Chimi Lhakhang: Bhutan’s Fertility Temple

Part of our complete guide to monasteries in Bhutan.

Chimi Lhakhang sits on a small round hillock in the Lobesa valley, a short walk from Punakha — and it’s unlike any other temple in Bhutan. Built in 1499, it honors one of the most beloved and genuinely irreverent figures in Bhutanese Buddhism: Drukpa Kunley, “the Divine Madman,” whose legend gave the temple its name, its most famous relic, and its enduring nickname — the Fertility Temple.

Who Was the Divine Madman?

Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529) was a Tibetan Buddhist master who taught through deliberate outrageousness rather than conventional piety — drinking, wandering, provoking, and using explicit humor to jolt people out of rigid thinking and toward genuine spiritual insight. It’s an approach that would raise eyebrows in most religious traditions, but in Bhutan, Drukpa Kunley is remembered with real affection as a folk hero and saint in equal measure — someone who used shock as a teaching tool precisely because gentler methods weren’t landing. His legacy is still visible everywhere in Bhutanese culture today, most famously in the phallus symbol painted on house walls across the country, meant to ward off evil and gossip.

The Legend Behind Chimi Lhakhang

According to the story, Drukpa Kunley traveled to Dochula Pass to deal with a demoness who had been terrorizing travelers there. When he arrived, she recognized him and fled, along with two companion demonesses, disguising herself as a black dog and taking refuge on a small hillock in the Lobesa valley below. Drukpa Kunley pursued her, and using what’s respectfully — and playfully — described in Bhutanese tradition as his “Magic Thunderbolt of Wisdom,” he subdued her and trapped her beneath the very spot where the temple’s original chorten now stands.

The name “Chimi Lhakhang” is said to derive from this exact moment: “Chi Mi” translates roughly as “No Dog” — a direct reference to the demoness’s canine disguise. Drukpa Kunley built a chorten to seal the site; a formal temple, Chimi Lhakhang itself, was constructed around it in 1499 by Ngawang Choegyel, the 14th Drukpa hierarch and Drukpa Kunley’s cousin, in tribute to the blessing.

The temple still holds what’s said to be the original wooden phallus Drukpa Kunley carried from Tibet — roughly 25cm long, fitted with a silver handle. It’s used today in a blessing ceremony that draws visitors from around the world: couples hoping to conceive are tapped on the head with the relic, and women are traditionally asked to carry it around the temple three times as part of the ritual. It’s a genuinely sincere practice for the Bhutanese who seek it out, even as the temple’s reputation abroad has become something of a novelty stop — worth visiting with the same open-minded, good-humored spirit the Bhutanese themselves bring to it.

What You’ll See Around the Temple

The legend’s influence extends well beyond the temple itself. In Sopsokha, the village at the base of the hill where the walk to Chimi Lhakhang begins, nearly every house is painted with colorful depictions of the phallus symbol — a direct visual link to the same story, and one of the most photographed sights on the approach. Inside the temple grounds, Chimi Lhakhang itself is modest in scale: a square building with a golden roof, ringed by prayer wheels, its outer walls carved with images of saints in slate.

The Hike to Chimi Lhakhang

Getting there is part of the appeal. From Sopsokha village, it’s an easy 20–30 minute walk across flat farmland — rice paddies in season, quiet rural paths, and small farmhouses along the way — before the trail rises gently up the hillock to the temple itself. It’s one of the least physically demanding walks on any typical Bhutan itinerary, suitable for nearly all fitness levels and ages.

The Annual Festival

Chimi Lhakhang hosts its own annual festival, Chimi Lhakhang Drubchen, honoring Drukpa Kunley’s life and teachings with traditional rituals, masked dances, and fertility blessings performed at scale for the crowds who gather. It’s a smaller, more intimate festival than Bhutan’s major regional tshechus, but a meaningful one for anyone whose visit happens to align with the dates.

Practical Tips

• The walk from Sopsokha is flat and easy — no special fitness or footwear required beyond comfortable walking shoes.
• Modest dress is still expected inside the temple itself, as at any active religious site in Bhutan.
• Approach the blessing ritual with genuine respect — for the Bhutanese, this is a sincere spiritual practice, not a novelty photo opportunity, even if it’s often described to outsiders with a wink.
• Combine the visit with Punakha Dzong or the Punakha Suspension Bridge, both nearby, for a fuller day in the valley.
• A licensed Bhutanese guide is mandatory for all travel in Bhutan, and genuinely useful here — the legend has more nuance and cultural weight than the “fertility temple” shorthand usually conveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Chimi Lhakhang called the Fertility Temple?

The temple holds a wooden phallus relic said to have belonged to Drukpa Kunley, the “Divine Madman,” used in a traditional blessing ceremony for couples hoping to conceive — the practice that gave the temple its popular nickname.

Who was Drukpa Kunley?

Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529) was a Tibetan Buddhist master known as the “Divine Madman” for his unconventional, often shocking teaching methods, still remembered in Bhutan today as a beloved folk saint whose legacy appears throughout Bhutanese culture, including the phallus symbols painted on houses nationwide.

How long is the walk to Chimi Lhakhang?

The walk from Sopsokha village takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes across flat farmland, making it one of the easiest and most accessible walks on a typical Bhutan itinerary.

What does the name “Chimi Lhakhang” mean?

It translates roughly as “No Dog,” referring to the temple’s founding legend, in which Drukpa Kunley subdued a demoness disguised as a black dog at the site where the temple’s original chorten now stands.

Chimi Lhakhang is one of many sacred sites covered in our complete guide to monasteries in Bhutan. Planning your Punakha visit? See our cultural tour packages that include this stop.