In the 15th century local people offered the crag of Hungrel at Paro to Lama Drung Drung Gyal, a descendant of Pajo Drugom Zhigpo. Drung Drung Gyal built a small temple there and later a five storied Dzong or fortress which was known as Hungrel Dzong.[
In the 17th century, his descendants, the lords of Hungrel, offered this fortress to the Drukpa hierarch, Ngawang Namgyal, the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in recognition of his religious and temporal authority. In 1644 the Zhabdrung dismantled the existing dzong and laid the foundations of a new dzong. In 1646 the dzong was reconsecrated and established as the administrative and monastic centre of the western region and it became known as “Rinpung Dzong”.During the reign of the 23rd Penlop Dawa Penjor the Fortress caught fire (before the first king Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck was enthroned) and all the important relics and statues were burnt, except for the Thongdrel (20×20 metre-wide).Paying homage to the Thongdrelit is believed that the faithful can attain Nirvana.
Some scenes in the 1993 film Little Buddha were filmed in this dzong. According to the history of Paro Dzong, written by Drungchen Dasho Sangay Dorji, the rock face below the dzong was named ‘Ringpung’ by Guru Rinpoche in the eighth century, hence when the dzong was later built here, it came to be known as ‘Ringpung Dzong’.