One of Bhutan’s most important and magnificent dzongs (fortresses) is Punakha Dzong, also called Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong. For the people of Bhutan, it is extremely significant both historically and culturally. The Punakha Valley, in the western region of Bhutan, is home to Punakha Dzong. It is located where the male and female rivers, the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu, converge.
Bhutan’s founder, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, built Punakha Dzong between 1637 and 1638. In order to represent the harmonious fusion of the masculine and feminine elements, it was purposefully constructed near the meeting point of the Pho Chhu (father) and Mo Chhu (mother) rivers.
Up until the middle of the 1950s, the dzong was Bhutan’s governmental and religious hub. The coronation of Ugyen Wangchuck, the first King of Bhutan, in 1907 was one of the many important occasions in Bhutanese history that took place in the dzong. It has also been the location of significant religious rites and events for millennia and has been essential in forming Bhutan’s sociopolitical landscape.