Truly Bhutan Travel

Sonam Choling Dratshang

Housed by thirty monks and a head, the Sonam Choling Dratshang is built on one-acre land near the Panbang Nganglam highway. A drive takes 5 minutes to reach the dratshang from Panbang town. It was in 1994 that the community wished for a dratshang in their locality for it proved challenging to get monks during the religious ceremonies and rituals from the Dzongkhag due to the long distance.

That very year, the Great Fourth Druk Gyalpo granted their wish and all the residents of Panbang aided each other to lay the soils and stones together by the end of 1996, their wish materialized in the form of a beautifully craved dratshang.

Initiated with just fifteen monks, the dratshang followed the same curriculum and routine that of other main dratshang. Five days of extravagant Tshechu are exhibited during the 9th month of the Bhutanese calendar. Panbang Tshechu was held from 28th to 30th Oct.

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Location: 3 KMs from Tingtibi towards Trongsa

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 The rationale behind the decision was that Panbang wanted to acknowledge Dasho Nishioka’s hard work