Hidden in the Himalayas: Why Bhutan Is So Special

Hidden amongst the mountains of the Himalayas is a tiny kingdom that, until recently, I knew more about from my work in travel than from personal experience.

Nine days in Bhutan changed that.

I went there wanting to really understand the destination, to see the hotels, experience the different areas, meet the people and come home knowing exactly what makes Bhutan special and who I would recommend it to. What I hadn't expected was just how many moments would stay with me personally. Because Bhutan isn't simply about spectacular scenery, beautiful hotels or ticking off the sights.

For me, it was the experiences I couldn't have planned.

Playing football with a young monk. Being welcomed into someone's home for lunch. Sitting quietly inside an incredible fortress. Listening to our guide singing as we travelled through the mountains. And ultimately discovering, on the side of a mountain, that I was capable of far more than I'd given myself credit for.

It's the people who bring Bhutan to life

Bhutan is undeniably beautiful, but some of the memories that immediately make me smile aren't really about the scenery at all.

One of them is playing football with a young monk.

We had been visiting a monastery when somehow a football appeared and, before we knew it, we were playing together. It wasn't on an itinerary. There was no grand significance to it. It was just one of those completely spontaneous travel moments that makes you smile whenever you think about it.

Then there was our wonderful guide Subash.

He shared so much of his country with us, from its history and traditions to stories about everyday Bhutanese life. He made us laugh constantly and, when it was eventually time to leave, sang us out of Bhutan with a parting song.

And then there was a local farmhouse in Punakha.

We crossed a bridge on foot to reach it and were welcomed into the home of a wonderful local lady who cooked our entire traditional Bhutanese lunch from scratch. The food was absolutely delicious, but I loved the whole experience of being there. We discovered that she was also an incredibly talented weaver who had even woven for the Bhutanese Royal Family. I bought one of her scarves to bring home.

I could have bought a hundred souvenirs, but that scarf means something different. I know who made it. I remember sitting in her home. I remember the food, the conversation and the experience attached to it. That's the kind of thing I want to bring home from travelling.

A faith that isn't mine, but still touched me

Buddhism is woven through Bhutanese life. It's there in the monasteries, the prayer wheels, the prayer flags, the monks you meet and the stories you're told.

I'm not Buddhist.

But one of the things I loved about Bhutan was realising that you don't need to share someone's faith to appreciate it. We were welcomed into monasteries, received blessings and learnt about traditions and beliefs that were completely different from our own. At Punakha Dzong we were given the opportunity to sit quietly and meditate. There was nothing complicated about it.

We just sat.

No phones. No talking. Nothing we needed to do.

It was peaceful, and I loved being able to experience that side of Bhutan rather than simply walking through, taking photographs and moving on to the next place. I think that's one of the things Bhutan does particularly well. You don't just look at its culture from the outside. You're given opportunities to experience little pieces of it for yourself. And I found myself appreciating that more and more as the trip went on.

Then came Tiger's Nest

There was one experience I had been thinking about since before I even arrived in Bhutan.

Tiger's Nest.

And if I'm completely truthful, I wasn't convinced I could do it. I had never hiked before. At 3,120 metres above sea level, this wasn't exactly the easiest place to decide to start. There is a café roughly halfway up and, before we'd even begun, I had told everyone that if I made it there I'd be happy. That was my target. I'd already decided what I thought I was capable of.

Then I started walking.

And I kept walking.

There were moments when my legs felt heavy and moments when I genuinely questioned whether I could keep going. But gradually my thinking changed. Instead of “I don't think I can do this”, it became “Maybe I can.”

And then: “I can.”

That might sound like a small difference, but on that mountain it wasn't. I'd spent so much time worrying about whether my body could get me there that I hadn't really considered how much of the challenge would be about what I believed I could do. One foot in front of the other. Keep going.

And eventually I made it.

What was waiting at the top

Reaching Tiger's Nest was an incredible feeling. But something happened once we were inside that I hadn't expected at all. Without realising it when we'd set off that morning, we'd arrived on an auspicious day. Inside one of the temples, many monks had gathered and were chanting and playing traditional instruments. I sat down and closed my eyes. And this is the part I still struggle to explain.

There was something about the sound in that room, the chanting, the instruments and the vibrations around me,  that completely overwhelmed me.

I started crying. I wasn't sad. It wasn't even about having completed the climb. I genuinely don't know exactly what happened. I just know that something about being there, in that particular moment, touched me incredibly deeply. I didn't completely understand what the monks were chanting or the significance of everything taking place around me. It wasn't my religion. But none of that seemed to matter. I just sat with my eyes closed and felt it.

Of all the incredible moments I experienced in Bhutan, that was the one that moved me the most.

And suddenly every single difficult step I'd taken to get there was worth it.

I would walk every one of those kilometres again for the chance to experience that moment once more.

Getting back down was another matter!

Of course, reaching Tiger's Nest isn't quite the end of the story. You have to get back down again. By that point my legs had absolutely had enough. One of our wonderful guides, Dawa, took such good care of me that day. When my legs were struggling on the descent, she quite literally held my hand and helped me down. It was such a simple act of kindness, but one I'll never forget. Eventually, after seven hours and 11.5 kilometres, I had done it.

The woman who had never hiked before, and who had confidently announced that the café halfway up was probably going to be her limit, had made it all the way to Tiger's Nest and back. Apart from raising my children, I genuinely think it's one of my proudest achievements. Not because I suddenly want to become a mountaineer! But because I had decided what my limit was before I'd even given myself the chance to find out.

And I was wrong.

That's what I brought home from Bhutan

Bhutan gave me so many memories. Morning yoga looking across the mountains. Beautiful hotels. Incredible food. Monasteries and temples. Long journeys through spectacular valleys. Laughter with the people I travelled with. Subash's stories. That farmhouse lunch. Playing football with a monk. Dawa holding my hand. And a moment inside a temple at Tiger's Nest that I still can't completely explain. I went to Bhutan because I wanted to understand a destination that I could then confidently recommend to my clients.

And I absolutely came home with that.

I know the hotels. I've travelled the roads. I've experienced the distances involved. I've seen how different the valleys are and how much thought needs to go into putting together the right Bhutan itinerary. But I also came home understanding something you can't really learn from a brochure. Bhutan is special because of how all of those things come together.

The people.

The faith.

The traditions.

The unexpected moments.

And the experiences that become far more personal than you ever imagined they would. For me, there was one more thing.

Self-belief.

I arrived in Bhutan as someone who had never hiked and had already decided how far she thought she could go. I came down from Tiger's Nest knowing I had underestimated myself. And perhaps that's the thing I'll carry with me longest.

Don't decide what your limit is before you've even tried to reach it.

Hidden in the Himalayas is an incredibly special little kingdom. I went there to discover Bhutan. I didn't expect to discover quite so much about myself along the way.