Samlha Tours & Travels

Trongsa Museum

This magnificent museum housed in the watchtower (ta dzong) overlooks the dzong. With such diverse treasures as the 500-year-old jacket of Ngagi Wangchuk, the second king’s saddle, and a replica of the fabled raven crown, the five levels of exhibits chronicle the annals of the kingdom. You can drive here and then descend a stairway through various chapels to return to town.

The Padma Kathang, a copy of Guru Rinpoche’s life story discovered by Pema Lingpa under the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, is the most revered holy artifact. There are two Lhakhang inside the ta dzong; the Gesar Lhakhang on the top floor is devoted to Jigme Namgyal, the 19th-century Penlop of Trongsa. During the Duar War, it is rumored that two British soldiers were imprisoned in the dzong’s dungeon for several months.

Other places to visit in Thimphu