Punakha (the "k" is almost silent) is a low-elevation (4100 ft) subtropical valley in central Bhutan. The warm climate allows two rice crops a year, plus oranges, mangos, bananas, and even pomegranate. Bright yellow fields of mustard add color to the late-winter in the valley.

The visitor might also encounter a few Lasans in Punakha. Lasa is a large region of northern Bhutan that is home to some 800 hardy yak-herding souls. Members of this ethnic minority make the 2-3 day walk to Punakha to trade. (Imagine a 2-3 day walk to Wal-Mart!). Lasan women are easily identifiable by a conical bamboo hat with a center spike of bamboo. The men wear very heavy and distinctive black woolen cloaks.

The view from my hotel room at the Zangto Pelri. (Easy access to good hotels like Zangto Pelri is one advantage of going on shoulder season.) The town near the Mo Chhu ("Mother River") is Khuruthang, built in 1999 as a replacement to Punakha proper, which now has only private residences and a hospital. A bustling informal market operates in Punakha outside the dzong, however. The tangerines, at two for a nickel, were hard to resist, and tangerine peel can be seen on any roadside in Bhutan.

After taking in the view for a few minutes on the porch, I stepped back into my room and turned on MTV Asia to watch J. Lo sing about how "it's hard work cashin' checks" and lots of Eminem 8 Mile videos.

Punakha Dzong is, in my opinion, Bhutan's most attractive. Constructed in 1637-8 during the reign of the Shabdrung, the dzong was Bhutan's second, after Simtokha in Thimpu. At 600 ft long, the dzong has housed as many as 600 monks. Today, the Central Monk Body winters here before moving to Trashi Chhoe dzong in Thimpu for summer. The dzong also hosted the National Assembly until the capital was moved to Thimpu in 1961.

The dzong has survived 6 fires, 2 glacial lake bursts, and 1 earthquake. Its defensive fortifications include a giant wooden front door that is still closed and barred shut at night and a steep set of front steps than can be pulled up.

The dzong's location at the confluence of the Mo Chhu and the Pho Chhu (literally, the mother and father rivers) not only quelled the spirits present wherever two rivers meet, but it was also foretold by Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century, when he said that a man would "arrive at a hill shaped like an elephant." (Guru Rinpoche introduced Buddhism to Bhutan.) Look closely at the two hills left of the dzong and you might be able to see the elephant laying down with its trunk pointing at the dzong.

The architect of the dzong conceived the dzong in a dream where Guru Rinpoche took him to Zangto Pelri, the Guru's heavenly abode. Of course, the design was never put on paper or even sketched.

Machey Lhakhang in Punakha dzong holds the remains of the Shabdrung, who built and died in the dzong. Only four people are allowed into the room where the casket is held: the King, the Chief Abbott, and two caretaker monks.

Also in the dzong in the building from which I took this picture (the utse) is Bhutan's prize possession, an image stolen by the Shabdrung from Tibet, which resulted in a protracted series of invasions by Tibet (often at Paro's expense).

This courtyard is the monastic courtyard. While was present, a bell called the monks to prayer in the utse. Several were late and were thrashed with a whip by the Discipline Master. "It's a hard life," said my guide, "but the monks learn to live with it. For instance, see how they hold out their robes when thrashed. It makes it not hurt as bad. They have their ways."

The Chief Abbott lives in the corner of the dzong to the far right in this pic. His residence was destroyed by fire in 1986 and is still being restored. A large Bodhi tree (the species under which Buddha meditated) occupies the courtyard (dochey). This courtyard houses the dzong's administrative offices.

The Temple of the Divine Madman (Chimi Lhakhang), built in 1499, is a half-hour's walk from the road but is not to be missed, especially if you're feeling infertile. For a small offering, a monk will pour some yellow water into your hand and bless you with the Divine Madman's wooden phallus.

The Divine Madman is quite a Bhutanese folk hero. Born in 1455 in Tibet, he traveled extensively in Bhutan railing against the stiffness of the clergy and meditating with "girls and wine." His outrageous and often obscene ways of communicating Buddhist teachings were designed to have people "discard their preconceptions" (in Lonely Planet's words).

Incidentally, many Bhutanese houses have the Divine Madman's phallus painted near the entrance, and even the hospital in Jakar has his wooden phallus hanging from the eaves.