Punākha, Bhutan · UTC+6
Convert time from Punākha
Punākha is in the Asia/Thimphu timezone (BTT/UTC+6), with no daylight saving time observed. Punākha was Bhutan’s capital until 1955, when the court moved to Thimphu. The Punākha Dzong, the fortress-monastery at the confluence of the Mo Chhu (Mother River) and Pho Chhu (Father River), remains one of the most beautiful buildings in the Himalayas. It is still used for the winter residence of the Je Khenpo, Bhutan’s Chief Abbot, and the site of royal weddings.
Bhutan uses BTT, Bhutan Time, UTC+6, year-round without daylight saving. Punākha shares this fixed clock with Phuntsholing in the south and Thimphu to the west. The country runs on a single timezone.
Punākha sits at about 1,200 meters elevation, several hundred meters lower than Thimphu. This makes it warmer: fruit trees bloom early here, and rice is double-cropped in the valley floor. In February and March, the jacaranda trees along the river turn purple before most of Bhutan has shed its winter. Spring comes first to Punākha.
the spring festival and lunar calendar
The Punākha Tshechu, a religious festival held each spring at the dzong, draws visitors from across Bhutan and abroad. It centers on masked dances (chhams) depicting scenes from Bhutanese Buddhist history, ending with the unfurling of a giant thangka at dawn. The timing is set by the lunar calendar, not the civil one.
9am in Punākha is 3am in London.
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Read more about time in Bhutan →Same time as Punākha
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Questions about time in Punākha
- What timezone is Punākha in?
- Punākha uses the IANA timezone
Asia/Thimphu. The UTC offset is always UTC+6 - this timezone does not observe daylight saving time. - Does Punākha observe daylight saving time?
- No. Punākha does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC+6 all year round.
- What is the current UTC offset for Punākha?
- Punākha is currently at UTC+6.
- What is the time difference between Punākha and New York?
- Punākha is currently 10 hours ahead of New York.
- What is the time difference between Punākha and London?
- Punākha is currently 5 hours ahead of London.
- What is the time difference between Punākha and Los Angeles?
- Punākha is currently 13 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
- What is the time difference between Punākha and Tokyo?
- Punākha is currently 3 hours behind Tokyo.
- What is the IANA timezone name for Punākha?
- The IANA timezone database identifier for Punākha is
Asia/Thimphu. Use this string in programming languages and APIs: JavaScript (`new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', { timeZone: 'Asia/Thimphu' })`), Python (`pytz.timezone('Asia/Thimphu')`), or any IANA-compatible library.