Unless the Trongsa festival takes place in January, Punakha festivals are generally the first scheduled monastic activities of the new year. Although Punakha is but a tiny hamlet, its dzong, the administrative and religious heart of a division, belongs among the most outstanding buildings in all of Bhutan. It is inside of the giant courtyard of the dzong where the Phunakha festivals occur. The importance of the Punakha dzong originates the fact that Punakha was once the medieval capitol of Bhutan.
For any visitor to Bhutan the trip to Punakha begins in Paro. After sightseeing Paro and Thimphu drive to Punakha simply leaves western Bhutan and traverses into the interior of the country upon reaching the summit of the Dochula Pass. This pass is famous for the 108 Druk Wangyel stupas. With hundreds of fluttering prayer flags overhead, the views from the pass in the direction of the snow peaks of the Himalayas to the north are among the very best in western Bhutan. From the pass will follow a lengthy descend until getting to a junction where the Punakha road branches away from the main highway that continues toward Wangdi.
The Punakha road winds around through a pleasant countryside and woods until the dzong appears at a confluence of two rivers, a strategic spot for a fortress. The dzong is accessed by a long suspension bridge. As at any gate to a Bhutanese dzong the visitors are inspected before entering. Local Bhutanese must keep to exact dress code before stepping into a dzong. Tourists are not needing to follow same guidelines but conservative dress, men in slacks rather than jeans and women with long skirts rather than pants or revealing dresses are a mast.
Punakha festival is comprised of two festivals, staged one after the other, with the Dromchoe, or Drubchen, being the first and is succeeded by the Tshechu. The Dromchoe is devoted to Mahakala, the goddess of death and protector of Buddhist goembas, Bhutanese term for monasteries. As in Bhutan, Mahakala appears is wall frescoes and religious scroll paintings all over the Buddhist environment of Nepal, Ladakh, Sikkim and Tibet. Though most festivals of Bhutan may not be uncomplicated to follow for the uninitiated onlooker, the vibrant dress and masks of the dancers and the basic merry atmosphere of the ordinary folks from the countryside keeps you intrigued. Dromchoe has an appealing story to convey as it relates a storyline from some three hundred years ago when Bhutan was invaded by Tibetan army and the Bhutanese with success looked after themselves. In the Dromchoe / Drubchen festival tale the festival finish shows the energy of the Bhutanese troops who affected with war fervor ride out symbolically into warfare from the festival stage of the dzong to challenge the invading Tibetan troops. Brandishing swords, the ancient Bhutanese defense force in red outfits hurry out of the dzong, and with the deafening sound of firecrackers, the soldiers proceed into battle.
The next festival is the Punakha Tshechu. As all Tshechu festivals, the festival honors Padma Sambhawa, also known Guru Rimpoche, the Indian Buddhist saint who is recognized with having brought in Tantric Buddhism all through the greater Himalayas. The festival's masked dances are carried out by monks clothed in vibrant brocade clothes and accompanied by chants and reading of Buddhist scriptures. The culmination of festival constitutes the unfolding of a huge fabric thanka, a revered scroll, showing Padma Smabhawa and symbolism from Buddhist pantheon.
From the perspective of relative proximity to Paro and Thimphu, breathtaking location at the backdrop of the Himalayas and staged in architecturally one of Bhutan's most striking structures, Punakha festivals should not be overlooked!
Author Resource:
Going to Punaka festival is an advantageous choice to much visited festivals by tourists of Paro and Thimphu. Upcoming Punakha Dromchoe takes place February 27 - March 2, 2012 and Punakha Tshechu March 3 - 5, 2012.
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