🏔️ Dochula Pass

The Dochu La ( Dochu Pass; la means pass in Dzongkha) is a mountain pass in the snow covered Himalayas in Bhutan on the road from Thimphu to Punakha. 108 memorial chortens or stupas, known as the "Druk Wangyal Chortens", were built at the pass by Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk, the eldest Queen Mother, in memory of Bhutanese soldiers who died in 2003. There is also a monastery, called the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang (temple), built in honour of the fourth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The open ground in its front yard is a venue for the annual Dochula Druk Wangyel Festival. The pass is adjacent to the country's first Royal Botanical Park.