Taa Dzong

Taa Dzong (Ta = watch and Dzong = fortress) is located about five and a half kilometers from Tshondu Town and 500 feet from the Ringpung Dzong. It is built under the government of the the 2nd Desi, Ngoenpa Tenzin Dugda, in order to protect the Ringpung Dzong from the unceasing assaults from Tibet and India.

An underground passage is believed to connect the tower and Pachhu River. This is used to supply the tower with water during war. However, the passage has collapsed.

The Taa Dzong was uninhabited for a long period of time. The state of the Dzong was so poor that it was on the brink of collapsing. The Dzong was later renovated by the order of the Father of Modern Bhutan, the third king, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.

Even though the Dzong was built with just stone and wood without the aid of any nail, the structure of the Dzong is very strong. The Dzong survived the 1714 earthquake that lasted for 15 days while other Dzongs didn’t and it survived the earthquake in 1896. Strangely, there is no record to who is the builder and architect of the Dzong.

In 1967, the 3rd King, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, inaugurated the Dzong as the Textile Museum.