Ragoe gets its name from Ra, which means goat in Bhutanese; and goe that stands for vulture. Legend has it that the main statue at Ragoe, a Guru Sungjoen (speaking statue of Guru Rimpoche) was brought here by a goat and a vulture from Drelha Dzong.

The guru statue was built by the legendary statue maker, Pintsa Dewa, in Punakha Dzong. It was allocated for Goen Tshephu but the statue is supposed to have told that its rightful place of destiny was Paro Ragoe. The people of Punakha brought it till Drela, a mountain pass between Paro and Thimphu, and from there a vulture took possession and flew it till the base of Ragoe. Then a mountain goat found its way into the present location. 

Although the dates are not recorded well, it can be assumed to be mid-seventeenth century, when corroborated with other works of Pintsa Dewa. The sacred site was blessed by Guru in his second visit and was later confirmed and reopened by Drubthob Thangtong Gyalpo (1361 – 1485). 

Thangtong Gyalpo reached here following a vision of a mountain that resembled a sleeping tortoise, which was causing harm to the local village by sending incurable diseases. In fact, at the base of the Ragoe Nye there are several ancient ruins of houses that lost all their inhabitants. He meditated in Ragoe and contained the disease from spreading beyond the foot of the mountain.

As one climbs up after leaving the car, the sacred sites are all marked and the paths are well-preserved. The main temple of Guru Sungjoen is literally glued to the mountain and from there it takes some nerves to visit the Khandroma drupchu (sacred waters).

The second temple is some hundred meters above the main temple and is where a yogi from Tashi Yangtsi, Tshewang Tenzin (of Eighteenth Century) followed a vision and meditated here and met Guru in person. The altar has a statue of wish-fulfilling Guru Sampa Lendrupma.

Things to do:

Get your personal amulets (re)blessed by Guru Sunjoen. Believed to increase the spiritual power.

Getting there: 
From Paro town, head for Paro Dzong and at the second bridge in Shari, don’t cross. Shoot straight along left bank of the river for some 15 km. Then walk.