Druk Wangyel Tshechu

When it happens

Druk Wangyel Tshechu is held on the same Gregorian date every year. This is often described as unusual among tshechus (festivals honouring Guru Rinpoche), which are usually set by the lunar calendar and so shift from year to year.

Where it happens

The festival is staged on the Druk Wangyel Festival Ground, the open ground in front of Druk Wangyel Lhakhang at Dochula, not in a dzong (fortress) courtyard. Dochula is a pass at about 3,100 m on the road between Thimphu and Punakha.

Druk Wangyel Lhakhang was completed in June 2008 as a memorial marking 100 years of the Wangchuck monarchy. Beside the ground, the 108 Druk Wangyel Chortens rise in three tiers of 45, 36 and 27 around a central one. On a clear day, you can see the eastern Himalayan range behind them.

History

In December 2003, the Fourth King personally led the armed forces to dislodge militant camps in southern Bhutan. He returned to Thimphu on 28 December 2003. The Queen Mother built the 108 Druk Wangyel Chortens at Dochula in memory of the soldiers who died in that campaign against Assamese insurgents.

The festival was established in 2011. It is part of the wider Druk Wangyel complex the Queen Mother created at Dochula. The festival honours the Fourth King, who reigned from 1972 to 2006, and the bravery of the armed forces during the 2003 campaign.

Dances and rituals

At other tshechus, monks and laymen dance the cham (sacred masked dances). Here the mask dances are performed by the Royal Bhutan Army. The dances are described as newly composed for this festival rather than drawn from the traditional monastic cham repertoire.

The festival is designed to re-enact and celebrate the deeds, sacrifices and bravery of the heroes of the 2003 campaign. Its signature piece, the Dance of the Heroes, re-enacts the warriors’ story in three parts: the Farewell of the Heroes, the Combat of the Heroes and the Return of the Heroes.

Being there

Dochula is on the east-west highway between Thimphu and Punakha, so if you are travelling to Punakha you pass directly through it. The festival is easily visited as a day trip from Thimphu or Punakha, with no need to stay overnight near the venue.

December mornings on the open-air ground at about 3,100 m are cold, so bring warm clothing.