Nov 12, 2012 - Lighting Butter Lamps, Chele La Pass, and The National Sport of Bhutan

Nov 12 (Mon.) Bhutan Day 6 Lighting Butter Lamps, Chele La Pass, and The National Sport of Bhutan This morning we were well rested from our climb to the Tiger's Nest and had no more climbing scheduled on foot. After breakfast, we drove the short distance to a temple where we were blessed by a monk and later, lighted butter lamps. Bhutan has become more safety conscious in recent years after many disastrous fires started by these traditional 108 butter lamps that have destroyed temples. Now there are just a few lamps inside the temple and...

Nov 11, 2012 - Paro and Tiger's Nest Monastery

Nov 11 (Sun) Bhutan Day 5 Paro and Tiger's Nest Monastery Today is the day we made the 5 mile round trip up the mountain to the most famous Temple in Bhutan, The Tiger's Nest. Guru Rinpoche was an actual historical figure, from the 8th century and is credited with bringing Buddhism to Bhutan. He was transported to the cliffside site on the back of a flying tiger, where a monastery was later built - thus the name. It was a short drive from our hotel (where we could see the monastery from our room). There were a lot of people at the base in...

Nov 10, 2012 - Back over the pass and to Paro

Nov 10 (Sat.) Bhutan Day 4 Back over the pass and to Paro As we sat down to breakfast, the morning fog above the mountains cleared just enough to see the orb of the rising sun. Our first stop was to the fortress, Punkha Dzong, which is both a monastery and a national government office. Because of the mild temperatures, this is the site of the winter palace. Our guide had to put on his administrative sash when entering this structure. However, it was Saturday and there were no government workers on site since they have the weekend off. For...

Nov 9, 2012 - Bhutan Day 3 Dochula Pass, Pana Village - Punakha

Nov 9 (Fri.) Bhutan Day 3 Dochula Pass, Pana Village - Punakha After the workout of yesterday, we were told we would have it much easier at a lower altitude (3,000 feet) in a lush valley. We also started at 9AM so we had time to rest and build up the energy for the Tiger's Nest climb in a couple of days. As the van negotiated the switchbacks, we passed a roadside market where besides apples and oranges, we saw a large hanging bunch of strings of yak cheese which was described as chewy and not too appetizing. It was just over an hour to...

Nov 8, 2012 - Bhutan Day 2 Tango Gompa Monastery Climb & Arts & Crafts School

Nov. 8 (Thur.) Bhutan Day 2 Tango Gompa Monastery Climb & Arts & Crafts School We rose to a frosty morning at our hotel in Thimphu, had a good breakfast and met with our guide, driver, and Tom & Lois at the civilized hour of 9AM. We headed by minivan out to the beginning of our "warm up" hike to a monastery on the top of a small mountain. On our way to the trailhead, we passed a gigantic painting on the face of the rock along the side of the road. Besides stopping to take a picture of the painting, we had to wait until a dump truck...

Nov 7, 2012 - Bhutan Day 1 Thinphu - the Capitol

Nov 7 (Wed.) Bhutan Day 1 Thinphu The skilled Druk Airlines pilot threaded our Airbus 319 through the mountains on the final approach to the Paro Airport (the only one in Bhutan). No other airline is allowed to land or take off from Bhutan because of the skill needed to navigate through these Himalaya obstacles. After clearing customs and immigration, we met our guide for the week, Tshering Wangchuk. The other two members of our group (Lois and Tom) were scheduled to arrive later in the afternoon, so we went directly to Thinpu with several...

Nov 2, 2012 - Leaving Bhutan - fabulous take-off from Paro

Worth taking a few snaps was our take-off from Paro. An exhilarating circuitous climb out of Paro valley - we also managed to catch a brief (hazy) glimpse of Kathamndu about an hour later. We flew over Nepal for most of the way to Delhi where we were greeted with thick fog and a weird, orange sun. Namaste, India.

Nov 1, 2012 - Tiger's Nest

Takstang Pelphung, known as Tiger's Nest. A truly stunning place, the almost vertical uphill trek for two hours is definitely worth it. According to legend the originator of the spread of Buddhism across the Himalayas, Guru Padmasambhava, flew here in the 8th century on the back of a tigress to subdue negative influences. One of his students, Pelgyi Senge, meditated in a cave here for 3 months, a Stupa at the cave holds his mortal remains. In 1692 the two-levelled Temple here today was built by one of a long-line of continuing reincarnates...

Oct 31, 2012 - Chelala - highest pass in the mountains above Paro

Firstly, a few pics from one of our early morning strolls nearby the Hotel. Afterwards we took the opportunity to drive to Chelala (at least Yum Raj did, anyway!). Chelala is the highest road pass in Bhutan at just under 4000m. 35kms and about an hour later from Paro, all uphill. Despite the altitude we enjoyed a beautiful clear, warm and still visit to the pass. Made all the more mysterious and beautiful with its abundance of prayer flags - some for good luck, some for the memory of relatives. To top it off, the mountain and valley vistas...

Oct 31, 2012 - Paro's Kichu Lhakhang Temple and back to the Dzong for another visit

The first four pics in this group are from a charming Temple known as Kichu Lhakhang, one of Bhutan's oldest built in the 7th century and located within Paro itself. An extremely dark and tiny Temple, the 1400 year-old murals inside are fantastically preserved. From photo #5 we're back up at Paro's majestic Dzong (main Temple), this time we're able to gain entry and explore the inner sanctums of Bhutanese monk life. I've mentioned before that photography inside the temples themselves is not permitted, and having seen the magnificence of...

Oct 31, 2012 - Now to Paro - summer capital of Bhutan

After a wonderful couple of days in Thimphu we head back to Paro to explore the country's summer capital. Much smaller in size and population, spread along a stunning rice terraced valley. Along with the rice we see several apple orchards emerging, an industry now bringing in more income than rice, and we're told that Tasmanian horticulturalists have been sharing the knowledge with the Bhutanese to farm apple varieties suitable and sensitive to this region's ecology and climate. Paro is home to the famous Tiger's Nest Temple, the dizzying...

Oct 30, 2012 - Thimphu

What a fab place Bhutan is - Thimphu is a marvellous capital city. Brilliant sights everywhere, majority of nationals wearing traditional clothes really makes it. Our morning walks really opened up the local way of things for us, watching this quaint, almost medieval city waking up was a delight. Bhutan's Tasichho Dzong ("Blue Stone" Dzong, or temple) in Thimphu is a sight to behold. The architecture and stunning artefacts, murals and tankas inside the temple (understandably unable to be photgraphed) dictate life as the Bhutanese know it...