We viewed the Punakha Dzong on a very rainy day but it was amazing despite the weather and it being empty because it is the winter residence of the country's religious leader, and it is still summer for another month. Punakha Dzong was built by the first leader who united the country, Shabdrung, in the 1600's. He had placed a sacred relic inside one of the dzong's temples, and several Tibetan armies invaded Bhutan to try to take the relic, but were not able to overcome the Dzong 's defenses. All the kings must be coronated here, and the present king will be married here in a few weeks, so they are fixing it up for the ceremony.
The road from Punakha to Trongsa is slow, with mudslides, potholes, big drop-offs and sharp corners and crosses passes that are over 3,000 meters high, taking over four hours to cover just 125 kilometers. We stopped to do some birding along the road, seeing about 20 spectacular Scarlet Minivets, as well as several White-Capped Water Redstarts, a Black-Billed Magpie, Grey Wagtails, and several other species.
We arrived at our Yangkhill Resort at dusk, and were given a room with a great view of the Dzong and the valley below. The Trongsa dzong has a spectacular setting. QAfter supper we retired early.
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