Punakha’s Fertility Temple – Where Culture Meets the Countryside

When visitors passed by Punakha, most visit Chimi Lhakhang, Bhutan’s famed Fertility Temple, for its spiritual significance. To reach the temple, you hike through a gentle trail that cuts across lush rice paddies, quaint villages, and open farmland — and it’s this walk that made the visit so memorable for me. During my visit, I saw farmers burning parts of their paddy fields, clearing the land in preparation for the next planting cycle. The valley is quiet, expansive, and postcard-pretty, with traditional Bhutanese homes dotting the hillsides and locals working in the fields. The temple itself is small but spiritually significant, known for its unusual origin story and blessings for fertility. But even if that’s not what draws you there, the peaceful rural landscape makes this an essential stop in Punakha. Along the way, I couldn’t help but notice the numerous shops selling wooden phallus sculptures in every shape and size — painted, hanging, even mounted on rooftops! It’s something that might raise eyebrows elsewhere, but in Bhutan, these symbols are believed to ward off evil and bring fertility and good luck. It was a fascinating cultural contrast — what’s taboo in other places is open and even celebrated here. #chimilhakhang #fertilitytemple #punakhavalley #bhutanculture #burningfields #phallussymbols #bhutantraditions #spiritualbhutan #culturalcontrasts #bhutancountryside #sacredandeveryday #bhutantraveldiaries