Another place from where you can get a good overview of the Thimphu valley is from the Buddha point (Kuensel Phodrang). It is again a short drive from the town. You can pay your obeisance and offer prayers to the Buddha, the largest statue in the country and then walk around and take a glimpse of the valley.
The tallest Buddha image, which will perhaps be the 8th wonder of the world, is being built in Kuensel Phodrang, a hill overlooking the Thimphu Valley. This is an attraction exclusively designed to commemorate the centenary and the coronation of the fifth king, Druk Gyelpo Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in 2008.
The 169 feet bronze Buddha Dordenma image, fits exactly on a one-acre land and will be completed with 17 storeys of different Lhakhangs (monasteries) within it, including the throne. These include three storeys within the throne, two each inside the lotus, waist, chest, face and shoulder and one each in the legs, neck and head.
The Lhakhangs will have, among other things, 25,000 12-inch copper images of Buddha Dordenma, gilded with gold, eight 10-feet standing bodhisattvas, sixteen 6-feet high Arahats, King Hashang (Maitreya Bodhisattva), Dharmata Tiger, Sutra Holder, the four direction kings, and the third storey up to the top will accommodate 100,000 eight inch statues of Buddha Dordenma. There will be a meditation hall inside the throne.
Kuensel Phodrang was one time the palace of the 13th Desi Sherab Wangchuk, which now stands in ruins. The one Lam Sonam Zangpo, a renowned yogi, was said to have prophesized that construction of such an image in this region would bring stability, peace and prosperity in the country. It is five kilometers away from the highway.