Photo Gallery

About

Jakar (Byakar) dzong towers almost fifty meters above its high perch overlooking the town of Wangchuling and the Bumthang river. One of the grandest dzong (fortress-monasteries), it is surrounded by a wall of stone about one and a half kilometers in circumference. The dzong even contains a hidden passageway that leads down to the river, providing a stable water supply in times of seige.

Bhutan hasn't known war for many years, but the dzongs--established, they say, in the early 1600s by the nation's founder--are primed for defense. Besides their steep walls intended to discourage attackers, the dzongs are equipped with numerous arrow slits from which a defender could fire safely over a ninety degree area. Inside, however, the dzong are built much like most other buildings--albeit with very narrow courtyards.