Punakha Dzong is arguably the most beau­ti­ful dzong in the coun­try, espe­cial­ly in spring when the lilac-coloured jacaran­da trees bring a lush sen­su­al­i­ty to the dzong’s char­ac­ter­is­ti­cal­ly tow­er­ing white­washed walls. This dzong was the sec­ond to be built in Bhutan and it served as the cap­i­tal and seat of gov­ern­ment until the mid-1950s. All of Bhutan’s kings have been crowned here. The dzong is still the win­ter res­i­dence of the drat­shang (offi­cial monk body).