Ogyen Choling

Ogyen Choling is a noble estate in the upper Tang valley, the seat of a family descended from a fourteenth-century religious figure, and when the estate system ended the descendants converted the main house into a museum rather than let it decay, running it as a private trust with proceeds going to the local community. The result is unusually good: rooms laid out as they were used, with kitchen equipment, farm and weaving tools, armour, religious objects, books and household goods, and explanations written by a family member who is a historian, so the interpretation is more thoughtful than most in the country. The setting is a cluster of buildings on a shoulder above the valley with a temple and guesthouse. Reaching it means a drive up the Tang valley and a short walk.

What you actually see

• Furnished rooms - the manor laid out as it was lived in.
• Household and farm tools - the material culture of estate life.
• Religious objects - the family's temple and its contents.
• Good interpretation - explanations written by a family historian.

When to go

March to May and September to November. The Tang valley road is rough and difficult in monsoon. The museum keeps regular hours but the valley is remote, so an early start from Jakar helps.

Honest expectations

The drive up the Tang valley is long and rough, about ninety minutes each way from Jakar. The museum is privately run with modest facilities. Some rooms are dark. Photography rules vary by room. Bumthang is cold and the house is unheated.

Nearby

Membartsho lies down the valley; Jakar is west.