emydura
Well-Known Member
Last October I got to fulfil one of my dreams when my family and I were able to visit the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. I’ve wanted to go there for years but the complexity and expense of getting there never enabled us to. Well the planets aligned last October and we go to spend a whole month in Bhutan. For those of you who know anything about Bhutan, it is like going back in time to another era. They have retained much of their culture but at the same time have not shut themselves entirely from the western world. In fact they were more advanced than I expected. Most people (especially the young) can speak English as this is the language that their schooling is taught in. The people looked healthy. I never saw the poverty I see in other Himalayan regions. Even the stray dogs looked healthy.
The thing that strikes you most about Bhutan is the stunning landscapes – snow peaked mountains, crystal clear rivers, heavily forested hillsides and lush valleys. The Bhutanese have a very enlightened view of the environment. Development is minimal and the plan is to retain at least 70% of the forests. I think it currently stands at 75%.
I haven’t been to many countries but of those I have Bhutan is my favourite. I did speak to an English girl who had been to 80 countries and she ranked Bhutan as number one. I can’t wait till I return.
I have created two posts. One for the general holiday around Bhutan and one for the two treks I went on. Not a lot of people get to see this amazing country, so I hope you enjoy the photos.
From the moment you get off the plane at Paro Airport you are surrounded by stunning scenery. Here you can see the beautiful Paro Dzong (just above the plane) and the mountains on the background.
Paro is where most westerners base themselves. A beautiful wide fertile valley that is close to many of the tourist destinations.
From Paro it is not too far to get to the most famous landmark in Bhutan – Paro Taktsang or Tigers Nest. An amazing monastery built into the cliff. It is a steep 3-4 walk to get to the top but worth every effort.
For the first two weeks in particular, we got a lot of afternoon showers which resulted in some amazing light shows.
The capital city is Thimpu which is about a 90 minute drive from Paro. Thimpu is a much narrower valley hence the airport being in Paro. The population of Thimpu is around 100,000; Bhutan 800,000. We were based in Thimpu staying with our friends. It is a lovely city flanked by high mountains. The Thimpu river that flows through the valley is crystal clear. The altitude is similar to Paro, about 2300 meters.
The national sport of Bhutan is archery. Everywhere you go there are people out on archery fields firing arrows. Some of these are just friendly practice matches others are serious competitions with big prizes (like the photo below). The amazing thing about the archery is the target distance 145 metres. I could barely see the target they were firing at (you can see the target behind the archer in the photo below). Our friend was a very good archer. He stepped up and hit the target three times out of four shots. I was just dumbfounded.
Here is a Bhutanese couple wearing the traditional Bhutanese outfit (kira for female and gho for males). When you walk around Bhutan a very high proportion of the people are wearing these outfits. It is actually compulsory for the Bhutanese to wear the kira and gho for cultural performances, for public servants, school children, entering public service offices, entering temples etc. My family wore the outfits when we went to the cultural festival above. The outfits can be amazing with many hand sewn from pure silk. They can weigh a tonne and cost a fortune. We all brought one back to Australia with us.
We got to see some of the Thimphu tshechu festival while we were there. Lots of dancing, music and costumes/masks. This is Thimpu Dzong.
Thimpu Dzong during the day and the night
We had a day trip to the beautiful Haa Valley which is in western Bhutan. Here you can see the traditional Bhutanese houses. In some parts of Bhutan it is compulsory to build houses in the traditional design. Bhutan often gets compared with Switzerland and you can see why.
Some monks praying in the early morning at a monastery above Thimpu.
The thing that strikes you most about Bhutan is the stunning landscapes – snow peaked mountains, crystal clear rivers, heavily forested hillsides and lush valleys. The Bhutanese have a very enlightened view of the environment. Development is minimal and the plan is to retain at least 70% of the forests. I think it currently stands at 75%.
I haven’t been to many countries but of those I have Bhutan is my favourite. I did speak to an English girl who had been to 80 countries and she ranked Bhutan as number one. I can’t wait till I return.
I have created two posts. One for the general holiday around Bhutan and one for the two treks I went on. Not a lot of people get to see this amazing country, so I hope you enjoy the photos.
From the moment you get off the plane at Paro Airport you are surrounded by stunning scenery. Here you can see the beautiful Paro Dzong (just above the plane) and the mountains on the background.
Paro is where most westerners base themselves. A beautiful wide fertile valley that is close to many of the tourist destinations.
From Paro it is not too far to get to the most famous landmark in Bhutan – Paro Taktsang or Tigers Nest. An amazing monastery built into the cliff. It is a steep 3-4 walk to get to the top but worth every effort.
For the first two weeks in particular, we got a lot of afternoon showers which resulted in some amazing light shows.
The capital city is Thimpu which is about a 90 minute drive from Paro. Thimpu is a much narrower valley hence the airport being in Paro. The population of Thimpu is around 100,000; Bhutan 800,000. We were based in Thimpu staying with our friends. It is a lovely city flanked by high mountains. The Thimpu river that flows through the valley is crystal clear. The altitude is similar to Paro, about 2300 meters.
The national sport of Bhutan is archery. Everywhere you go there are people out on archery fields firing arrows. Some of these are just friendly practice matches others are serious competitions with big prizes (like the photo below). The amazing thing about the archery is the target distance 145 metres. I could barely see the target they were firing at (you can see the target behind the archer in the photo below). Our friend was a very good archer. He stepped up and hit the target three times out of four shots. I was just dumbfounded.
Here is a Bhutanese couple wearing the traditional Bhutanese outfit (kira for female and gho for males). When you walk around Bhutan a very high proportion of the people are wearing these outfits. It is actually compulsory for the Bhutanese to wear the kira and gho for cultural performances, for public servants, school children, entering public service offices, entering temples etc. My family wore the outfits when we went to the cultural festival above. The outfits can be amazing with many hand sewn from pure silk. They can weigh a tonne and cost a fortune. We all brought one back to Australia with us.
We got to see some of the Thimphu tshechu festival while we were there. Lots of dancing, music and costumes/masks. This is Thimpu Dzong.
Thimpu Dzong during the day and the night
We had a day trip to the beautiful Haa Valley which is in western Bhutan. Here you can see the traditional Bhutanese houses. In some parts of Bhutan it is compulsory to build houses in the traditional design. Bhutan often gets compared with Switzerland and you can see why.
Some monks praying in the early morning at a monastery above Thimpu.
