The 1930s construction
By the late 1920s His Majesty the Second Druk Gyalpo Jigme Wangchuck — who had operated principally from Wangduecholing Palace in Bumthang across the opening decade of His reign — sought a winter palace at a lower altitude than the Bumthang valleys (which sit at 2,600-2,900 metres and are bitterly cold across the December-February period). The choice fell on a ridge above the Mangde Chhu river at 1,800 metres, twenty-three kilometres south of Trongsa Dzong. Construction proceeded across the 1930s; Kuenga Rabten — meaning 'palace of consummate joy' — was largely complete by the late 1930s and became the principal Bhutanese winter royal residence across the subsequent decade and a half. The siting is exceptional: the palace looks out over the Mangde Chhu gorge with the surrounding ridges visible to the north and south.