Temple · Buddhist
Khewang Lhakhang
Wangdue Phodrang
A long, low temple on the open floor of the Phobjikha valley, quiet outside its winter festival.
Neighborhood
Phobji gewog, Phobjikha valley
Khewang Lhakhang sits on the open floor of the Phobjikha valley in Phobji gewog, its long whitewashed front facing the pasture where the valley's cattle graze. It is the principal temple of this side of the valley and, unlike Phobjikha's better-known Gangtey Monastery on the ridge above, it is usually empty.
What to see
The building is the point: a low, wide lhakhang with a deep timber cornice, painted window frames and a bare flagstone forecourt, standing with nothing around it. Phobjikha is a glacial valley with no trees on its floor, so the temple is visible from a long way off in every direction.
The Khewang tshechu is held here in the colder months and is a local rather than a visitor festival — ask your guide about dates before counting on it.
Visiting
Twenty to thirty minutes, and best combined with the rest of Phobjikha: the Gangtey Nature Trail, the monastery, and the black-necked cranes that winter on the valley floor between late October and early March.
Coda
Continue the Pilgrimage
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