Lhakhang are religious structures (temples) found throughout the Himalayas (

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

) that house sacred objects, and in which religious activities take place. Lhakhang means "the house of gods": enlightened beings such as the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

, his followers, and other deities. With over two thousand lhakhangs (temples) and goenpa (monasteries) in Bhutan, they can be found in almost every village and on almost every mountain top in the country. Although they do not match the soaring proportions of the

dzongs Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery (, , ) architectural style, architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of ...

, many lhakhang and goenpa are older than dzongs, with some dating as far back as the seventh century. Usually, within a village, the lhakhang is the most prominent building. Besides being religious centres, they also have important social and cultural functions as almost all village cultural events are held there. The Buddhist lhakhang is usually a simple hall with an entrance foyer and a main hall holding the main altar of the temple. Besides the main temple building, simple buildings with rooms for the monks are constructed. Often the layout of a goenpa monastery consist of a one or multiple storey temple building in the centre of a simple courtyard flanked by structures used for the living quarters of the monks.

References

{{Reflist Temples in Nepal Buddhist temples in Bhutan Temples