Trashigang Dzong

Trashigang Dzong stands on a spur above the meeting of the Drangme Chhu and the Gamri Chhu, with cliffs on three sides, which is exactly why it was put there. Chogyal Minjur Tempa ordered its construction in 1659, following a prophecy of the Zhabdrung, and Kudung Pekar Chophel built it to hold the east against invasion from Tibet.

It has been the administrative and monastic seat of Trashigang district ever since, and still is. The 2009 earthquake, whose epicentre was about 16km away, damaged it badly; the restoration that followed was completed in 2019. Trashigang is the largest town in eastern Bhutan and the usual base for the drive on to Samdrup Jongkhar or north to Trashiyangtse.