One can hear the music of the river and feel the serenity of the mountains in this land called Bhutan
Thimpu
This is the capital city and our 1st stop in
Bhutan. Landed in Paro city and drove to Thimpu. It felt like one just has to
follow the river to reach the destination! Paro Chhu, the river from Paro led
us to Wang Chhu, the river of Thimpu and that’s how we got there. Thimpu was a
surprise! As the capital city, we expected it to be big and bustling. It was
hardly that! The city seems to be the base of a mountain and the size of 3-4
blocks! I would say that it is the cultural capital having all the
administrative houses and the King’s residence. I say residence rather than
palace, because from a view point, the fortress looks bigger than the king’s
residence and I heard that the king lives simple.
The fortresses in Bhutan are the most beautiful sight one
can encounter! There is one fortress in every district. These fortresses are
called as Dzongs. They can serve as monasteries or administrative or both
together. Every Dzong is similar in architecture. In fact, every building in
Bhutan is similar in architecture. Bhutan believes in preserving its
architecture and does not allow for changes in style. All the dzongs have a
courtyard, temple, administrative offices and accommodation for monks. Dzongs
are the most interesting among all the sights in Bhutan. These dzongs serve as
fotresses and each of of them is situated in a strategic location. Dzongs were
established by Ngawang Namgyal, known as Zhabdrung Rinpoche. He and his
successors built the fortresses in order to unify Bhutan. These fortresses are
present in all the strategic locations of Bhutan. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel is
the most revered figure in Bhutan. He established religious unity through
Buddhism. He is the 3 most important figure in Buddhism in Bhutan, after
Gouthama Buddha and guru Padmasambava.
Bhutan has an interesting mix on power and spirituality.
Observe the nation’s flag to recognise the duality in leadership.
Thimpu is also the place on Great Buddha Dordenma, said to
be the world’s largest sitting Buddha with a height of a little more than 50
metres. Situated high on the mountains, this statue can be seen from anywhere
in the city. The statue is made of bronze and gilded with gold.
Takin reserve holds the national animal of Bhutan, Takin. It
is a protected species which looks like it has the head of a goat and the body
of an ox!
Thimpu also has a textile museum which describes the history
of weavers. Tradition attire for men is called Gho and for women it’s called a
Kira. I went shopping for Kira and found that it’s quite costly, since its
handwoven.
Punakha
Going out of Thimpu to Punakha needed a separate permit and
our driver obtained it for us. It was around 4 hours by road. It was a bumpy
ride owing to bad road condition. We stopped on the way to visit the fertility
temple, Chimi L'hakhang Temple . We had to hike up to the temple in the hot sun
and we felt it could have been skipped, especially on a hot afternoon! Evening
found us at a river side resort in Punakha having a conversation with the
river.
Punakha was the earlier capital on Bhutan and is now
popularly called as the winter capital.
Located at the confluence of Phu Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers,
this is the Punakha Dzong is the most beautiful Dzong in Bhutan.
We spent a day to travel to Phobhjikha valley, which is the
home to the black necked cranes. However, we caught no sight of them since they
migrate only in late October. Although the valley is beautiful, the roads were
bad and the drive was not worth it without the sighting of the famous birds.
Paro
There is only 1 way between these 3 cities so we retraced
our steps, Punakha - Thimpu - Paro. Paro is a sight filled with paddy fields
and sounded by the Paro Chhu river.
We reached in afternoon and went straight to the Dzong after lunch. By now, we
could recognize a Dzong from a distance. This Dzong however, had more monks.
Next day, we decided to trek to Tigers nest locally known as Taksang - the most iconic spot in all of Bhutan. One does not experience Bhutan until you have hiked to this monastery!
It's a long and strenuous hike but the view is worth it! However, go only if you want to hike for about 2-3 hours up and 1.5 to 2 hours down. I struggled both uphill and downhill.
Food at Bhutan!
We tried the famous Bhutanese dish, Ema Datshi. It’s made of
green chillies and cheese!! It was fund trying this out with the local red
rice. We also had Thupka which is a Tibetian noodle soup widely available here.
Indian dishes are also easily available here! In every hotel we stayed we found
the kitchen staff friendly and accommodating, much better than the staff at the
lobby!
Veg Thupka
Ema Datshi
Some trivia collected!
- Chhu means clear water
- Ngultrum is the currency and is equivalent to Indian Rupees. Indian currency is widely accepted in Bhutan.
- Dzongkha is the language in Bhutan. However, most everyone speak English as it is part of their school curriculum.
- India has friendly relationship with Bhutan. An Indian would need just an entry permit, election ID card would be sufficient; you don’t need a passport to go to Bhutan!
- Bhutan economy is driven by hydroelectricity followed by tourism.
- Bhutan has opened up to foreigners only about 4 decades back.
- Roadways are still under development and would be in a good shape by 2020.
