Punakha Royal Botanical Garden and Nature Walk
Explore the Royal Botanical Garden of Bhutan in the Punakha Valley, home to the country's extraordinary plant diversity — rhododendrons, orchids, medicinal herbs, and subtropical species thriving in Punakha's uniquely warm and fertile microclimate.
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Royal Botanical Garden Entrance
Enter the garden established to preserve and display Bhutan's extraordinary plant diversity — over 5,600 plant species exist in Bhutan, one of the world's ten biodiversity hotspots, and Punakha hosts species unique to its warm valley microclimate.
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Orchid Collection
The orchid section displaying wild orchids collected from across Bhutan's diverse ecological zones — Punakha's warm and humid conditions support cultivation of tropical orchids that cannot survive at higher elevations.
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Medicinal Plant Section
The medicinal plant garden documenting the plants used in traditional Bhutanese medicine (Sowa Rigpa), with explanatory signs describing each plant's therapeutic uses in a medical system practiced for centuries.
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Rhododendron Grove
A grove of rhododendron species — Bhutan's national flower blooms in over 46 wild varieties — some transplanted from high-altitude forests to bloom at lower elevation for extended viewing seasons.
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Nature Trail Through Subtropical Forest
A walking trail through the subtropical forest edge of the garden, where birdsong from the Pho Chhu valley mingles with the rustling of bamboo groves and the distant sound of water over rocks.
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Garden Viewpoint Over Valley
A raised viewpoint within the garden offering a panoramic view over the Punakha Valley farmland, the twin rivers meeting below the dzong, and the forested slopes rising toward the high Himalayan ranges to the north.