National Museum

The Ta Dzong was built in 1649 to protect the undefended dzong and renovated to the National Museum of Bhutan in 1968. It was built by Tenzin Drungdra, the first Penlop (Governor) of Paro and the Second Desi (Regent) of Bhutan who ruled from 1656 to 1667. The 17th century watch tower has a wide-ranging view over Paro valley and it has its own unique charm.

The top floor of the Museum is a temple comprising a “tree” depicting the core facts of the four religious schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The fine arts, paintings, and bronzes are some of the collections in the museum. There are also the handicrafts material section, textiles, ornaments and jewelries, as well as the galleries of animals and butterflies of Bhutan. The 3-D stamps, silken stamps, embossed stamps, record stamps, and triangular stamps portraying the yeti are popularly displayed in the stamps’ hall.

The visiting hours to the museum is from 9 am to 4 pm except on Sundays, it opens only at 11 am. On Mondays and during the national holidays, the museum is closed. There are free facilities provided by the museum such as the guided tours of galleries for special guests, gallery talks on specific topics related to the respective galleries.