Singye Dzong
Singye Dzong is closed to foreign visitors. It is one of the most sacred places in Bhutan — a hidden valley at 3,894 m in Khoma Gewog, three days’ walk from the nearest road — and we cannot take you there. This page exists to say so plainly, and to say what the place is.
Why can’t we go?
The valley sits hard against the Tibetan border, inside Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, and it is not open to non-Bhutanese. Bhutanese pilgrims must obtain a travel permit from the Khoma Gewog Centre and pass a medical check before they walk in; the district’s own instructions are written for them, and say nothing about foreign visitors at all.
You will find pages online offering the trek and pages describing a special permit. We have not been able to source that permit, and we would rather tell you no than sell you a route we cannot deliver. If the position changes, this page will change with it — and if you have been told otherwise by someone who has actually done it, we would genuinely like to know.
What is Singye Dzong?
A beyul — a hidden valley — and the sacred place of Guru Rinpoche’s enlightened activity. There are five such places in the Himalaya, one for each of body, speech, mind, qualities and activity: four are in Tibet, and this is the one in Bhutan.
Guru Rinpoche is said to have come here in the 8th century and subdued the demon king Khikharathoed. Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal, his consort, is credited with opening the site, which is why her name attaches to this whole corner of Lhuentse. The name means Lion Fortress: the rock is said to have the shape of a lion.
Inside the valley there are eight sacred places, all called Dzongs — a day’s walking to see them — with the high lakes of Tshokar at 4,655 m and Tshona at 4,511 m above. The main relic is the Phurpa Terma. There is a working meditation centre under a lama, with seven monks in retreat and twelve more in a three-year retreat.
Thousands of Bhutanese make the walk every year. It is the sort of pilgrimage the country does not advertise, and it is not a trek — it is worship with a three-day approach.
What can we do instead?
Two honest answers.
Ask us. Guru Rinpoche’s presence in this district is not confined to a closed valley, and there are sites in Lhuentse and neighbouring Mongar that a guide can get you to properly.
And go to Takila — the largest statue of Guru Rinpoche in Bhutan, in the same district, a couple of hours out of your day rather than six days on foot. It is not the same thing. It is, however, a thing you can actually stand in front of.
See things to do in Lhuentse for the rest of the district.
Tours that visit Lhuentse
Frequently asked questions
Can tourists visit Singye Dzong?
No. The valley is closed to foreign visitors. Bhutanese pilgrims need a travel permit from the Khoma Gewog Centre, and the reason given across sources is the site's position hard against the Tibetan border. We will not sell a trek we cannot deliver — if that changes, this page changes.
Why is Singye Dzong so important?
It is a beyul — a hidden valley — and the sacred site of Guru Rinpoche's enlightened activity, one of five such places and the only one in Bhutan; the other four are in Tibet. Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal is credited with opening it.
Where is Singye Dzong?
In Khoma Gewog, Lhuentse, at 3,894 m inside Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, about 33 km north of Khoma village and three days' walk from the roadhead at Kildung.
What can we see instead?
Ask us. Guru Rinpoche's presence in this district is not confined to the closed valley — and Takila, Bhutan's largest statue of him, is a two-hour errand rather than a six-day walk.
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