Located just a few meters above the local temple of Nobgang in Punakha, the Zimchung Gongma temple was initially a residential hermitage established by Bhutan's 10th Je Khenpo Penchen Tenzin Choegay in the middle of the eighteenth century. When Je Penchen Tenzin Choegay retired from the throne of Je Khenpo, office of the chief abbots of Bhutan's central monastic body, he built a small residential hermitage for himself. His disciple Je Jamphel Dakpa later enlarged it to provide a better residence, or “zimchung,” for his master. The place became known among the community as the Zimchung Gongma, or the Upper Residence. Later, the Zimchung, or The Residence, was turned into the Zimchung Gongma Temple. The main sacred objects in the temple are statues of Bhutan's former Je Khenpos.