Memorial Chorten, Thimphu, Bhutan Editorial Image

The Memorial Stupa, Thimphu, also known as the Thimphu Chorten, is a stupa and a prominent landmark in the city with its golden spires and bells. This stupa is unlike others as it does not enshrine human remains. The architecture of the chorten has been designed to present it as one of the most visible religious structures in Thimphu. The Memorial Chorten, in the heart of the city, is designed is a Tibetan style chorten, also called the Jangchup Chorten, patterned on the design of a classical stupa, with a pyramidal pillar crowned by a crescent moon and sun. The feature that is distinct here is the outward flaring of the rounded part to give the shape of a vase a pyramidal shape, unlike a dome shape. The chorten depicts larger than life size images of wrathful deities.