We just returned from spending 9 days in Bhutan, one of the most interesting, unique and beautiful destinations we have ever visited. We visited western Bhutan, staying in 3 different areas, the Thimphu, Paro and Punakha valleys. Our trip was arranged with a Bhutanese tour operator – we had a guide and driver and could basically explore what we wanted to although for the most part we followed their suggestions. We learned a tremendous amount about the country and Buddhism. A return trip is definitely on our to do list to see more of the country.


Buddhism permeates Bhutan; there are prayer flags everywhere, omnipresent cheerful monks in red robes, thousands of prayer wheels to spin, a dazzling and complicated array of images of the historical and future Buddhas, gurus, saints, protective deities subduing the malevolent forces, mandalas and depictions of wheels of life. There are monasteries, dzongs, temples, chortens and more everywhere you turn. The Bhutanese people are warm and friendly, have a deep respect for their religion, culture and environment, a love of their monarchy, past & present spiritual leaders and reincarnated lamas along with a pride in their developing democracy. The scenery is stunning with gorgeous, fertile valleys and the towering snowcapped Himalayas as a backdrop.






Tourism is relatively new in Bhutan – you cannot just book a flight and go there; you can’t rent a car and explore on your own, you must be on a tour or accompanied by a professional guide and driver. You can only visit most of the dzongs, monasteries, chortens etc. with special permits. They are concentrating on developing low impact, high-end tourism and have no interest in attracting backpackers. Your visa must be approved before your tour operator can book your flights on Druk Air, the national airline. There is one airport, currently celebrating 25 years in existence with only a couple of flights per day. We flew from Bangkok on a clear sunny day and were awed by views of Mt. Everest and other high peaks before we dropped into the lush green Paro valley. There is one main national highway, built in the 70’s, a two lane road which covers only part of the country and winds around mountains, along the edge of cliffs, through picturesque villages, over one lane bridges and over some high passes.

We spent 3 days in Thimphu, the capital (approx 70,000 people) as a beginning to our cultural immersion, staying at the Taj Tashi a newly constructed luxury hotel that is a joint venture of the Taj hotel group from India and a Bhutanese company. The Taj employs two monks who bless you upon arrival and departure and perform some other daily rituals for the hotel.

We visited the Folk Heritage Museum which is essentially a traditional Bhutanese farm house showcasing items used throughout rural Bhutan, the Institute for Zorig Chusom, a school for the development of the 14 traditional arts of Bhutan, a 4-6 year program for artistically inclined kids, the Textile Museum highlighting traditional textiles and costumes, the National Institute of Traditional Medicine and the weekly market. We circumambulated the National Memorial Chorten, dedicated to the memory of the third king along with groups of traditionally dressed, prayer wheel spinning Bhutanese, visited the Trashi Chloe Dzong, seat of administrative and monastic affairs, elaborately decorated for the recent coronation of the 5th king (28 years old.)

We did several hikes to monasteries including the Tango monastery, home to a BlackBerry toting 14-year-old reincarnate lama (spotted by our traveling companions). As we hiked 1000 ft above the valley we were greeted by scores of smiling monks on their way down the trail to meet with the venerated, retired, 68th spiritual leader. We hoped to witness his arrival, scheduled for around 11:30, but actually saw him later in the day as he was just leaving the dzong in town around 3:30 – the young monks had decorated the way for him and were probably still waiting patiently for his arrival!


Brad with the monks

We also hiked to the Wanditse monastery which was under renovation – the only way to reach these monasteries perched high up in the mountains is on foot and we passed several monks on the trail bearing construction materials.

After our time in Thimphu we drove south to the Punakha Valley, over the 10,000 ft. Dochu La pass with spectacular views of a range of 24,000 plus Himalayan peaks. At the top of the pass there are 108 chortens (or stupas) and thousands of fluttering prayer flags.


the chortens at Dochu La Pass

The road then winds and descends down 6000 ft. to the Punakha Valley. We made a stop at the Wangdi Dzong, the administrative and religious center of the region and then did a hike through the rice fields and small villages to Chime Lhakang, a monastery scared to the eccentric folk hero known as the Divine Madman. We stayed at the Amankora reached by foot via a prayer flag strewn swinging bridge.


view from the Amankora

The following day we hiked to the 3 story Khamsum Yuelly Mangual Chorten, built for the protection of the country and filled with beautiful paintings and altars dedicated to the protective deities.


Khamsum Yuelly Mangual Chorten

After lunch we visited the stunning Punakha Dzong, formerly the seat of government and the winter headquarters for the Thimphu monks.





Punakha Dzong

Next we moved on to the Paro Valley for our final 4 nights, saying at the Uma Paro. On our first full day there, a national holiday honoring Buddha’s descending from heaven, we drove up to the Chilii la pass and did a steep hike up to the Kila nunnery, established in the 9th century. While there we witnessed the elaborate preparation of the nuns for prayers and chanting honoring the holiday. Time is relative in Bhutan – again we hoped to be there for the ceremony, but it was delayed a few hours for the late arrival of the spiritual master. We hiked back to the road and then up to the pass for a picnic lunch and views down into the Haa valley, only recently opened to tourism, and of more snow capped high peaks and herds of yaks.

The next day was the highlight of the trip, our hike to Taktshang Goemba, more commonly known as Tiger’s Nest, the monastery that is built into a sheer cliff 2600 ft. above the valley floor and is shown on most tourist brochures, etc. It is one of the most revered sites in Bhutan and can be visited with a special permit. The hike up takes about 2 hours as you switchback relentlessly up and then descend hundreds of steps to cross a bridge before ascending hundreds more steps up into the monastery. (all told 700 plus steps in all!)


a view of Tiger’s Nest from the teahouse part way up the hike

While in Paro also visited the Paro Dzong, the ruined Drukgyel dzong at the end of the valley which protected Bhutan from Tibetan invaders and is the starting point of a trek to the base of Jhomolhari, the 2nd highest mountain in the country. the National Museum, an archery match and finally were able to witness a chanting ceremony at the Kyichu Lhakang, one of the most sacred temples in Bhutan, built in the 7th century. It was fascinating to see the difference in the young monks – some totally entranced, knowing all the words to the prayers, others going through the motions and distracted.


We had terrific weather – everyday was sunny and pleasant – November is an ideal time to go. Infrastructure is good and the food was delicious, generally a mix of Bhutanese, Indian and Chinese. The country is changing and is fortunate to have been guided into development by a series of wise and forward looking monarchs. The 4th king just abdicated in favor of his son and instituted a constitutional democracy. The governing concept of Gross National Happiness will be interesting to follow. I will upload more photos soon and post a link.

That trip sounds fascinating! I'd love to see and read more!

Quick, post more...This sounds like a wonderful trip Leslie. Welcome home.

Leslie - as always, well written and oh so interesting. Thanks for getting us the scoop while it's still fresh in your memories. I look forward to more when time permits. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving to you, Brad and Luke.

Cheers, Anne

Another wonderful report of a fascinating country.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to let us share in your travels.

All the best,
Wayne

Leslie, you and Brad are amazing, true adventurous travelers with energy to spare!Thanks for taking us along and Happy Thanksgiving!

Brad & Leslie:

You guys take the most fascinating adventures that leave us rather breathless from the standpoint of their uniqueness and because of the elevations you reach.

Well done, well done, indeed!

Cheers! Ray & Penny

here's a link to our photos; also posted in the picture link section:

Bhutan photos

works best in slide show format