Land of the Thunder Dragon- 3 - The Tiger's Nest

It was quite a relief to wake up the next morning to good weather, no rain and was forecast and the slightly cloudy sky would mean that it wouldn't be too hot for the big walk up to Taktshang Goemba. 

From the car park we had a good view of the scale of the walk ahead of us, we could just see on the left hill a ridge with buildings where at 3140m we would get the best view of the Monastery then the steepness of the route down into a gorge then up again to the actual Tiger's Nest Monastery, it seemed quite a long way

There was an easy option to get at least part of the way up; hire a mule, but we declined preferring to get there under our own steam. Several of the mares had young foals who later we would see following their mum's on the route, they must be know the route extremely well by the time they're old enough to carry a person

 The path became very steep and we were glad it was dry as it must be quite slippery when wet

The trail climbed on through beautiful, scented blue pine trees

Every now and again we had to give way to ponies passing. Having completed their journey and depositing their riders the ponies are let go to make their own way back to the start

After about an hour we reached a large prayer wheel where we had a break

We started getting lovely views of the monastery,

 I thought it very inventive to make these little prayer wheels out of old drinks bottles

About another hour later we reached the viewpoint at 3140m. The Tiger's Nest looked so close, it was only 150m away but we still had to go down into the gorge and up the other side. 

 Legend says that Guru Rinpoche flew to the site where the monastery is now, on the back of a tigress to subdue a local demon. He then meditated in a cave on the rock face for three months. In 1692 the primary lhakhang was built around this holy cave. Tradition says that the building is anchored to the cliff face by the hairs of dakini (female celestial beings) who carried the building materials up on their backs. I'm not sure I believe this legend but it is certainly an incredible feat of building.

      Unfortunately Papa T was suffering with another bout of plantar fasciatis, he had done well to walk as high up as he had but he decided to rest his foot so stayed at the viewpoint with Jamtsho for              company whilst Tenzing and I went on. The path down was very steep and narrow but had a good handrail

 and then we were at the foot of the Tiger's Nest. Being the most revered site in Bhutan no bags, phones or cameras are allowed on the site so I only have my memories of what we saw. A maze of different small temples and narrow dark corridors, many steps up and down, monks blessing pilgrims, incense and hundreds of burning butter lamps, paintings and statues of Buddha and Guru Rinpoche and his eight manifestations

We were able to visit the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated, a set of magic daggers are preserved here behind a beautifully gilded door 

Having visited many of the temples, ( I don't know if we saw them all as it was such a confusing maze) and Tenzing had received another blessing we went back to the entrance and collected our bags, from here we had a lovely view of the Paro valley about 1000m below us 

 We headed back down the steep path, passed the lovely waterfall and the Singye Peiphu Lhakhang (Snow lion cave) which has a meditation retreat tucked into a rocky crevice, still in use there was a sign at the bottom of the path asking people not to enter or disturb those presently meditating there

We continued the path now going steeply up to rejoin Papa T and Jamtsho for lunch and one last photo at the viewpoint

Back down at the bottom of the trek Jamtsho offered us the opportunity to visit one last monastery, reputedly the oldest and one of the most beautiful in Bhutan, it seemed churlish to refuse. On the way we passed a man taking home a huge bundle of stalks, maybe fodder for his stock, a reminder of the resourcefulness of the people here and how hard they work

Kyichu Lhakhang is generally believed to have first been built in 659 to pin down the left foot of a giant ogress, additional buildings have been added over the years so from the outside it did not appear that old

 but once entered into the inner courtyard we came to the oldest part

 Outside was a lovely heavily decorated circular building, it looked newly built 

 Now I must admit we were both completely 'templed out'. We had only had an hour or so left before supper time and it was our last day in Bhutan. I mentioned to Jamtsho the one thing we still hadn't seen in  was some archery, Jamtsho had talked a few times about how he was a keen archer along with many of his friends and that this sport not only is the national sport of Bhutan but is generally played by almost all men all over the country and games will be hotly contested. 

 We arrived at the Paro playing field where a local tournament was in progress. Targets are placed 140m apart at both ends of the marked area, with the 'clubhouse' and score board mid way between. Several onlookers were watching the proceedings and there was clearly a lot of banter between the opposing teams.

 Jamtsho tried to explain the rules but I found it quite confusing, he mentioned that in Bhutan archery is considered a man's sport so is not played by women or children. He also said that a lot of drinking of alcohol goes on throughout the tournament as many believe this will improve their aim, however teammates will remove a player if his aim becomes too drunken to avoid anybody being shot by accident

Traditional bows made from bamboo have largely been replaced by highly technical compound bows, the archers aim was pretty good and when they hit anywhere near the centre of the target there was loud cheers from their team mates and jeers from the opposing team, it all seemed very good natured

That night we had a last Bhutanese meal and enjoyed a bottle of the locally produced wine, Vintria which was rather good. We went to bed early as had to be up at 5am to get our flight home the following morning. 

At the airport I noticed a large picture of the Royal family; the wonderfully titled Dragon King of Bhutan, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who came to the throne in 2006 at the age of 27. At his side is his wife, Queen Consort Jetsun Perma, a commoner whom he married in 2011 and between them their son, His Royal Higness The Gyalsey Crown Prince of Bhutan Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck born in February 2016. During our time in Bhutan we had seen many photos and paintings of the Royal family and had been told that they are universally respected and adored but the people.    

 Soon after take off we had a lovely last view of this fascinating country and it's beautiful mountains and hope one day to come back and spend more time exploring the Land of the Thunder Dragon

Land of the Thunder Dragon-2- to the heart of Bhutan

The following morning's sunrise was spectacular, with thick mist in the valley and the sun rising over the peaks

 From my bedroom window I watched as the valley below woke up

 We packed up again and after breakfast went first to visit the temple of Drukpa Kuenley, the infamous "Divine Madman". The temple was up a short but steep path

The entrance board explained as to why Lama Drukpa Kuenley is one of Bhutan's favourite saints, although his way of 'teaching' seemed bizarre to me

 the temple area was quiet with a few young monks sweeping away fallen leaves

 Tenzing rolled all of the prayer wheels and went inside to be blessed by the monk, Jamtsho joked that he must be praying for more children!

No photos are allowed to be taken inside the main parts of any temples, this one was small but heavily decorated with many statues of Dukpa Kuenley.

 At the temple door, with Jamtsho translating we chatted to a lovely young monk who shyly told us that he didn't like nor want to be a monk but had been sent here by his parents when he was only 6 years old. I felt quite sad for him but Jamtsho explained that his family may not have been able to afford to care for all their children and this boy would be fed, educated and well looked after in the monastery and when older he could decide if he wanted to leave or not 

The area around the temple was very peaceful with lots of wildflowers and pretty butterflies

 We got back in the car and passed more colourfully painted houses, many displaying the popular symbol to protect the household from evil 

 Further on we passed another butter-lamp fire damaged temple, the fire had happened quite recently but luckily had been stopped before damaging the main building and its beautiful paintings and treasures. Many temples and villages are on steep hills which must make fire-fighting very hard

 Soon after leaving Punakha the road began to change, we had been warned that our route might be slow and 'uncomfortable' as the main National East- West Highway was being widened to allow for two lanes, evidence of the work became apparent as first the 'black topping' (tarmac) disappeared

 then pot holes and land slides appeared more frequently, we had to travel very slowly which was a blessing as we were being thoroughly shaken about inside, thank goodness we were in a four wheel drive car. Fortunately there was little other traffic but when there was we had to inch slowly by each other, at times we drove so close to the edge of the road I could see right down to the river hundreds of feet below us, it was pretty frightening particularly as there were no barriers and parts of the road edges had crumbled away.

After a couple of hours we were very pleased to stop for lunch at a little hotel where we had the by now familiar lunch with lots of dishes, but this time including delicious momo's. Back outside we came across a little boy 'helping' his mum, he was very busy chopping up some leaves

with his wooden sword

We drove on and after a while left the National Highway and headed north to the Phobjikha valley, a beautiful bowl-shaped glacial valley and one of the most important wildlife preserves in the country

I was delighted to see some yaks, as it was now mid October they were just starting to come down from the high mountain pastures to winter in the more sheltered valley

They are such impressive beasts, we watched as this yak used his horns to gouge out the soil and grass to create a bigger spot for him to lie down in

 It was starting to feel much colder than it had been in Thimphu and we were pleased to put jumpers on, Jamtsho said that in the mid winter this valley would be cut off by snow. We passed through a village where the children were getting a lift back from school 

 and then stopped off to visit Gangtey Goemba, a Buddhist monastery originally built over 450 years ago. Much of the woodwork has been replaced in recent years due to beetle-larvae infestation damage

 Some buildings appeared quite unchanged from how they must have been when first built 

 The carvings and paintings on some of the buildings were beautifully intricate

 As a monk walked across the courtyard he started to dance, possibly practising his steps from the last Tsechu (festival) that had been held a few weeks ago

near by some other monks were at their studies, I think we accidentally distracted them

After visiting the monastery we walked back through the village main street, it felt a bit like we had stepped back in time with the simple streets, paths and houses. There was no noise, just the occasional bark from a dog

 The winter wood store seemed well stocked and herbs laid out to dry at many houses

 We left the road and headed down the valley to walk the rest of the way to our hotel, a couple of hours walk away.

It was lovely to stretch our legs and see some of the countryside and flowers up close

We came across this prayer wheel which is commonly see in Bhutan and other Buddhist countries. They are set up by streams and rivers so that prayers are being constantly send on their way to heaven

                    Further on a tractor chugged passed us with with a group of potato pickers in the trailer 

and then a truck laden with sacks of potatoes. The Phobjikha valley and Gangtey area's main cash crop is now potatoes which are then exported to India and this previously remote and poor valley has become quite prosperous

It was by now getting really cold, we spotted a hoopoe snuggling close into a wall

We walked through some lovely pine woods, but it was a little unnerving to be told that this area had many snow leopards and wild boar 

In the winter months the leopards and boar commonly came to the villages to hunt, it would have been fantastic to have seen a leopard but sadly we didn't. 

 We came across some white prayer flags, left there in memory of someone who has died, generally 108 will be placed on a hillside for the wind to blow the prayers 

 We made it down and across the marshy valley floor being grazed by cattle and ponies, I couldn't help but think 'leopard food' unless they get brought in at night!

 we were delighted to find a welcoming fire in the hotel dining room 

 and better still a wood burning stove inside our bedroom which they kindly lit for us. Only in somewhere like Bhutan could you have a real fire in a guest bedroom in a wooden building, UK health and safety bods would surely have fainted!

 That evening we and the other hotel guests ate supper by candle light as the hotel had a succession of power cuts, and without electrical heating working we were very grateful for not only the thick blankets on our bed but the wood burner in our room.
The following morning the weather had deteriorated and we woke to rain and mist, it felt cold and was very reminiscent of the UK on a grey autumnal day

Before we left the valley we visited the Black Neck Crane centre. The Phobjikha valley is one of a  few winter reserves where this rare Crane migrates to for the winter having spent the summer in the mountains of Tibet.  

The Black Necked Crane usually starts arriving in this valley from the end of October but we had the opportunity to see one which unfortunately had damaged it's wing the previous year, preventing it from flying so it could not migrate back to Tibet for the summer. The centre had built a temporary pen for it and were fund raising so that they can build a much bigger permanent home for him. He looked rather sad and lonely in-spite of having his reflection in the mirror to keep him company, hopefully his friends would arrive soon and that would cheer him up

It was then back in the car and back onto the East West Highway and continue our perilous journey heading deeper into Bhutan!

It had been raining all night and was still raining, the road were very slippery which increased my anxiety as we sometimes slipped towards the cliff edge 

and had a view of the wooded valley a long way below. The mountainside and it's forest, part of the Black Mountains, Jamtsho told us, was rarely visited and had no villages on it as the locals believe a demoness lives there

Although a Saturday occasionally we passed an area that was being worked on, this digger was perched on the side of the road whilst it drilled out the rock in front of it

 Now and again the mist cleared and we stopped for breaks. We stopped to see Chendebji chorten, designed in the same style as Swayambhunath in Kathmandu, Nepal, and built here to cover the remains of an evil spirit that was killed here

 Further on we could just make out the dzong at Trongsa, partially hidden in the mist

 We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant and the mist cleared so we had a good view of how vast this dzong is and in what an incredible place it has been built, perched on a cliff

 It was another hour's drive before we reached the dzong. It was still drizzling, we were running behind time and still had a long way to drive before reaching our destination for the night so we only had time for a fairly brief visit

the dzong seemed pretty deserted, maybe the monks were inside keeping dry or perhaps they had not arrived yet, Jamtsho said that in the summer the monks live in the dzong in Bumthang then move to Trongsa dzong for the winter

Inside one of the temples there were some more beautiful paintings and thanks and Jamtsho explained the Buddhist Wheel of Life

 There may not have been any monks around but monkeys however were in residence and climbing over the buildings searching for ways of getting inside

We left the monkeys to their peace and quiet and continued slowly and carefully on to the Bumthang Valley, crossing over the Yotong La pass (3425m). By the time we reached our hotel it was dark, the 120km journey from Phobjikha to Bumthang which should have taken around 5 hours had taken 9 hours!

The hotel was a bit soulless and almost empty of other guests but the host was friendly. He gave us a decent supper of locally grown buckwheat noodles and vegetables. Our wooden clad bedroom was clean and warm and it had a lovely view. During the night I woke a few times to the sounds of barking dogs or worse still scratching, I have a horrid feeling that we were not the only residents in the room!

 The following morning Tenzing was busy finishing cleaning the car of all the mud it had collected yesterday, whilst chatting to him I asked the question that I hadn't dared ask the day before, "are there many accidents on that road"? He surprised me by saying very few as not many vehicles use it now it's so bad, he also said that he was a self taught driver! I was glad I hadn't know those things before the drive.
Next to our hotel were fruit orchards and grazing cattle, a lovely rural scene and the weather was beautiful again, with blue skies and cool fresh air

We were scheduled to spend the day in the area visiting a few more temples and monasteries, Papa T's appetite for more temples was waning but he agreed to come along. First stop was Tamshing Goemba (Monastery), established in 1501 by Pema Lingpa

Pema Lingpa we were told was a blacksmith but became known for his discovery of many sacred texts,statues and relics hidden by Guru Rinpoche in caves, rocks and lakes but unfortunately I can't recall why these things were hidden in the first place

Inside there was a metal chain link 'robe' made by Pema Lingpa over 600 years ago. Devotees wear it as they circumambulate the temple whilst making their prayers, all acts that will gain them more merit. It was very heavy and I declined the offer of putting it on

The goemba was quite busy with locals making their devotions

and several seemed keen to chat with us, well with Jamtsho, this friendly old man showed his prayer beads and the elderly lady showed us a boot shaped rock painted in yellow which I think she was suggesting had been somehow been left by Pema Lingpa

Next stop was to the nearby and very impressive Kurjey Lhakhang, named after the body print of Guru Rinpoche which is preserved in a cave inside the oldest part of the temple complex

 Papa T's patience for temples no matter how impressive was seriously running low plus every time we entered any of the sacred places we had to take our shoes off which is a bit boring if you have lace up shoes on

so I explored the interior of the Lhakhang and it's beautiful ancient paintings

Outside the beautiful monastery 

We walked from the monastery across a field full of prayer flags 

 and across the river

 on the other side of the river people were hard at work cutting the rice

 and in one corner of the field, the rice was taken to be threshed

 then just down the track a young lady was winnowing some grains, letting the air blow away the chaff and the clean rice fall into the mat below. It felt like we had just had a lesson in rice harvesting

 In the distance we could see our next stop, Jakar Dzong, perched on top of a hill. Jakar Dzong is one of the biggest dzongs in Bhutan with surrounding walls of about 1km in circumference

We walked through the narrow doorway and entered a large courtyard

where monks were dancing, again practising for the dzong forthcoming tsechu (religious dance festival) in a few weeks. For the festival the dancers would wear spectacular and theatrical masks and elaborate clothing

there was only one musician, crashing his cymbals to a beat

the dancing seemed quite meditative, with occasional leaps and fast turning in circles to allow their robes to splay out 

More dancers came on, dancing rhythmically and meditatively

this group's speciality seemed to be bending over backwards as far as possible without losing balance

We started to feel really cold standing still watching, and were amazed that the monks were bare foot, hopefully their dancing kept them warm.  Leaving the monks to practice in peace we explored the dzong's narrow corridors

 and now thoroughly chilled decided it was time to head back for the night. I walked the last mile or so back to the hotel, it was just so lovely to be in such a quiet and peaceful place with beautiful countryside around me

The cows here are so used to wandering wherever they want they just stand in the road and the cars have to go round 

 it made me laugh when I looked closely at the post in the field of buckwheat

Back at the hotel, we had a quiet evening playing cribbage and watching what looked like Bhutan's equivalent of The X Factor on the TV. We said goodnight to Jamtsho and Tenzing who would be leaving in the early hours of the morning to drive back to Paro, Papa T and I felt a bit guilty but also rather thankful that would not be re-doing this long and arduous journey as we were booked to fly back the following afternoon

The next morning, our last in central Bhutan, the hotel owner kindly offered to act as our driver and guide for the day. He dropped us into the centre of town, which consisted of 2 main streets with a few shops and cafes

and a market where this lady was selling buckwheat grain and the delicious red rice that we had been enjoying at some meal, much tastier than white rice.

 most of the buildings were beautifully decorated as is the custom, this shop was particularly pretty

 and of course a shop for the monks to buy their robes

we came across what seemed to be the village community centre and playing field where a group of men were chatting whilst watching 

some of their friends dancing. Bhutan famously instead of measuring the country's growth economics by GDP (Gross Domestic Product) it uses Gross National Happiness. Based on Buddhist and human values the GNH index places value on things like cultural heritage, health, education, good governance, ecological diversity and individual wellbeing. The people we had so far met and seen certainly all seemed very happy and content, although I suspect like anywhere Bhutan has it's issues. Earlier Jamtsho had mentioned that drug and alcohol abuse were a problem and some young people were looking to move abroad for more modern opportunities

A couple of hours later our hotelier friend picked us up and offered to take us to the Burning Lake, which sounded too good to miss. We drove away from the town and up the deserted wooded valley for a few miles and then walked down a track into a gorge lined with flags

until we came to Mebar Tsho, Burning Lake, a sacred place for pilgrims. Following a dream instructing him what to do, Pema Lingpa (the treasure finder) in 1476, went to this spot and looking into the water saw a temple below, he jumped into the lake with a burning lamp, and came out with the lamp still burning and with a sacred statue, script and ritual skull 

 We looked hard but couldn't see anything but rocks in the small but deep lake

Later in the day we were taken to Bumthang Airport to catch our flight back, the main road to the airport was almost as rugged as the East West Highway!

and the airport was beautifully simple with a fantastic view 

 of Jakar Dzong

 our little plane appeared, weaving it's way down the valley, through the hills

 the flight was quite an experience with close up views of how mountainous this country is

 sadly it was quite cloudy so we couldn't see the Himalayas in the distance but we had fantastic views of little villages in the valleys and dzongs perched on the hilltops

 Back in Paro we checked into our hotel for our last two nights, I found it hard to sleep, I was so excited because the following morning we were due to walk up to see what must be Bhutan's most famous sight-the Taktsheng or Tiger's Nest Monastery.