When it happens
Mongar Tshechu lasts three days.
Where it happens
The festival is held in the courtyard of Mongar Dzong. The dzong (fortress) sits on a gentle slope above the town of Mongar. It was built without nails or blueprints, using craftsmanship passed down through generations.
Mongar town sits at about 1,600 m.
Zhongar Dzong, the large ruined fortress at Saling in the same district, is a different site and not the festival’s venue.
History
Mongar Dzong was completed in the early twentieth century and is one of the newest dzongs in Bhutan. It was built to replace Zhongar Dzong, which had fallen into disrepair.
Oral traditions place Zhongar Dzong’s construction in the 1400s, and other accounts place it around 1700. A major fire and then an earthquake ruined it. It has stood abandoned for centuries under dense vegetation. The site covers more than five acres and includes an archery range.
Dances and rituals
Mongar district is home to the Drametse Ngacham (the Mask Dance of the Drums from Drametse), a UNESCO-listed mask dance.
Being there
Mongar lies about 460 km east of Thimphu. The classic approach from Bumthang is the east-west highway over Thrumshingla. The drive to Mongar has views of Gangkhar Puensum, Bhutan’s highest mountain at 7,541 m.
The approach is prime birding country. Yongkola, Namling, Tshamang and Lingmethang are considered among the finest birding spots in the world. A Trans-Bhutan Trail birding route runs from Latongla down to Zhongar and comes out at Lingmethang, a walking alternative to the highway drive through the same corridor.