5. Rinpung Dzong

A large monastery and fortress of the Kagyu school of Buddhism in Bhutan, Rinpung Dzong is one of the most famous temples in Bhutan, and it houses the Monastic Body of Governance for the region. One of Bhutan’s “tentative” sites in the UNESCO inclusion lists for future World Heritage Sites, the site of the dzong was given in the 15th century to the Buddhist Lamas, where a small temple was built. The temple was given to the Zhabdrung Rinpoche in the 17th century, who demolished the previous structure and built the dzong that still stands there today. It was reconsecrated and became the monastic and administrative center of western Bhutan in 1646, and the dzong also appeared in the 1993 film, Little Buddha.