Migae Adventure Travel

Tashigang

In the far east of Bhutan on the banks of the Dangme Chu, lies Trashigang, the hub of the regions largest and the most important district.Once the centre of a busy trade route with Tibet, Trashigang is today the junction of the east-west highway with the road which runs north from the foothill town of Samdrup Jongkhar. Vividly coloured handloomed cloth and endisilk, spun from cocoons bred on castor oil plants, are local specialities.

The Trashigang Dzong from which the whole of the eastern region was governed from the late 17th century until the unification of the country at the beginning of this century, stands on a steep ridge above the Manas River. The dzong was built in 1667 by Chogyal Minjur Tempa, Bhutan’s third Deb. Now it serves as the administrative seat for the district as well as the home of the monk body. The Dzong commands remarkable view over the surrounding countryside.

The Gom Kora is situated in alluvial terrace at an altitude of 800 meters, 25 kilometers north of Trashigang. Surrounded by paddy fields and banana groves it is a holy place where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated. There is a huge black rock near the temple which is supposed to be the place where Guru Rimpoche went into retreat, emerging later in the shape of a mythical bird, the “jachung”, or “garuda”. The rock has two entrances and legend says that virtuous people can enter on one side and come out on the other.