Wangdue Tshechu

When it happens

The festival falls in September and occasionally spills into October. It lasts three days. On the second day the Dolungpai Raksha Cham (a masked dance) is performed twice.

Where it happens

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong stands on a strategic hilltop above the confluence of the Punatsang Chhu and Dang Chhu rivers. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal built it in 1638.

After more than a decade away, the festival is held once again in the courtyard of the dzong (fortress). While the dzong was being rebuilt, the festival was held at the Tencholing Military Training Centre ground of the Royal Bhutan Army.

History

The dzong’s founding in 1638 gave it a key role controlling the route between east and west. It was an administrative centre connecting eastern and western Bhutan.

Fire gutted the dzong on 24 June 2012, destroying the building and many relics. The armed forces and volunteers salvaged some of them. Reconstruction began in January 2014 under Royal Command. It used traditional techniques alongside seismic isolation bearings and a service tunnel. The Serto (golden pinnacle) was installed on 29 May 2018. The rebuilt dzong was reconsecrated on 11 November 2022, in a ceremony graced by the Royal Family.

Dances and rituals

The Dolungpai Raksha Cham is this festival’s signature dance, and it is performed at no other festival in Bhutan. Only the champon (lead dancer) of Dolung Goenpa in Bjenag may dance it. The champon must come from the hereditary family of Dolungpai Raksha champons.

According to tradition, the dance began as a way to divert the attention of the Tshomen (a mermaid), who was obstructing the building of the Wangdue bridge.

Being there

Wangdue Phodrang town sits just past Punakha on the road from Thimphu into central Bhutan, so a visit to Punakha and Wangdue together is natural. The festival falls in the same window as Thimphu Tshechu, so you can see both on one trip. Phobjikha Valley and Gangtey Goenpa lie within Wangdue Phodrang district and are the usual onward pairing.

The crowd is often described as local and devotional, and its tourist numbers as far smaller than at Thimphu or Paro. On the day of the Dolungpai Raksha Cham, devotees gather in the dzong’s courtyard from as early as 4 am.