Puankha Tsechu

The annual Punakha Tsechu festival is celebrated in the impressive Punakha Dzong-the former winter capital of Bhutan. The three day festival of Punakha is followed by Punakha Dromchoe Festival. People from neighboring village flock into the Dzong to attend the colorful festival.The Punakha Tshechu, as all Tshechu festivals, marks the heroic deeds of Guru Padma Sambhawa, also known as Guru Rimpoche, the precious saint who introduced Tantric Buddhism throughout the Himalayas. Monks and laymen dressed in colorful brocade attire and wearing ferocious masks performs the tantric dances with chants of Buddhist scripts. The culmination of festival constitutes the unfolding of a huge cloth thangka, a sacred scroll, depicting Padma Smabhava and imagery from Buddhist pantheon.