Lhuentse Dzong

Lhuntse Dzong
Panoramic view of Lhuntse Dzong
Coordinates	27°39′54″N 91°11′12″E / 27.66500°N 91.18667°E / 27.66500; 91.18667Coordinates: 27°39′54″N 91°11′12″E / 27.66500°N 91.18667°E / 27.66500; 91.18667
Monastery information
Location	Lhuntse District, Bhutan
Founded by	Kunga Wanpo (1543). Built by Minjur Tenpa (1654)
Date renovated	1962, 1972–1974
Type	Tibetan Buddhist
Sect	Nyingma
Dedicated to	Padmasambhava
Number of monks	100
Architecture	Bhutanese dzong

Lhuentse Dzong is a dzong and Buddhist monastery in Lhuntse District in eastern Bhutan. It lies on the eastern side of the Kuri Chhu and is perched on a spur at the end of a narrow valley.

The Dzong was initially known as Kurtoe in the then-isolated Lhuntse District. It is the ancestral home of the House of Wangchuck (Dasho Jigme Namgyal was born there in 1825).

While its geographic coordinates are in eastern Bhutan, its cultural roots are central Bhutanese. This was because before road traffic connected it to Mongar, the approach was through a trade route crossing Rodang Pass.

The Dzong is located in the Kuri Chhu valley, which is part of the Lhuntse district. The Kuri Chhu is the major river that has formed the scenic valley with high peaks and steep hills. Kuri Chhu is a tributary of the Manas River system, which is the largest river of Bhutan and a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River that drains most of Eastern Bhutan.

The road from Mongar to Lheuntse Dzong is a 3 hours drive over a distance of 77 kilometres (48 mi) and 63 kilometres (39 mi) from its junction at Gangola. The approach to this Dzong is over a flag-stone-paved path over the steep cliffs.

According to one legend, Khedrup Kuenga Wangpo, son of Tertoen Pema Lingpa was assigned to find a ridge resembling the trunk of an elephant. He found one opposite Baeyul Khenpajong and mediated there. This location came to be known as Kurtoe Lhuentse Phodrang.

The monastery was originally established by Pema Lingpa's son Kunga Wanpo in 1543, although it wasn't until 1654 that the Trongsa penlop (governor), Minjur Tenpa, built a formal dzong here after winning a battle and named it Lhuentse Rinchentse. The dzong was later restored in 1962 and again between 1972 and 1974. The historic importance of Lhuntse Dzongkhag is on account of its established link as the ancestral home of the Wangchuck Dynasty. Lhuentse town is the administrative capital of Lhuentse District, besides the Lhuentse Dzong. At present 100 monks reside here.