Wangdue Tshechu
Festival

The Story of the Dzong

Built on a Prophecy, Destroyed by Fire, Rebuilt by a Nation

The prophecy came first. In the 12th century, Zhang Yudrakpa Tsondru Drakpa (1122–1193) — a master of the Tshalpa Kagyu school standing above the Puna Tsang Chhu valley — spoke of what he saw below: on a hill shaped like an elephant’s trunk, at the confluence of two rivers, an emanation of the Glorious Naropa would one day build a palace and promote happiness in the southern valley. That was 1150 CE. The palace would not be built for nearly 500 years.

When Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal arrived in 1638 and looked at the ridge above the meeting of the Punatsang Chhu and Dang Chhu, he recognised it. He tamed the local spirit Chudugang Tsan and built his third great dzong on the elephant-trunk hill, completing it the same year. The Wangdue Tshechu was founded soon after by the 4th Temporal Ruler, Tenzin Rabgye (1638–1696), the same man who expanded Thimphu Tshechu. The dzong suffered a fire in 1837 and an earthquake in 1897, each time being rebuilt. For nearly 380 years it stood.

On 24 June 2012 — a Tuesday morning — a fire broke out in the dzong and spread rapidly through its wooden structures. By the time it was controlled, the dzong was almost entirely destroyed. Centuries of murals, woodwork, and sacred objects were gone. Renovation work had fortunately been underway; most of the most precious relics had been moved to safe storage, and were recovered. But the building itself was ash and blackened stone.

The Wangdue Tshechu that year was relocated to the Tencholing Military Training Centre — a practical solution that nonetheless felt wrong to everyone who attended. Reconstruction began in 2014 under the command of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, funded by the Government of India in a gesture of bilateral friendship. Bhutanese craftsmen worked for eight years, using traditional methods and materials, rebuilding the dzong stone by stone, beam by beam, mural by mural. The dzong was reconsecrated in 2022. In 2023, the Wangdue Tshechu returned to its walls.

One elderly resident, quoted in Bhutanese national media after the first festival in the rebuilt dzong, said: “I was in doubt once whether I would ever witness the Wangdue Tshechu again in my lifetime after the Dzong was destroyed by fire. But I am thankful today and blessed to have the opportunity to witness the Tshechu inside the new Dzong.”

The Festival Programme

The Wangdue Tshechu runs for three days from the 8th to the 11th day of the 8th Bhutanese lunar month — typically late September to early October. The Cham dances include the standard major festival repertoire: the Shana Cham (Black Hat Dance), the Guru Tshengye Cham (Eight Manifestations), the Raksha Mangcham (Judgement of the Dead), and the Durdag Cham (Lords of the Cremation Grounds). The Atsaras are present throughout.

The most celebrated performance, unique to Wangdue, is the Dolungpai Raksha Chham on the second day. This dance is performed exclusively by the champon (principal dancer) of Dolung Goempa in Bjenag Gewog — a specific role passed within a monastic lineage at that monastery. Its choreography is considered among the most aesthetically intricate of all Bhutanese Cham dances, and it cannot be witnessed at any other festival in Bhutan. The Thongdrel is unfurled at dawn on the final morning.

Things to See Near Wangdue Phodrang

• Punakha Dzong — 30 minutes north, the most beautiful dzong in Bhutan, at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu. The Punakha Tshechu and Drubchen are held here in February/March.
• Phobjikha Valley (Gangtey) — 45 minutes east over the Lawala pass, the home of the black-necked crane and the Gangtey Monastery. The Gangtey Tshechu is held here in September/October — same season as the Wangdue Tshechu.
• Chimi Lhakhang — the fertility temple of Drukpa Kunley, between Wangdue and Punakha, a 20-minute walk through rice paddies from the road.
• Rinchengang village — a traditional stone-built village on the hillside directly opposite Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, whose residents were involved in the original construction of the dzong in 1638 and still maintain a special ceremonial relationship with it.
• Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten — a 30-minute hike above the Mo Chhu valley, built by Queen Mother Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck. Exceptional valley views from the top.