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Photo: Doctor 17, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The place where the 15th century Bhutanese spiritual-treasure discoverer Pema Lingpa famously dived into a river gully with a burning lamp, and later returned with a number of hidden scriptural treasures (Tib:terma) and with the lamp still burning – hence the name of the site, Membartsho - Burning Lake.
Membartsho, also known as Mebar Tsho, is a holy site, revered as the place where Pema Lingpa, Bhutan's greatest tertön, discovered several of Guru Rinpoche's terma in the 15th century. It is a 30-minute drive from Chamkhar town and takes around five minutes from the road end to the lake.
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The fortress was constructed in 1667, but rebuilt after being severely damaged in an earthquake in 1897. It is one of the largest and most impressive dzongs in Bhutan and houses the administrative and monastic offices for the Bumthang district.