Chorten Kora
Festival

The Stupa, Its Legend & the Two Festivals

How Chorten Kora Came to Be Built

The valley where Chorten Kora now stands was once known as Duerong Drak — the Valley of Demons. Travellers feared to cross it alone even in daylight. The local people of upper, middle, and lower Kholong appealed to Lama Ngawang Loday, the third abbot of Rigsum Goenpa, to find a remedy. He proposed constructing a replica of the Boudhanath Stupa — the Jarung Khashor — one of the most sacred objects in the Buddhist world, believed to have been built by Guru Rinpoche and associated figures in their previous lives. The replica would subdue the demon, memorialise his late uncle Lam Jangchub Gyeltshen, and spare the people of Trashiyangtse from the long and dangerous journey to Nepal.

Lama Ngawang Loday travelled to Boudhanath with Lama Zangpo from Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. At the stupa, he carved a scale model of the design from a radish. The two lamas then returned to their respective valleys. By the time Lama Ngawang Loday arrived in Trashiyangtse, the radish had shrunk and distorted — and so the stupa he built from its model differs from Boudhanath in subtle ways, most notably in the design of its galleries. The construction took 12 years, with voluntary contributions from people across Trashiyangtse, Trashigang, Kurtoe, and the Dakpa communities of Tawang. It was consecrated by Je Yonten Thaye during his tenure (1771–1775). The original name, Duerong Chorten, was eventually superseded by the popular name Chorten Kora — the Circumambulation Stupa.

Lama Zangpo meanwhile built the same design at Zemithang in Tawang — the Gorsam Chorten — from his own version of the radish model. The two stupas, built at the same time from the same source, mirror each other across what is now the India–Bhutan border. This architectural kinship is part of what draws the Dakpa pilgrims to Chorten Kora each year.

The Dakpa Kora — A Three-Day Pilgrimage from Arunachal

The Dakpa Kora is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month. For the Dakpa community of Tawang district, this is a three-day pilgrimage — they travel on foot over mountain paths that have been walked for generations. The reason they come is inseparable from the legend of the stupa’s construction.

According to the tradition, during the building of Chorten Kora, a young girl from Tawang — believed to have been a Dakini, a celestial being of the Vajrayana tradition — agreed of her own will to be entombed alive within the stupa’s dome. She entered in the role of Yeshe Semba, meditating within the structure on behalf of all beings. The Dakpa Kora commemorates this act of supreme self-sacrifice. Hundreds of Dakpa pilgrims, many in traditional dress specific to their community, circumambulate the great stupa in an unbroken stream, offering prayers and butter lamps. The atmosphere is intensely devotional and entirely different from any festival in western Bhutan.

The Drukpa Kora — For the Bhutanese, 21 Days Later

The Drukpa Kora is held on the 30th day of the same lunar month — exactly 21 days after the Dakpa Kora. This is the Bhutanese pilgrimage, attended by people from Trashiyangtse, Trashigang, and Kurtoe. It commemorates the successful completion and consecration of the stupa. Bhutanese pilgrims in their finest Gho and Kira circumambulate the chorten, spin the large prayer wheels that line its base, and offer incense and butter lamps. A Bhutanese film titled Chorten Kora was made about the Dakpa girl’s legend, and the stupa’s story is widely known across eastern Bhutan.

Visitors can attend either or both festivals depending on timing. The Drukpa Kora tends to attract more Bhutanese from across the east, giving it a larger and more festive atmosphere. The Dakpa Kora is more intense in its devotional character, with the long-distance pilgrimage element adding emotional weight to the circumambulation.

Eastern Bhutan Around Chorten Kora

• Gomphu Kora — 23km south toward Trashigang, the sacred meditation cave of Guru Rinpoche where the great Gomphu Kora festival is also held in March/April. Both festivals can potentially be combined in one eastern Bhutan visit.
• Trashi Yangtse town — 8km further north from Chorten Kora, the small dzongkhag capital known for its woodturning craft — the wooden bowls of Trashi Yangtse are among the finest in Bhutan.
• Rigsum Goenpa — the monastery of Lama Ngawang Loday, founded in the 18th century on a ridge above the valley, guarding the northern approaches to Bhutan.
• Omba Ney — known as the “Taktsang of the East,” a cliffside pilgrimage temple above the Kholongchu river where the sacred mantra OM is visible in the rock face.
• Getting there — Chorten Kora is reached by driving north from Trashigang through Gomphu Kora toward Trashi Yangtse, about 40km and 1.5 hours from Trashigang. The nearest airport is Yongphulla, about 80km from Trashigang town.