The Chagkhar Lhakhang in Chhoekhor Gewog, Bumthang bore a significant role in shaping the history of Bhutan. The temple has been associated with Guru Rinpoche’s first visit to Bhutan to cure an ailing King Sindhu Raja who was then dwelling the place in a nine-storey iron castle.
To honour King Sindhu Raja’s glory days, the lhakhang now houses a living heritage museum called the ‘Chagkhar Heritage Museum.’
A few kilometres drive northwards from Chamkhar town is where this historically significant structure stands. The once gigantic nine-storey iron castle has been rebuilt as a three-storey monastery in the 13th century by Tertoen Dorji Lingpa. It’s in its ground floor where the museum is located. There are four rooms in it. The first room has display of items made out of bamboos and canes among others. The second is a presentation of traditional arms, armaments, and religious items. The third has saddles, traditional farming tools and many more. The last room hosts plenty of olden kitchen utensils.
“With time, there will be incidences where our children wouldn’t even hear about the tools and artifacts our forefathers used in the olden days let alone seeing them for real. So, to conserve them for the future generations, I established the museum,” said the owner of Chagkhar Heritage Museum, Pema Tshoki. “Likewise, we have to perform lots of rituals in the lhakhang every month, so the entry fee collected from the visitors will help in financing the expenses incurred in performing these rituals.”
The money will also be spent in renovating the lhakhang. Foreigners are charged Nu 150 and locals Nu 30. The museum which was inaugurated in September this year now has its own website as well (chagkharheritagemuseum.com). The owner has plans to add a traditional Bhutanese cuisine catering service in the future as well.
