Gönsaka Lhakhang


This charming temple on the hillside above Paro actually predates Paro Dzong. Don't miss the meditation cave of Pha Drun Drung, the founder of the dzong. The views down over the valley and dzong from here are unmatched.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Festival Ground

0.15 MILES

Outside Paro Dzong, to the northeast of the entrance, is this stone-paved area where masked dancers perform the main dances of the Paro tsechu. A thondrol…

2. Zuri Dzong

0.19 MILES

Zuri Dzong was built in 1352 as a fort and the five-storey main building is still well protected by double walls and a bridge. There are some particularly…

3. Paro Dzong

0.29 MILES

Paro Dzong ranks as a high point of Bhutanese architecture. The massive buttressed walls that tower over the town are visible throughout the valley,…

4. National Museum

0.29 MILES

Perched above Paro Dzong is its ta dzong (watchtower), built in 1649 to protect the undefended dzong and renovated in 1968 to house the National Museum…

5. Nyamai Zam

0.35 MILES

Below Paro Dzong, this traditional wooden covered bridge is a reconstruction of an older bridge, which was washed away in a flood in 1969. Earlier…

6. Six Chortens

0.53 MILES

This line of six chortens marks the entrance into Paro town.

7. Ugyen Pelri Palace

0.54 MILES

The secluded wooded compound of the Ugyen Pelri Palace, built by the Paro penlop Tshering Penjor in the early 1900s, is now a residence of the Queen…

8. Five Chortens

0.67 MILES

On the road at the foot of the Paro Dzong, beside the Ugyen Pelri Palace, are five square chortens that were built in memory of the first king of Bhutan,…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "bhutan/western-bhutan/paro/attractions/goensaka-lhakhang/a/poi-sig/1371110/355843",
      "position": "superzone"
    }