On the next day we went from Thimphu to Punakha. Not far away from Punakha there is Chimi Lhakhang monastery built on the site blessed by Drukpa Kunley.
On our way out of Thimphu we stopped to see the Big Buddha statue once more.
Simtokha-dzong — the first dzong which was built by Zhabdrung in 1629.
Most of the trucks in Bhutan are decorated in Buddhist style.
On the mountain pass there was a thick fog, you could almost see nothing.
The Chimi Lhakhang monastery is the repository of the original wooden symbol of phallus that Kunley brought from Tibet. This wooden phallus is decorated with a silver handle and is used to bless people who visit the monastery on pilgrimage, particularly women seeking blessings to beget children.
Surroundings of the monastery.
All houses in the village have paintings of phalluses on their exterior walls.
Traditionally symbols of an erect penis in Bhutan have been intended to drive away the evil eye and malicious gossip.
After visiting the monastery we went to Punkha-dzong. It is a monastery, fortress and an administrative center of Punakha District. Punakha Dzong was the administrative centre and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu.
Due to the warmer climate in the region, the head of the clergy of Bhutan with his entourage of monks spend the winter in this dzong.
