Bhutan Chronicles, Visual Edition

Episode 4: From Simtokha’s fire to Punakha’s rivers
In 1634, Simtokha Dzong on the ridge south of Thimphu was nearly lost when Tsangpa forces attacked, until a powerful blast inside the fortress shattered the assault and left the dzong scarred but standing. From that crisis, Zhabdrung turned to Punakha, where the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu meet, and chose the land between the rivers as the new heart of his rule.

Episode 3: Cheri and Simtokha Dzong – the first fortress-monastery
After reaching Bhutan, the young Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal made Cheri his first spiritual seat in the mountains above Thimphu, gathering monks around him in a hidden monastery. From those ridges he chose a strategic hilltop at the southern entrance to Thimphu valley, where Simtokha Dzong rose as Bhutan’s first fortress-monastery, guarding both the Dharma and the land.

Episode 2: From Ralung to Bhutan, guided by a raven.
In this episode, we follow young Ngawang Namgyal as he faces danger at Ralung, sees the raven in his vision, escapes across deadly high passes, and finally steps onto Bhutanese soil for the first time.

Episode 1: Before Unification
This short film imagines life in the late 1500s, when Bhutan was a land of separate valleys, local rulers and hilltop temples.
are created with AI, narration is my own (cloned voice), and the story is inspired by our history, not real footage.