Buddha Dordenma

The Great Buddha Dordenma sits on a ridge at Kuensel Phodrang, looking north down the length of the Thimphu valley. At 51.5 metres it is among the largest seated Buddha statues in the world, and it is visible from most of the city below.

What it is

The statue is bronze, gilded in gold, and it is hollow: the multi-storey throne beneath it is a meditation hall containing 125,000 smaller gilded Buddhas — a hundred thousand at eight inches and twenty-five thousand at twelve. Construction began in 2006 and the figure was substantially complete by 2015, raised to mark the sixtieth birthday of the fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

Its builders connect it to a terma prophecy attributed to Guru Padmasambhava, which foretold a great statue in this region that would radiate peace and happiness across the world.

Visiting

The approach is a broad paved terrace with gilded attendant figures and an uninterrupted view over Thimphu — which makes this the best viewpoint over the capital as well as a religious site. It is short: thirty to forty-five minutes covers the terrace and the hall, and the drive up from the city takes about twenty minutes.

Go in the late afternoon if you can. The statue faces north, so the low sun catches the gilding, and the valley below fills with light rather than haze. The surrounding Kuensel Phodrang Nature Park has walking paths through blue pine if you want to make more of the trip.