On The Wings of the Dragon to Bhutan
On arrival we met our driver and guide for the tour and were taken to our hotel for the next 2 nights. As we arrived early, we found a place to rest, with a view of the river, and the airport, and enjoyed the fresh, clear mountain air, and a chance to rest before our sightseeing pickup. After a tasty local lunch, we made our way to Ta Dzong, originally a Watchtower, now housing the National Museum which gave us a great insight into the history and lifestyle of Bhutanese people.
Our tour continued to Rinpung Dzong, now the home of the Monastic body of Paro, the office of the administrative head, and the judge of the Paro district. The traditional covered bridge giving great view of the architecture. We then had a walk around the town, browsed in a few shops and stopped for the ubiquitous coffee and cake stop.
The following day was for us the highlight of the trip, we hiked the trail to Tigers Nest, perched 900m above the valley floor. For this we had another guide, as our driver and guide were driving across the country to Bhumtang, to meet us the following day, as we were making the trip by air. Our guide looked after us very well, it took almost 4 hours to make the almost vertical trail to Tigers Nest.
The weather was almost perfect, not too warm, and the sky cleared as we progressed. We stopped just before the final climb for some coffee and crackers, which were very welcome. The location of the monastery is spectacular, seemingly clinging onto the side of the mountain. We lit some butter candles for the relatives and friends we had lost and had a blessing by one of the monks. All too soon we had to start our trip back down the trail, stopping for some lunch where we previously had coffee. The trip down took less time than going up, though harder on the knees.
Our guide had learned it was our wedding anniversary and the company arranged for us to have a Hot Stone Bath. Local to Bhutan, it’s a huge, deep wooden tub is filled with cold water, the final 50 cm or so is separated by wooden slats, and then heated stones are added, along with fresh herbs and foliage, which relieved our aching muscles.
Early next day we were back at the airport for our short flight to Bhumtang. When you travel in Bhutan, much travel is weather dependent, and our flight was delayed for over 2 hours. These conditions change very quickly so much so that the boarding announcement was made by the dispatcher running through the gate shouting "Bhumtang flight-boarding now", within minutes we were strapped in and ready for the short flight between the mountains to the rural Bhumtang.
Our guide and driver were waiting to meet us, and we immediately started our tour visiting a few temples and fortresses. We all paid the penance of carrying the iron cloak around Ngang Lhakhang. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily which cut short the sightseeing, so we returned to the hotel for lunch, with a promise of further sightseeing later. At this hotel, the Village Lodge, we were the only guests, it reminded us of an old-style UK style country house, and our dinner was served in front of a log burning fire.
The following day we took a drive to URA Lhakhang for the Yakchoe festival which only takes place over a few days per year. The festival was colourful giving insight into the lives of rural Bhutanese we had a good view of the festivities and watched the dancers and performers for a few hours before visiting a local hillside for a picnic lunch with a view of the Himalayas as backdrop.
The following day was a drive to Trongsa, not too far in usual circumstances, but the short journey of 40 or so km took almost 3 hrs due to the condition of the roads, something that was to feature during our visit. Again we arrived as a festival was in full swing, and we visited Trongsa Dzong on the way in, and for the afternoon Ta Dzong, a 5 storey stone structure, where we met some local children who spoke to us in perfect English, asking about our lives and almost an hour later, remembering our names as we said goodbye.
Another day and another drive, this time to Gangtey, the 85 kms took almost 4 hours, but it was so worth it. The little village is set in the Phobjikha Valley, entry of which is via the Pele-La Pass and almost a Shangri-la type first view of the valley floor, simply stunning.
After a lunch at a local homestay we set off to walk to the hotel around the valley floor, usually off limits in winter as it hosted the migration of the black necked crane, the walk took a couple of hours and our driver was waiting for us at the valley floor for the short uphill drive to the hotel, to rest and admire the view of the valley.
After one night we set off for Punakha , 70 kms in 3 hours, this time taking a pass which promised a great view of the eastern Himalayas, sadly, reaching the pass it was totally covered in cloud, our guide with good humour told us he gave us the best views of the tour. The weather here was hot and humid, compared to our last couple of days.
After Punakha came Thimphu, final stop. On arrival we had a small city tour and a visit to the heritage centre to try my hand at archery (not very good it turned out). We had some free time to wander the streets and explore the town.
On our final day we made our way to the textile museums, national library and the newly built huge golden Buddha Dordenma built over the memorial hall at Kuensel Phodrang. After a very enjoyable interesting tour it was time to set off back to Paro and our flight to Bangkok.
We had quite a short transfer to the airport where it all began, and our flight departed on time, and we enjoyed the take-off, as the captain climbed reversing the manoeuvres of those on arrival, climbing and banking left and right until we passed the mountains far below.
Planning a trip to Bhutan, takes some coordination, if you'd like to know more or would need help planning one of your own, let me know and I’ll be glad to help and share some more of our trip.