Bhutan, made simple.

The capital: dzong, Buddha, markets, cafes.

• Tashichho DzongSight · Thimphu · The great fortress at the north end of the valley. Seat of the government and the summer home of the central monk body.
• Bhutan Post & Postal Museum (Custom Stamps)Sight · Thimphu · Get your own photo printed on real Bhutanese postage stamps, then post a card home with it. The postal museum is in the same building.
• Ambient CafeCafe · Thimphu · Specialty coffee on Norzin Lam, popular with laptop workers and digital nomads.
• Mojo ParkBar & club · Thimphu · Live music bar and one of the best-known places to hear local bands at night.
• Clock Tower SquareSight · Thimphu · The open square at the heart of town, with its painted four-sided clock tower. Thimphu's favourite meeting point.
• Centenary Farmers MarketSight · Thimphu · The big covered market by the river. Chillies, red rice, yak cheese, fern tips and everything else Bhutan cooks with.
• National Memorial ChortenSight · Thimphu · The white stupa with the golden spire, built in 1974 in memory of the third king, where people of Thimphu walk and pray every day.
• Buddha DordenmaSight · Thimphu · A bronze Buddha more than 50 metres tall, finished in 2015, on the hill at Kuensel Phodrang above the southern end of the valley.
• Simtokha DzongSight · Thimphu · One of Bhutan's oldest dzongs, built in 1629 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, guarding the southern road into the valley.
• Changangkha LhakhangSight · Thimphu · A centuries-old temple on a ridge above town. Parents bring newborn babies here for blessings and names.
• Motithang Takin PreserveSight · Thimphu · A forest enclosure on the hill where you can see the takin, Bhutan's odd and much-loved national animal.
• Folk Heritage MuseumSight · Thimphu · A restored traditional farmhouse that shows how rural Bhutanese families lived, cooked and stored their grain.
• National Institute for Zorig ChusumShop & crafts · Thimphu · The school of the thirteen traditional arts. Students learn painting, carving, embroidery, sculpture and more.
• Royal Textile AcademySight · Thimphu · A fine museum of Bhutanese weaving, from royal robes to everyday kira.
• Dochula Pass, the 108 chortensSight · Thimphu · A pass at about 3,100 m on the road from Thimphu to Punakha, with 108 white chortens in rings around a hillock. They were consecrated in 2004, and the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang beside them was finished in 2008.
• Menchuna RestaurantRestaurant · Punakha · A roadside restaurant on the Punakha side of Dochula, a few kilometres down from the pass.
• Tiger's Nest (Taktsang)Sight · Paro · White temples on a cliff 900 m above the valley floor, built in 1692 around a cave where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated. It burned in 1998 and was rebuilt by 2005.
• Rinpung Dzong (Paro Dzong)Sight · Paro · "The fortress on a heap of jewels", built from 1644 to 1646 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, above a covered wooden bridge.
• National Museum (Ta Dzong)Sight · Paro · The round watchtower above Paro Dzong, now the national museum: masks, thangkas, stamps and natural history.
• Kyichu LhakhangSight · Paro · One of the two oldest temples in Bhutan, said to date from the 7th century. Small, dark and much loved.

Places from OpenStreetMap. Outside Thimphu many are still missing. Something missing or closed? Tell @bhutan.bt.

• ThimphuTashichho DzongThe fortress at the north end of Thimphu. It holds the throne room and the King's office, and in summer the country's central monk body.Read more
• ThimphuBuddha DordenmaA giant bronze Buddha on the hill above southern Thimphu, finished in 2015, with 125,000 smaller Buddhas inside.Read more
• ThimphuNational Memorial ChortenThe white stupa in the middle of Thimphu, built in 1974 in memory of the Third King. People walk round it from dawn to dusk.Read more
• ThimphuChangangkha LhakhangA 13th-century temple on a ridge above Thimphu, where parents bring newborn babies to be blessed and named.Read more
• ThimphuSimtokha DzongBegun in 1629, one of the first dzongs Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal built. It guards the road into the Thimphu valley.Read more
• ThimphuCentenary Farmers MarketThimphu's big market by the river, opened in 2008. Chillies, red rice, dried cheese and everything else Bhutan cooks with.Read more