The huge 50m tall steel statue of Buddha Dordenma commands the entry to the Thimphu valley. The huge three-storey throne will eventually hold several chapels, while the body itself is filled with 125,000 smaller statues of Buddha. The statue was made in China (of course), cut into pieces and then shipped and trucked in from Phuentsholing (we would love to have seen the faces of the local farmers as the super-sized features of the Buddha drove by!). See www.dordenma.org for more details on the impressive construction. The drive or bike up the paved road to the Changri Kuensel Phodrang site is worth it to gauge the immense size of the statue as well as for the great views of Thimphu.
