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Beyond Expeditions. Beyond Business.
Beyond Imagination.
Top Destinations
Travelers' Choice
Beyond Expeditions. Beyond Business.
Beyond Imagination.
Beyond Expeditions. Beyond Business.
Beyond Imagination.
Beyond Expeditions. Beyond Business.
Beyond Imagination.
Bhutan is one of the few countries where traditional architecture is not only preserved but required. From mighty dzongs to village farmhouses and petrol stations, buildings follow a style that is instantly recognisable: whitewashed walls, sloping roofs and richly painted timber.
Dzongs are fortress-monasteries, built from the 17th century onward to defend the valleys and to house both the monastic body and the civil administration. They usually stand on ridges or at the meeting of rivers, with massive tapering walls, a central tower called the utse and courtyards for monks and officials. Famous examples include Punakha Dzong, Paro’s Rinpung Dzong, Trongsa Dzong, Tashichho Dzong in Thimphu and Simtokha Dzong, one of the oldest. Traditionally they were built without architectural drawings and largely without nails.
Lhakhangs are temples and goembas are monasteries, ranging from tiny village shrines to great hilltop complexes. Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest, clings to a cliff some 900 metres above the Paro valley. Kyichu Lhakhang and Jambay Lhakhang are among the oldest temples in the country.
Chortens, or stupas, hold sacred relics and are walked around clockwise. Bhutan has three main styles: the white Bhutanese chorten, the Tibetan-style chorten with a stepped base, and the Nepali style with painted eyes, seen at Chorten Kora in Trashi Yangtse. The 108 chortens of Dochula Pass are among the most photographed.
Village houses are built of rammed earth or stone with a timber upper storey, intricate window frames called rabsel and an open roof space for drying hay and chillies. Walls are often painted with protective symbols, and building a house is a community event, often begun on an auspicious day chosen by an astrologer.
Traditional buildings are decorated with painted motifs: the eight auspicious signs, lotus flowers, clouds and animals. The bands of colour around a building’s roof can also signal its status, with a red band (kemar) reserved for dzongs, temples and important buildings.
National building rules require new buildings to follow traditional forms, so even hotels, banks and offices in Thimphu share the same windows, roofs and painted details. Since the 2009 and 2011 earthquakes, engineers have been studying how to make traditional techniques safer.