Exploring Bhutan

Oh, Bhutan! No words can do justice to your beauty.

The most magical part about Bhutan is that, as soon as you land, u feel your muscle relax, your face to smile, your body to relax and your heart to feel happy... no doubt it’s called Kingdom of happiness... it truly is!

For my travel, I chose to fly into Paro airport for convenience and also to witness aerial view of Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga (Tip: if you are flying into Bhutan chose a seat on the left and when you are flying out of Bhutan, on the right)

Landing in Bhutan is quite adventurous with Paro airport being listed among the most dangerous airport for landing in the world. We were welcomed by slight showers and chilly winds but what we saw ahead took our breath away and only got us more excited for the trip. Post the formalities we were greeted by our tour guide to proceed to Thimphu.

THIMPHU

Facts:

• Fourth highest capital in the world by altitude.

• Only capital city in the world having no traffic signals.

• All the houses are symmetrical and with complimentary colours. That’s the first thing you notice about Thimphu.

Must do activity:

Make your own stamp. Yes, you heard that right!! You can make your own stamp at the National Post Office. And if that’s wasn’t exciting enough you can send a postcard home to friends with your own customized stamp. Expect long queue morning or afternoon. We tried this with little expectation of postcard actually reaching the destination but it did to our family and friends in India and America.

Must see places:

• Great Buddha Dordenma - Located atop a hill in Kuenselphodrang Nature Park it overlooks the Southern entrance to Thimphu Valley. This statue of Shakyamuni measures at a height of 51.5 m, making it one of the largest statues of Buddha in the world. It is made of bronze and is gilded in gold. 1,25,000 smaller Buddha statues have been placed within the main statue; 1,00,000 statues of which are 8-inches-tall and 25,000 statues of which are 12 inches tall. Each of these thousands of Buddhas has also been cast in bronze and gilded.

• Tashichhoedzong - It is a Buddhist monastery and fortress and is breathtakingly beautiful. The Dzong houses the throne room and offices of the King, the secretariat and the ministries of home affairs and finance.

• Clocktower square - Located in heart of Thimphu, near football shop. It’s surrounded by shops(with great bargains) and restaurants (with a reasonably priced menu and amazing Thupka)

• Motithang Takin Preserve - Visit this place to only view “takin” which is their national animal.

• Simtokha Dzong - It is a small dzong. Since it’s not very overcrowded, you can sit quietly in the prayer hall for some time.

• Folk Heritage Museum, Bhutan Textile Museum, Royal Textile Academy of Bhutan, National library - I would personally recommend these for people who want to experience Bhutanese culture or lovers of a museum or if you are in Thimphu for a longer duration.

• The Dochula Pass - It is a mountain pass in the snow-covered Himalayas within Bhutan on the road from Thimpu to Punakha where 108 memorial Chortens or stupas known as "Druk Wangyal Chortens" have been built. With a great view of Himalayas, its an ideal photo point. There is a moderately good cafeteria in the vicinity to enjoy a coffee too

PHUNAKHA

However, the short duration you are in Bhutan, I would suggest including this in the itinerary. This can easily be covered in a day trip.

Must see places

• Chimi Lhakhang - It is more famous as The Fertility Temple. Many pilgrimages to The Fertility Temple in the hopes of having a child. The tradition at the monastery is to strike pilgrims on the head with a 10-inch (25 cm) wooden phallus (erect penis). It’s a short and comfortable trek through the village and paddy fields. Many shops sell miniature of phallus and phallus painting among other stuff. This may not be the most beautiful but definitely most unique temple.

• Punakha Dzong - This is the most beautiful dzong especially in spring when the lilac-colored jacaranda trees are in full bloom (we were lucky to experience its beauty). Access to the dzong is across the Bazam bridge, which is again a surreal experience. The only hassle is steep wooden entry stairs which could be cumbersome for some. But trust me it’s totally worth the effort.

• Panoramic view of Punakha valley - Since we were staying overnight at Punakha we selected our hotel based on which one offers the best view of the Dzong, valley and Pho and Mo Chhu rivers.

PARO

Since it was the final destination of our tour we decided to keep it easy and not pack too many tourist destinations in. Also, we wanted to dedicate an entire day for tiger nest monastery trek.

• Paro Taktsang - If I am asked to pick only one favorite from entire Bhutan trip, I would say Takstang trek. It’s a 4km walk steep upwards. Starting the trek early is the best way to enjoy the trek fully. There are horses available to take you halfway to the cafeteria but take it up only if you are brave enough as the horses walk/run on a muddy and slippery trail right at the edge of the cliff. View from the cafeteria is beautiful and that’s where most hikers turn back. I would suggest half hour break at the cafeteria to enjoy a coffee and rejuvenate. The last part is an uphill trek first and later steps comprising of 600 descending and 200 ascending steps to the monastery with a deep ravine on one side. Though the hike was marred by rains and is physically exhausting, when you see it, in reality, it is overwhelming. The monastery which is seen hugging the side of a cliff at 3100 feet above Paro valley makes you wonder how it was even built in the 17th century. There are low hanging clouds and thousands of prayer flags hanging near the waterfall giving it an ethereal feel.

Once inside the Taktsang, you know why it is considered the holiest place in Bhutan. There are monks chanting and butter lamps cast a warm light. You can imagine how exhilarating the experience must have been considering I am not even regular with my 30 minutes walk. I would suggest keeping a full day for the trek to enjoy it to the fullest at your own pace.

Bhutan has an allure like no other. You can experience beautiful landscapes, rich culture, spirituality, smiling people all together and it leaves happy and contented.