Tashichho Dzong, Buddhist monastery and fortress in Thimphu, Bhutan

Tashichho Dzong is a whitewashed, two-storey fortress and monastery on the western bank of the Wang Chu at the northern edge of Thimphu. Three-storey towers stand at each of its four corners, each capped by triple-tiered golden roofs, and a large central utse tower rises above the rest. Thirty temples, chapels and shrines fill the complex.

The first dzong on this site, the Do-Ngön Dzong, was built in 1216 by Lama Gyalwa Lhanapa; in 1641 Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal took it over and renamed it Tashichö-Dzong. After a fire in 1772 a new dzong was raised at the present site by the sixteenth Desi, Sonam Lhudrup, and consecrated as Sonamchö-dzong. Fire struck three more times and an 1897 earthquake damaged it; the present building was rebuilt from 1962 under King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck on a new plan and consecrated in 1968, keeping only the Utse tower, Lhakhang Sarp and main Gönkhang from the older structure.

The dzong's name means "fortress of the glorious religion"; a 1922 traveller recorded the fuller form Tashichhoidzong, "fortress of auspicious doctrine". The northern part is the summer residence of the Je Khenpo and the Central Monastic Body, and thirty temples, chapels and shrines stand inside the walls. In 2002 the Je Khenpo consecrated a newly built Neten Chudrug thongdrol, a large appliqué image of the sixteen arhats.

Access is through Thimphu city, with guided tours available during specific times when government officials are not conducting business. Planning ahead is helpful since the site remains an active government center with restricted hours.

The northern part of Tashichho Dzong is the summer residence of the Je Khenpo and the Central Monastic Body; in winter they move to Punakha. The 2002 addition of a Neten Chudrug thongdrol, a large appliqué image of the sixteen arhats, was consecrated by the Je Khenpo. West of the dzong stands the small Ney Khang Lhakhang, which holds a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha and protective deities.