Bhutan 09

Punakha

After the visit to Lama Drukpa Kunley’s monastery, we continued our journey to Punakha; arriving the village at about 6:40pm.

Punakha is located on the north-eastern side of Thimphu and about 71km away. En route, we went over the Dochu La (Pass) at 3,088m. At the pass, one can see the 108 chortens with many prayer flags around.

From Punakha, we continued our journey to Paro. Paro, lying south west of Punakha, is the only city in Bhutan with an airport.

En route to Paro, we visited Punakha Dzong and stopped over at Wangdue Phodrang for a break and a walk around the village. Unfortunately it was drizzling and windy.

Punakha Dzong
Punakha Dzong, located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (Man’s River) and the Mo Chhu (Woman’s River), was built in 1637.

One of the most picturesque fortresses dotting the landscape of Bhutan, Punakha Dzong once served as the seat of the government for many years when Punakha was the capital. Today, it serves as the winter residence of the national monastic body.

108 chortens at Dochu La (Pass)

Punakha Dzong – one of the most
picturesque fortresses of Bhutan

Shrouded in mist, the dzong appeared
to be even more mystical and mythical.

The dzong is 180m long, 72m wide,
housing some 600 monks.

Beautiful! Jacaranda trees are common in Bhutan

Wangdue Phodrang village (above and below)

Very misty day

Will There Be a Plane to Take Us to Kolkata?

Our last stop in Bhutan was Paro (2,280) and we spent three nights here.

While it is smaller in size and has a much smaller population than Thimphu (20,000 vs. 100,000), it is by far the most interesting place we had been so far in Bhutan. The hotel was also the best (see the section under ‘Hotel’).

About 65km south west of Thimphu, Paro is also the only town in Bhutan with airport. And being the one and only airport of the country, it also means there is no domestic flight.

The airport always looked so ‘empty’ and without aeroplanes (the airport is so strategically located that we often had to pass by wherever we went). We actually wondered if we were going to have a plane to fly us to Kolkata! Our guide Tshering assured us that there would be! But the fact remains that flights are often cancelled or delayed due to poor weather condition.

Aerial view of Paro town

Fertile valley, farmland everywhere (above and below)

The quaint old town in ‘black and white’

Shops in the ‘standard’ Bhutanese architectural design

Paro airport – airport without aeroplanes!
Rinpung Dzong (Paro Dzong) in the background

Dzong is Synonymous with Bhutan

Visiting dzong in Bhutan is unavoidable; dzongs are everywhere in Bhutan. After days of visiting ‘dzongs’, more dzongs are awaiting us when we arrived in Paro. Some felt ‘overdosed’ by them. For me, each dzong has its own character and its own story to tell.

Dzongs are buildings that function as both monasteries and fortresses. Traditionally, they have been the centres of both politics and religion and are host to many of the Tsechu festivals. (Tsechu – an annual festival comprising of dances in honour of Guru Rinpoche. The dances are performed by monks as well as lay people.)

Many of the interiors are not open to visitors, even if they are, generally no photographs are allowed.

Rinpung Dzong (Paro Dzong)
Rinpung Dzong is known as ‘Fortress on a heap of jewels’.

One of Bhutan’s strongest and most important fortresses, it was used on numerous occasions to fend the Paro Valley from invasions by Tibet.

The dzong was formerly the meeting hall for the National Assembly and now houses a monastic school and district government offices.

Kyichu Lhakhang (Temple)
One of the oldest and most sacred shrines of Bhutan, Kyichu Lhakhang was built in 659 by King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet. The building of this temple marks the introduction of Buddhism in Bhutan.

Ta Dzong
Ta Dzong, located further up the hill slope behind Rinpung Dzong, was once a watchtower. Since 1967, it became the National Museum of Bhutan, housing exhibits of thangkas, and other works of religion art, farming equipments, stamps, jewellery, traditional costumes and many others.

Rinpung Dzong (front), Da Dzong (behind on the hill slope)

Rinpung Dzong

Entrance to Rinpung Dzong

In the courtyard of Rinpung Dzong (above and below 3)

Kyichu Lhakhang

It was an auspicious day and the locals gathered
together to chant one million prayers and…

…prayer beads are used for the counting.

Ta Dzong

Haa Valley

Our visit to Taktsang Monastery was cancelled because of cloudy weather. We were told that it was too dangerous to go there (it was supposedly raining on the mountain area) and that we would go there the following day. We would visit Haa Valley (swapped the itinerary) instead.

Needless to say, we all were disappointed, ‘What if the weather tomorrow is not any better?’ Many of us asked. ‘That is the highlight of the trip and if we don’t go, our trip to Bhutan would not be complete,’ the moan and rumbling went on…

Our spirit was as gloomy as the overcast sky.

After the morning visit to other monasteries and having had our lunch, we headed for Haa Valley through the steep and winding mountain road.

The dull weather, the heavy lunch and the disappointment sent all of us to slumber land. The van suddenly came to live when someone said, ‘Look, is snowing!’ And yes, it sure was snowing and was getting heavier and heavier. (We really did not expect to see snow especially during this time of the year – mid-May.)

We decided to get down and enjoyed this special moment. Disappointment was washed away by the freshly fallen snow and our spirit was renewed!

‘Look, is snowing!’

Having fun…

Chelela Pass (3,988m) – highest point (above and below 2)

The snow brought cheers to the otherwise ‘disappointing’ day

Haa Valley – first opened to tourists in 2001

Haa – a small village with only one main road

Going back in time

Taktsang Monastery

Having been disappointed the day before with the unfavourable weather, the clear-cloudless-blue sky was a real treat to us and I welcomed it with wide open arms! Yes, we were going to Taktsang Monastery – the highlight of the trip.

We would horse-ride then walk / trek up to the cliff, 900m above the floor of Paro valley, where the monastery is located.

Taktsang Monastery is the most famous and striking monastery in Bhutan. Taktsang means ‘tiger’s nest’. Legend has it that the Guru (in the 8th century) flew to the site of the monastery on the back of a tigress and hence its name.

The monastery was destroyed in April 1998 (the first fire happened in 1951). It was reconstructed in 2000 and authentic replicas of the original structures had been built.

No photographs are allowed, not just inside the buildings but from outside as well. In fact, we had to leave all our belongings, including camera at a small check-post just before the final steps up to the monastery.

As we started to leave the monastery, it started to rain. Shower of blessing? And hail stones were pelting on my face and raincoat as I approached the car park. Despite getting wet, I was more than happy and satisfied that we made it.

About 1-hour of horse riding up to
the rest area (with a small tea-house where
drinks and biscuits were served) before
walking / trekking all the way to the monastery.