Wangdiphodrang Dzong

Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal was supposedly at Chimi Lhakhang in Punakha when he met a decrepit old man. He described a ridge in present-day Wangdue Phodrang as a ‘sleeping elephant’ and told Zhabdrung that he would unite the country by building a Dzong on the ‘neck’ of the ridge. The Zhabdrung, surmising the old man to be Yeshey Gonpo (Mahakala), took his suggestion and to forth a noble to study the area. As the emissary drew close to the area, he saw four ravens circling above the ridge. Upon reaching ridge, the birds flew away in four directions. On returning to Chimi Lhakhang he made his report. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal took this as a good omen and immediately set forth in 1638 to construct a Dzong overlooking the convergence of the Dangchu and Punatshangchu. 

People of Wang and Shar Dar Gyad were involved in its construction. The people of Rinchengang village contributed a lot as they were skilled masons.  There are three doorways and three courtyards in the Dzong. The first gate is the entrance, the second leads to the inner sanctum of the Dzong, and the third leads to the deep interiors of this historic structure.

Legend

An interesting story connects the Dzong to the cantilever bridge that once used to span the Punatsangchu. The bridge was built after the construction of the Dzong under the direction of a famed mason called Drakpa from Rinchengang village. As a safeguard against flash floods, a mandala dedicated to Mithrugpa (Akshobya) was installed at the base of the bridge’s foundation. During the tenure of the 20th Wangzop Domchung a big flood washed away the entire bridge, but the base where the mandala was installed was left intact.

It is said that Dzongpon Domchung organized a tsechu in which the Doley Raksha dance, famed in the region for its aesthetic intricacies, was performed to attract the river spirit who was disrupting the reconstruction of the bridge. As the spirit stayed engrossed in the festivity, Domchung, with several hundred men, sneaked down to the river and completed the bridge. The spirit unleashed many floods to bring down the bridge, but the Wangzop, true to his clever character, had worked a clever design into the foundation pillars to withstand the force of the water.Wangdue Dzong has 14 temples, including the Kunrey (assembly hall of monks). The Goenkhang has a figure of Gonpo (Mahakala) carved on a stone slab.