Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten

The Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten was built over nine years and completed in 1999, commissioned by the queen mother for the wellbeing of the country and the future of the fifth king, and designed according to religious texts rather than by an architect. It stands on a ridge above the Mo Chhu north of Punakha, four storeys with an open top level, and the interiors of each floor are painted with tantric murals and hold statuary, ascending in the usual doctrinal order. Getting there means crossing a suspension bridge over the river and climbing a path through rice terraces and pine for about forty minutes. From the top the view runs up and down the Punakha valley, and this is what most visitors remember as much as the building.

What you actually see

• The four-storey chorten - a modern building on a traditional plan.
• Painted interiors - tantric murals ascending through the floors.
• The valley view - the Mo Chhu and Punakha from the open top.
• The approach walk - suspension bridge and terraces on the climb.

When to go

March to May and September to November. Rice terraces are green in summer and gold in autumn. The climb is hot at midday in the low-altitude Punakha valley, so morning is better.

Honest expectations

The building is modern, completed in 1999, not a historic monument. The climb takes forty minutes uphill in warm conditions. Photography inside is forbidden. The suspension bridge sways. There are no facilities on the walk.

Nearby

Punakha Dzong lies south; the Punakha suspension bridge is downstream.