Membartsho

Membartsho, the burning lake, is not a lake but a widening of the Tang river into a deep green pool between rock walls, and it is one of the most significant pilgrimage places in Bhutan because of what is said to have happened here: Pema Lingpa, challenged to prove his claim to be a treasure-revealer, dived into the pool holding a lit butter lamp and emerged with a chest of religious treasures and the lamp still burning. Butter lamps are lit in niches in the rock, prayer flags cross the gorge, and small offerings and tsa-tsa figures are left in crevices. A short path runs along the rim with a wooden bridge over the pool. The site is quiet and the visit brief, but it carries real weight for Bhutanese visitors.

History

Legend says that in the 15th century Pema Lingpa, guided by a dream, dived into the pool, found a temple with many doors at the bottom and received a treasure chest from a one-eyed woman; when the people and the ruling Penlop doubted him, he dived again holding a lit lamp and came up with a statue, a chest and the lamp still burning. Among the treasures said to have come from here are a self-spoken Guru statue, a scroll and a ritual skull, and the site is kept by the nuns of the nearby Pema Tekchok Choling Nunnery, founded in 2000 as Bhutan's first Buddhist university for women (Wikipedia, Membartsho).

The landscape

• The green pool - the deep water in the rock gorge.
• Butter lamps - offerings burning in niches along the rock.
• Prayer flags - lines strung across the gorge above the water.
• Clay offerings - tsa-tsa figures left in crevices by pilgrims.

When to go

March to May and September to November. Water is high and the gorge loud after monsoon rain. The site is open at all times and is quietest early in the day.

Good to know

There is little to see in purely visual terms: a river pool in a small gorge. The significance is religious and depends on knowing the story. The path along the rim is unfenced above the water. Swimming is not appropriate here. The visit takes half an hour.

Nearby

Ogyen Choling lies further up the Tang valley; Jakar is west.

Key facts