The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungthang Dewa Chhenpoi Phodrang (meaning “the palace of great happiness or bliss”), is the administrative centre of Punakha District in Punakha, Bhutan.
Constructed by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures.
Punakha Dzong was the administrative centre and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu.
The Dzong is located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (male river) and Mo Chhu(female river) rivers in the Punakha valley. After the confluence of these two rivers, the main river is known as Puna Tsang chu or Sankosh River and flows down through Wangdue Phodrang, crosses the Bhutan–India border at Kalikhola and eventually meets the Brahmaputra River.
