Tashichho Dzong
Tashichho Dzong is the fortress on the Wang Chhu that houses Bhutan’s government and, in summer, its Central Monastic Body. Tourists can only enter after office hours on a weekday, or all day at weekends. Allow about an hour. The entry fee is Nu 500, and it is included in your tour.
When you can actually get in
This is the fact that decides your day, so take it first.
Tashichho Dzong is a working seat of government. On a working day, visitors are admitted only after the civil service has gone home — in practice from around five in the afternoon. At weekends and on government holidays it opens through the day.
Published times vary by an hour or more depending on which travel site you read, and there is no official schedule we would send a guest out on. Your guide checks the day’s window before you leave the hotel. If your Thimphu day is a Tuesday, plan the dzong for the end of it.
That constraint has a silver lining: the late-afternoon light on the west face, across the river, is the best it gets.
What you’ll see
The dzong is two storeys with three-storey towers at each of the four corners, each under a triple-tiered golden roof, and a great central utse tower rising out of the middle. Inside the walls are thirty temples, chapels and shrines.
It is divided in two. The southern half holds the throne room and offices of the King, the cabinet secretariat and the ministries of home affairs and finance. The northern half is the summer residence of the Je Khenpo and the Central Monastic Body — who move down to Punakha Dzong for the winter, which is why those two buildings are always described as a pair.
Visitors walk the courtyards and some of the temples. The government wing is not open, and no amount of charm changes that.
Getting there and how it fits your day
It stands about two kilometres north of the town centre on the bank of the Wang Chhu, five minutes by car.
Because of the timing rule, it usually anchors the end of a Thimphu day: Memorial Chorten and the Kawajangsa museums in the morning, the takin preserve in the middle, the dzong at five and Buddha Dordenma for sunset afterwards. That sequence works; most others fight the clock.
See things to do in Thimphu for how everything compares.
A little history
The site’s story starts elsewhere. In 1216 Lama Gyalwa Lhanangpa built the Do-Ngön Dzong, the “blue stone dzong” — not here, but up the valley where Dechen Phodrang stands today.
In 1641 Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal took that dzong from the Lhapa Kagyu, reconsecrated it, and renamed it Tashichhodzong, the fortress of the glorious religion. Most of it burnt down in 1772. It was rebuilt, damaged by the 1897 earthquake, and burnt again more than once.
What you see now is the Third King’s work. When the capital moved to Thimphu, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck rebuilt the dzong between 1962 and 1968, keeping only the central utse, the Lhakhang Sarp and the main Gönkhang from the older building. It has been the seat of Bhutan’s government since 1968.
Tours that visit Thimphu
Frequently asked questions
When can tourists visit Tashichho Dzong?
On a working day, only after the civil service goes home — usually from about five in the afternoon. At weekends and on government holidays it opens through the day. Published times vary by an hour or more depending on who you read, so your guide checks the day's window before you set out.
What is inside Tashichho Dzong?
The throne room and offices of the King, the cabinet secretariat and the ministries of home affairs and finance in the southern half; the summer residence of the Je Khenpo and the Central Monastic Body in the northern half. There are thirty temples, chapels and shrines inside the walls. Visitors see the courtyards and some of the temples, not the government wing.
Is there an entry fee for Tashichho Dzong?
The published fee is Nu 500 per adult — the rate the Department of Tourism set with effect from 15 March 2023, when monument fees were halved and the list of charging sites cut to seven. Children aged 6–18 pay half, and children of five and under go free. You won't hand it over at the gate, though: entrance fees are included in every tour we run, arranged along with your Sustainable Development Fee, visa and permits before you arrive.
What should I wear to Tashichho Dzong?
Shoulders and knees covered, long sleeves rather than a T-shirt, no shorts. Hats and sunglasses come off inside the precincts and shoes come off at temple doors. This is where the King works and where the country's senior monks live — Bhutanese visitors dress formally for it, and so should you.
When is the Thimphu Tshechu?
In the dzong's main courtyard in September or October, on a date set by the Bhutanese lunar calendar, so it moves each year. It is one of the largest festivals in the country and the city fills up around it — worth building a trip around, but book early and check the date with us first.
Tailor-made travel
Begin your journey to the Last Shangri-La
Every Little Bhutan itinerary is private and tailor-made. Tell us what draws you to Bhutan — festivals, treks, monasteries, food — and we will design the journey around it.