very well covered when you visit Folk Heritage museum. Simply Bhutan showcase early lifestyle of Bhutan.
Happy to hear your thoughts and please do share any other place which you feel is worth visiting in Thimphu.
