An old temple of the Choekhor valley
Thangbi Lhakhang was founded in the 15th century by a master of the Karma Kagyu school — one of the principal lineages of Tibetan Buddhism — and later passed into association with Pema Lingpa, the Bumthang-born treasure-revealer whose presence runs through the whole valley. It stands north of Kurjey Lhakhang in the broad Choekhor valley, across the Chamkhar river and among the fields and farms, in the quieter upper reaches away from the main cluster of Bumthang's great temples. Old, modest, and atmospheric, it holds fine old images and murals, and it carries the layered religious history typical of Bumthang, where the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions and the Pema Lingpa lineage are woven together across the centuries.