Rinpung Dzong

A massive 17th-century dzong housing Paro's monastic body and district administration, featured in the film 'Little Buddha'.

The dzong was raised in 1644 on the orders of Ngawang Namgyal, the lama who unified Bhutan, on the site of a smaller fort, and it lost much of its contents to a fire in 1907. It still works as both monastery and district administration, so monks and civil servants share the same courtyards. The Paro Tsechu in spring is the event of the year, closing with the dawn unfurling of a giant appliqued thongdrel. The cantilever bridge below, Nyamai Zam, gives the classic view, and the National Museum stands in the watchtower above.