Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery

The nunnery was built in the 2000s on a ridge above the Punakha valley, funded privately, and it combines a temple with a school where nuns are taught not only religious subjects but embroidery, tailoring, statue-making and other crafts intended to give them a livelihood, which addresses a real gap since nunneries in Bhutan have historically been far less endowed than monasteries. The temple holds a large marble statue of Avalokiteshvara together with Guru Rinpoche and the Zhabdrung, and the interior murals are recent and brightly finished. The setting is the reason many visitors come: the ridge looks over the confluence valleys with terraced fields below, and the road up is short. The community is welcoming and the atmosphere is markedly less formal than at the dzongs.

What you actually see

• The marble Avalokiteshvara - the principal statue in the temple.
• The nuns' school - training in crafts alongside religious study.
• Ridge views - the Punakha valley and terraces from the terrace.
• Recent murals - brightly finished modern wall painting.

When to go

March to May and September to November. The valley is hot in summer and this ridge catches what breeze there is. Mornings suit the light over the valley. The nunnery is open year round.

Honest expectations

The complex is modern, built in the last twenty years, not historic. Photography inside the temple is not allowed. The access road is narrow. The visit is short, an hour or so, and usually combined with other stops in the valley.

Nearby

Punakha Dzong lies east; Wangdue Phodrang is south.