Rinpung Dzong is a large dzong - Buddhist monastery and fortress - of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school in Paro District, Bhutan.
It houses the district Monastic Body and government administrative offices of Paro Dzongkhag.
Like most Bhutan Dzongs, it's both an administrative and monastic centre.
Some two kilometres away from the Paro airport and across the Pa chhu, the Paro Dzong's construction began in 1644 on the order of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.
The dzong is affectionately called Paro Dzong – “the fortress of the heap of jewels”.
In the 15th century local people offered the crag of Hungrel at Paro to Lama Drung Drung Gyal, a descendant of Pajo Drugom Zhigpo. Drung Drung Gyal built a small temple there and later a five storied Dzong or fortress which was known as Hungrel Dzong.[1]
In the 17th century, his descendants, the lords of Hungrel, offered this fortress to the Drukpa hierarch, Ngawang Namgyal, the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in recognition of his religious and temporal authority.
In 1644 the Zhabdrung dismantled the existing dzong and laid the foundations of a new dzong.
In 1646 the dzong was reconsecrated and established as the administrative and monastic centre of the western region and it became known as "Rinpung Dzong".
It survived a massive earthquake in 1897 although it was destroyed by fire in 1906.
Visitors come to Rinpung Dzong in Paro for its splendid architecture, surrounding views, and the National Museum of Bhutan. Like most Bhutan Dzongs, it's both an administrative and monastic centre.
Rinpung Dzong Paro is a Himalayan Buddhist Monastery with typical Bhutanese Dzong architecture. One of its charms is that it sits majestically high up on a steep hillside. Although it has fourteen shrines and chapels, majority of them are not open to visitors. The inner monastic quarter is home to around 200 monks.
Right outside the main dzong is the Deyangkha Temple. Below the dzong, there is the iconic traditional cantilever bridge. Built in 1649, a historical watchtower fortress above the Dzong is now the National Museum of Bhutan.
Bhutanese regard Rinpung Dzong as one of the most supreme and important architectures in the kingdom.
Fascinating Facts of Rinpung Dzong:
Bhutan has tentatively listed Rinpung Dzong for submission into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Scenes from the 1993 movie Little Buddha starring Keanu Reeves, Chris Isaak and Bridget Fonda were actually filmed here.
Many people find some similarity between Rinpung Dzong and the iconic Potala Palace in Tibet.
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