Some three and twenty kilometres from Trashigang  lay Gomphu kora, in the heart of the agrarian belt of Eastern Bhutan.

The place where the highly venerated Gomphu Kora stands today was sanctified on account of Guru Padmasambhava having meditated there to subsequently vanquish a malevolent spirit that had caused untold sufferings to the local populace. The place famously came to be referred as Gomphu kora after this event. Etymologically, Gomphu means “Meditation Cave” and Kora means “Circumambulation”.

Religious sites lead to pilgrimages and as is obvious, the biggest attraction of Gomphu Kora is the circumambulation.  The place rejuvenates itself, once every year towards the end the March, as people all over eastern Bhutan descend upon the narrow valley dressed in their finery, to partake in the festivity and to worship and reaffirm their connection with the past.

The sanctity of the three day religious festival is such that, it even draws the ethic  Dakpa tribe from neighboring Arunachal Pradesh  who  endure days of travel on foot through rugged environs with entire families in tow. Local records speak of these people Dakpas having done this for more than a millennium, beginning shortly after Guru Padmasambhava sanctified the place in the 8th century A.D.