Visit Simtokha Dzong - The oldest fortress in Bhutan
Simtokha Dzong is a small dzong about 15-minute drive to the south of Thimphu, near approach roads to the eastern regions of Bhutan. Simtokha is the first kind of this house in the country so it could not be as big as the younger ones. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who unified the country, built the dzong in 1629 and used it as a fortress and a monastery simultaneously. Since then many other dzongs have been constructed across Bhutan and they are still in use nowadays with both political and religious utilities. Simtokha Dzong today houses one of the top-ranking Dzongkha language learning institutes besides playing an important Bhutan's historical monument and former Buddhist monastery. Paying a visit to Simtokha Dzong will help you get an in-depth understanding about Bhutan's in the early days.
