Tamshing Lhakhang (Tamshing Lhendrup Chholing)
Situated across the river from Kurjey, Tamshing Lhakhang was founded in 1501 by Terton Pema Lingpa, Bhutan’s foremost spiritual treasure revealer and master artisan. The temple holds immense historical and theological importance as the primary seat of the Peling tradition of Himalayan Buddhism. Inside its low-ceilinged, incense-scented shrine rooms are some of the earliest intact wall paintings in Bhutan, hand-drawn by Pema Lingpa himself and preserved in their original natural mineral pigments.
A highlight of visiting Tamshing is the chance to observe young monks practicing traditional monastic instruments and sacred mask dances in the rustic, two-story timber courtyard. Inside the inner sanctuary, travelers can view a heavy, 500-year-old chainmail jacket forged by Pema Lingpa. Following a centuries-old pilgrim custom, visitors can carry the iron garment on their shoulders while circumambulating the inner shrine three times, a practice believed to cleanse negative karmic burdens.
