When it happens
Zhemgang Tshechu is held in the second month of the Bhutanese lunar calendar, so its dates shift each year.
It usually lasts three days in March.
Where it happens
Zhemgang Dzong stands on a ridge that rises sharply from the Mangde Chhu, facing Trong village and Zhemgang town. Zhemgang is a forested district.
History
The site began as a hermitage founded by Lama Zhang Dorje Drakpa in 1163. A single-storey dzong was built on it in 1655.
When Zhemgang became a separate district in 1963, the dzong was renovated under the command of the Third King and renamed Druk Dechen Yangtse Dzong.
The Rabdey (district monastic body) was established at Zhemgang in 1966. The annual tshechu was introduced after the Rabdey’s founding.
Being there
Zhemgang town is usually described as about a six-hour drive from Thimphu, on a route that runs east through Trongsa before turning south.
The nearest headline festival is Jambay Lhakhang Drup in Bumthang, north of Trongsa, but it falls in a different season.