Punakha served as the capital of Bhutan until 1955 and still it is the winter seat of the Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot). Blesses with a temperate and fed by the Pho Chhu (male) and MO Chu (female) rivers, Punakha is the most fertile valley in the country. There are splendid views from Dochu-la pass (3,088m/10,1300ft) on the Thimphu-Punakha road. It was in Punakha that Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal first established the Chhoesid Nyiden, the dual system of government. In 1651, Punakha was chosen to be the capital from where the unified kingdom would be administered.
 
The valley is the home to people known as Punaps. The Punaps are a good-humored and hard-working people and Dzongkha is the main language spoken in the region. The rainfall in this region is about 500-1500 mm, allows cultivation of a variety of crops. Double cropping of paddy is a special agricultural practice in Punakha. The region is also a major producer of rice, wheat, chilies, persimmon, bananas, and many other produce.
 
The district has warm and humid summers with cool winters. The Layaps amd Lunaps who live in the highlands of Gasa district migrate to Punakha in the winter.
 
PUNAKHA DZONG:
Place strategically at the junction of the Pho Chu and Mo Chu river, the dzong was built in the year 1637 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyalto serve as the religious and administrative center of the region. Damaged over the centuries by four catastrophic firea and an earthquake, the dzong has been fully restored in recent years by the present monarch. The dzong is open for visitors during the Punakha festival (early spring) and in the summer months, after the monk body has returned to Thimphu.
 
Two and half centuries later, in 1907, Punakha was again the place where the Bhutanese people elected the first kind, His Majesty Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck. The epoch-making even took place in the hallowed halls of the Punakha Dzong. The first session of the kingdom’s National assembly was also held in the Punakha Dzong in 1955. Today the Punakha Dzong remains as the winter residence of the national clergy and His Holiness the Je Khenpo, the Chief Abbot of Buddhist Bhutan.
 
CHIMMI LHAKHANG:
The Chhimi Lhakhang for instance , honors Lama Drukpa Kinley, revered across the Himalayas as the “Divine Mad-man”.
 
TALO GOEMBA:
The Talo Goemba was the home and birthplace of the speech incarnation of Zhabdrung. The Talo Sanga Choling was founded by Chogtrul Jigme Singye (1742-89), the 4^th reincarnation of Lama Thripa Galsey Tenzin Rabgye. In the early 19^th century, Jigme Dakpa (1791-1830), the third mind reincarnation of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, renovated the area and built a monastery. He also installed in the temple statues he had brought from Samye in Tibet.
 
NYEB GOEMBA:
The Nyeb Goemba was founded in 14^th century by the revered lama Thinley Rabyang. A sacred relic is this temple is the mask of the Raksha, a mythic bull mentioned in Bhutanese scripture. The mask fashioned from the rare and expensive Za Wood (polished knots and burls of wood treasured in Bhutan for their magical properties), serves as Nangter or “ Inner Spiritual Treasure” for the region’s people.
 
TSHEPHU MONASTRY:
This monastery was founded by Tshephu Trulku Gyeltshen Pelzang, a follower of saint Goe Tsangpa. Among the relics at the monastery is a gold plated replica of the Zhabdrung’s hat.