Embrace Bhutan Cultural Tour
Bumthang | Bhutan
13 Nov 2019 | Wed
Day 07 of 13
Jambay Lhakhang
After getting our bags together and having an early morning breakfast, it was time for us to visit our first destination of the day – Jambay Lhakhang (only a few minutes away from our hotel).

Jambay Lhakhang Drup Festival
Today (13 Nov 2019) was the first day of the Jambay Lhakhang Drup Festival, which this year was held from November 13th-16th. Since we already had a full day of activities planned, we only had time for a quick early morning visit to the temple.
Walk To Jambay Lhakhang
Due to the festival, our driver had to let us off a short distance away from the temple. While walking to the temple, we noticed a large area full of tents and vehicles where people were staying while attending the Jambay Lhakhang Drup Festival. It seemed that many were still sleeping (we were told the festival usually gets started each day around 10 am).


Entryway Into Temple Grounds
After we entered through the front gate of Jambay Lhakhang, we continued until we reached the entrance into the temple grounds (through a wood door entryway) which was located on the far right side.

Large Dancing Courtyard and Smaller Inter Temple Courtyard
After entering the temple grounds, we could immediately see the large open courtyard space (on the left) where the festival dances take place.

On the right side was the entrance into the temple area that takes you into another smaller inter temple courtyard.

Beautiful Inter Temple Courtyard
The smaller inter-temple courtyard area was beautifully decorated with colorfully painted, Bhutanese-styled wood trim around the doors, windows, and roof eaves. The roof gables and eaves also had beautiful yellow and green painted bamboo that was woven together in different patterns.


Entertained By Festival Clown While Waiting to Enter Temple
Due to an ongoing Buddhist ceremony taking place inside the temple, we had to wait in the smaller inter courtyard area until we were allowed to enter. While waiting, we were entertained by a Festival Clown (known as a Gathpo). The group had a great time interacting with this clown – he was a lot of fun!
