Kuenga Rabten Palace

Kuenga Rabten was the winter residence of Jigme Wangchuck, the second king, who ruled from 1926 to 1952 and moved between here and Trongsa with the seasons; the valley is lower and warmer than Trongsa, which is the reason. The building is three storeys of rammed earth and timber around a courtyard, with storerooms and guard quarters below, the royal apartments above, and a temple on the top floor holding statues and old thangkas. It is maintained by the National Commission for Cultural Affairs rather than lived in. The drive down from Trongsa passes rice terraces and drops noticeably in altitude. A little further on, Eundu Choling was the residence of the first king's mother. Few visitors come this way, so the palace is usually quiet.

What you actually see

• The three-storey palace - rammed earth and timber around a courtyard.
• The royal apartments - the second king's rooms on the upper floor.
• The top-floor temple - statues and thangkas kept in the shrine.
• Rice terraces - the warm lower valley on the drive down.

When to go

March to May and September to November. Rice terraces are green in summer and gold before the autumn harvest. The road south is prone to landslides in monsoon.

Honest expectations

The palace is empty of most of its furnishing and reads as bare rooms; the interest is the building and the history rather than a furnished interior. Photography inside is restricted. The drive from Trongsa takes about an hour each way on a winding road. Opening can be irregular.

Nearby

Trongsa lies north; the Nabji-Korphu trail starts further south.