After a quick lunch in a nearby restaurant, we continued deeper into the Punakha valley for the highlight of the day – Punakha Dzong.

If you have seen just a few photos from Bhutan, chances are one was similar to the first one in my collection below. Punakha Dzong (meaning the palace of great happiness) dates back to the first half of the 17th century and is beautifully located at the confluence of Po Chhu and Mo Chhu (chhu being Bhutanese for river).

After a quick photo stop to take in the picture postcard view, we continued to the parking lot, made our way across the cantilever bridge, to then enter the zhong proper for a tour around the courtyards and chapels.