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| In Druk Yul, the land of the Thunder Dragon PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
"If there is any country on Earth that qualifies as Eden - not just in part, but in it's entirety - I believe it is Bhutan." - Harry Marshall, Producer of The Living Edens: Bhutan.
This is a throw back travelogue on our visit to Bhutan in the summer of 2015
Bhutan, the small kingdom nation in the eastern Himalayas had been in our wish list since a while. April 2015 was the time when we fulfilled it. The beautiful Himalayan country is bordered by Tibet in the North, Sikkim in the west, Arunachal Pradesh in the east and Assam, West Bengal in the south. It is home to a remarkable variety of climates and ecosystems. Essentially, the country is divided into three major land regions: plains and river valleys in the south; a mid-Himalayan (5,000 to 14,000 ft. high) area north of the valleys; and the mountainous lands in the Himalayas, which range from 14,000 to 24,000 ft. above sea level.
There are couple of routes to reach Bhutan from India - Fly from your nearest airport to Bagdogra in West Bengal and from there take the road to Pheuntsholing-Thimphu. Alternatively there are flights directly to Paro/Thimphu from few cities like New Delhi, (recently) Bangalore etc. We took the first option. Reaching Bagdogra around noon, we hopped on to our taxi(very conveniently arranged by one of our dear friends) to Pheuntsholing. Staying there overnight, we finished our entry formalities the next morning at the Permit office (Working hours: Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm) Pheuntsholing itself is a beautiful town with few places of tourist interest like the Karbandi Monastery. After a brief visit to the monastery, we took the picturesque 5-hr drive to Thimphu.
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| Entry gate at Pheuntsholing PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
That Himalayan euphoria !! Through out the drive the weather was fabulous with intermittent drizzle. Stopping at a homely restaurant that offered divine Momos and Ema datshi, we reached Thimphu at sunset.
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| En-route Thimphu PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| En-route Thimphu PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
Thimphu is an idyllic capital city with many places of mythological, spiritual and commercial interest. Most of them can be covered in a day's tour.
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| Thimphu air strip PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| The Bhutan Development Bank PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| The Buddha Dordenma with a towering circle of sunlight PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| The Buddha Dordenma with artistic streaks of clouds behind PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| The Bhutanese are simple and friendly. Clicked outside the Memorial Chorten PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Outside the Thimphu Clock Tower Square PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Thimphu Clock Tower Square PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Norzim Lam, the main street of Thimphu PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| One of the many spectacular views from Thimphu PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| The Supreme Court of Bhutan @Thimphu PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
The city of Thimphu is well designed and picturesque. The people are quite amicable and their lifestyle, slow paced. At one point then, we aliens, couldn't help but wonder at that pace but in hindsight, after years of returning to "main stream", it all feels so sustainable. Even the youngsters of Bhutan, much to our surprise, wanted to get back to their country after flying off shore for studies etc. We met one such young man at the Memorial Chortem, who sweetly introduced himself and disclosed that he had graduated from Dayanand Sagar College, Bangalore! Asked if he had plans to return to Bangalore, he politely denied and shared he was going to work with Druk Air, Bhutan's royal airlines. The same was the case with most youngsters we met at the shops or restaurants in Thimphu. Back then, in 2015, Thimphu had very few cafes or joints or other "hang-outs" for the "mainland" youth !
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| Little Bhutanese PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| With an elder offering her chants at the Memorial Chorten PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| If peace and contentment were to have a visage... PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Pangri Zampa Monastery bridge with the Buddha Dordenma in the backdrop PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
The next morning we set off to Dochula Pass and from there to Punakha, the old capital of Bhutan.
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| The aurora @Dochula Pass PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Pillar at the Dochula Pass PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| 108 stupas at the Dochula PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| One of the many stunning views from the Dochula Pass PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Just soak it in... @Dochula Pass PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Thimphu-Paro-Punakha Junction To the right is the banner of the much revered Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and the Queen consort Jetsun Pema PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| A view en-route Punakha PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Such a thrilling experience to cross the Punakha hanging bridge with ice cold waters gushing underneath PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Royal Bhutan Army Vehicle PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Punakha Dzong PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Punakha Dzong PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Boating and river rafting at the Punakha Dzong PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| A picture postcard view - @ Punakha Dzong PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Inside the Dzong PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Cloud art above the domes of the Dzong PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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| Entrance to the main Dzong area PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
After a good meal at the Chimi Lakhang Cafetaria and a good stroll in the surrounding fields, we retired to our hotel. The plan to was to trek up to the world famous Tiger's nest in Paro, early next morning but rains played spoil sport. So we had to drop the plan and late morning descend down from the very adorable mountain country.
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| PC: Kalirajan Subramanian |
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