Gomphukora Tshechu - A unique festival of the remote eastern Bhutan attended by semi nomadic tribes of Merak & Sakteng

Gom Kora temple is located amidst paddy fields below the road to Trashi Yangtse, around 23 km, an hour’s from Trashigang, the headquarter of most populous district in eastern Bhutan. The annual, three-day Gomphukora Tshechu festival is held at this temple during early spring and remains one of the most popular festivals in eastern Bhutan.

Gomphu means ‘Meditation Cave’ and Kora means ‘Circumambulation’. The name is derived from a cave formed out of a rock-face next to a temple that has been built as a tribute to this sacred site. Guru Rinpoche said to have meditated under the big rock and subdued an evil demon here. The biggest attraction of Gomphu Kora is the circumambulation. ‘Go around Gomphu Kora today, for tomorrow may be too late’, the meaningful message conveyed by a local song that entices devotees to visit Gomphu Kora.

Gomphukora festival is held from the 8-11th of the second Bhutanese month. The place comes alive, once every year, when people all over eastern Bhutan including remote Merak & Sakteng region descend upon the narrow valley, dressed in their finery, to partake in the festivity, to worship and to reaffirm their connection with the past. The sanctity of the three-day religious festival even draws the Dakpa tribe from neighboring Arunachael Pradesh (India). The tradition of Dakpa tribe attending the popular Gomphu Kora tshechu dates back to the 8th century, and every year, hundreds of them attend this three-day tshechu.

There is also a steep rock in temple complex, to climb for blessings and a crawl through a narrow passage in the rock, to get cleansed of one’s sins.