New Bhutan Journey Information

A Himalayan Kingdom that has solely been open to the skin world for the reason that 1974, and a rustic that measures success by Gross Nationwide Happiness, Bhutan has at all times fascinated us. Including to the intrigue of “The Land of the Thunder Dragon,” they took pandemic precautions to a brand new stage and closed their borders for the final 2.5 years. The nation lastly opened to guests on September twenty third, 2022…however by way of a sequence of governmental hoops and a stroke of magic, we have been invited in early to assist present that Bhutan is again and higher than ever. In the course of the 916 days with out guests, the dominion took that quiet time to shine each aspect of its tourism sector, together with countrywide lodge renovations, transportation enhancements, and personnel coaching. In addition they furthered their dedication of being a carbon-negative nation with a slew of latest sustainability initiatives—from an electrical taxi fleet to the Million Tree Undertaking. It was an unbelievable honor to be among the many first vacationers to expertise the “New Bhutan” and canopy the story for Travel & Leisure, and now (in juicier element) for our HoneyTrek followers. From trekking to the well-known Tiger’s Nest to flying within the cockpit over Mount Everest, becoming a member of a masks dance competition, glamping at 12,000 toes, river rafting previous Seventeenth-century fortresses, sleeping in Buddhist temples, planting timber, to sharing tea with nomadic cow herders, we’ve bought rather a lot to share in our new Bhutan journey information.
 

Flying within the Cockpit with Druk Air

Touring from the US to Qatar to India to Bhutan, it was tempting to cross out on the final leg, however we weren’t about to sleep by way of this legendary flight over the Himalayas—or miss out on Druk Air’s first-class service. Our flight attendants in formal Bhutanese costume, delivered champagne and chilled towels, and mentioned “Whenever you’re completed, the captain would love you to hitch him within the cockpit for takeoff.” Say wha? This may be extraordinary on any post-9/11 flight, however the journey to Paro, Bhutan additionally occurs to be one of many world’s most technical routes. To make the descent between the 18,000-foot peaks, down a slender valley and a really brief runway, it may well solely be achieved in the course of the day, manually, and by lower than two dozen licensed pilots on the earth, however we didn’t let that fear us. Captain Kinga Tshering and First Officer Tashi Tshering welcomed us with smiles and full-body seat belt directions. As soon as we hit cruising altitude the captain confirmed us a listing of the ten tallest mountains on the earth, he mentioned, “We’ll cross by 5 of them, together with Everest.” Then piercing by way of the clouds, we noticed the peaks usually reserved for the world’s biggest climbers. I virtually wept. We returned to our seats for a beautiful lunch of veggie stir fry, accompanied by Bhutan’s signature crimson rice beer. Because the flight attendant cleared our plates, she provided us quite a lot of worldwide newspapers to learn or the selection to return to the cockpit for touchdown. We almost jumped out of our seat and joined the pilots for the descent with lush inexperienced mountains at eye stage and an airport that seemed extra like a gilded palace. We landed in with no bump and had an awesome feeling…that is gonna be a visit like no different. Watch our TikTok video, the place we bought to do the identical cockpit flight in reverse.

Our Bridge to Bhutan Household

We exited the Paro airport and our Bridge to Bhutan guides, met us with conventional white silk scarves and our chariot for the following 18 days collectively. We don’t usually do multi-day excursions, however Bhutan is exclusive in that licensed guides are required to journey exterior the 2 main cities, plus we actually related with Bridge to Bhutan as a journey firm. Based by two Bhutanese brothers, Fin & Lotay, who studied Worldwide Sustainable Improvement and Environmental Research, and are available from a household that has labored in each tourism and the federal government, they’re deeply dedicated to the way forward for sustainable journey in Bhutan. We’d been chatting with Lotay on Instagram since 2019, so by the point we arrived in Bhutan it was actually like visiting previous mates. We reached Pamtsho Hotel, and Fin, Auntie Uygen, Uncle Tsewang, and a number of cousins, ushered us in for a vegan feast of their new restaurant. We have been their first lodge visitors since 2020. Over bottomless bowls of pumpkin soup, garlic roasted greens, ginger-fried rice, Sichuan pepper tofu, and many chilies, we chatted out our upcoming journey. Not simply pulling from a inventory itinerary, the staff was wanting on the newest street situations, climate, cultural happenings, and familial ceremonies,to craft probably the most dynamic journey for our journey model.
 

Thimphu: Bhutan’s Capital

The “massive” metropolis of Thimphu is ready in a beautiful valley, anchored by their Thirteenth-century dzong (a fortified monastery) and a small downtown of ~115,000 individuals. Whereas the capital is quickly increasing, it nonetheless doesn’t have a single stoplight and it actually hasn’t misplaced its sense of custom. New buildings are contructed with Bhutan’s conventional woodworking and adorned with colourful Buddhist motifs. Strolling round downtown most residents swear the nationwide costume, a robe-like “gho” for males and lengthy “kira” skirts for ladies, wanting impeccable whether or not they’re operating a financial institution or a fruit stall. We liked our time wandering the hilly streets, nibbling our method by way of the momo dumpling stalls, watching artisans on the Thimphu Handicraft Market, catching an archery event on the Changlimithang Stadium, and sampling meals on the new riverside farmer’s market. For the perfect views of town, we headed as much as Kuensel Phodrang Hill to see The Nice Buddha Dordenma (one of many largest sitting Buddhas on the earth) and get a really feel for the topography of Bhutan, a nation constructed into the slopes of the Himalayas and gathered collectively in its valleys. To the perfect locations to go within the capital metropolis, see our Thimphu Facebook gallery.
 

Bhutan Postal Museum

This may sound obscure, but when there’s one museum it’s essential to go to in Thimphu, it’s the Postal Museum. Along with Bhutan’s fascinating historical past of communication, from the mountain mail runners (the one supply possibility till the Sixties) to the arrival of the payphone within the Nineties, it’s additionally an important overview of how Bhutan transitioned into the trendy world. Largely beginning with King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (the third of 5 kings up to now) who introduced roads, a public transportation system, and worldwide mail service to the nation by 1968. The fourth king, noticed his nation opening up and sought a approach to proceed modernizing whereas nonetheless honoring custom. He got here up with the idea of Gross Nationwide Happiness as their measurement of success and guiding drive within the face of globalization. With a powerful sense of nationwide id, he handed the crown to the current king, His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel, to usher in a extra progressive period with a democratic constitutional monarchy (that means the king is head of state, govt energy is vested within the cupboard, and residents can vote). And OMG do the Bhutanese love their king and royal household. Now that his function is much less mired in governmental duties, the king is concentrated on doing every thing he can to make his individuals joyful and appears to be doing an important job at it. Plus, the Bhutan Postal Museum holds a stamp assortment like no different…scented, singing, 3D, selfie stamps, and different uniquely Bhutanese postage.
 

Haa Valley Homestay

When Fin obtained an invitation for an annual home blessing ceremony in his household’s ancestral village, we bee-lined to Haa Valley. This western district was a restricted space till 2003 and lots of the mountain villages are solely now getting roads…together with their village of Dorikha. Fin and Lotay’s mom grew up right here in a nomadic cow herding household, transferring between their summer time and wintering grounds on foot and sheltering in stone huts in between. She now lives in Thimphu, however typically returns to be with the herd and reconnect with mountain life, like she did this week. Driving the unpaved switchback roads to 10,000 toes, we reached Dorikha and the household farmhouse. We spent two nights sharing meals across the wood-burning range, shadowing the morning chores of milking cows and making cheese, and spending time within the 20-house village, which facilities round a phenomenal temple and archery vary (each of equal cultural significance).
 

Mountaineering Thergo-la & The Dying Artwork of Nomadic Herding

Only a brief drive away and alongside the path to their household’s herding camp is a hike that has been rated among the many finest on the earth by CNN. From the 12,000-foot Tergo-La Move, we climbed the craggy mountain, chiseled by creeks and coated in wildflowers, and bought views to India and Tibet. After a couple of hours, we reached a clearing with two stone huts and smiling faces ushering us in for tea and Parle-G cookies. We sat cross legged on a mattress of pine needles and have been served numerous refills, as we chatted and pet the cows. The 20-year-old daughter, Pema, spoke English completely and instructed us she was simply visiting from college in Thailand, the place she is finding out engineering. She is amongst a choose group of scholars in Bhutan to earn the King’s Scholarship to check overseas. Her mom shared how proud she is of Pema, but in addition her disappointment that their custom of nomadic herding will probably come to an finish.
 

Buddhist Home Blessing Ceremony

We headed again down the mountain to catch the “Choku” ceremony that introduced us to Haa Valley. This occurs yearly in most Bhutanese households, the place Buddhist monks carry out ceremonies of artwork, music, and choices to the native deities to cleanse the home of adverse vitality and usher in positivity for the yr forward. We walked in and adopted the music to a tiny altar room, embellished with colourful sculptures manufactured from dyed butter (a available “artwork” provide in cow nation). We sat within the circle of monks, every enjoying a horn, drum, or bell whereas the abbot led hypnotic chants and made choices to the deities. The room swirled with sounds, smells, and symbolism method over our head, however we did our greatest to comply with our guides’ cues because the monks got here across the circle providing us blessed fruit to eat or holy saffron water to rub over our hair. The one factor we knew for positive was that evil spirits didn’t stand an opportunity in that home! After the ceremony, we have been invited for a celebratory bottle of ara (home made rice wine) and dinner (cooked by the son-in-law who was a chef on the Taj Luxurious Resort…the Bhutanese by no means stop to amaze!). The youthful technology was fluent in English and helped bridge any gaps within the dialog for a meal that made us really feel a part of the household.

Watch our Haa Valley video to see the great thing about this homestay and Bhutanese village life.

Punakha: The Unique Capital of Bhutan

Being sandwiched between the highly effective China and former British India, Bhutan has amazingly sufficient at all times stayed an impartial nation. And when the Tibetans tried to invade within the 1616, they formalized that sovereignty beneath ruler Ngawang Namgyal. He created 16 dzongs across the nation to defend and unify Bhutan as a nation state. Punakha turned the capital and its dzong (The Palace of Nice Happiness) continues to be arguably an important constructing within the nation. It’s the place saints are buried, kings are coronated, and rulers ruled till 1955. It’s additionally one of the beautiful, sitting on an island on the convergence of two rivers surrounded by the Himalayas. We crossed the footbridge, following the fluttering crimson robes of monks, to a steep staircase earlier than the foreboding Seventeenth-century constructing. Within the central courtyard stood an enormous bodhi tree, identical to the one the place Buddha discovered enlightenment. Our information Tim did his finest to show us the ins and outs of Vajrayana Buddhism, with its numerous deities, however one that we’ll at all times keep in mind is Lu. Earlier than new development or renovation initiatives in Bhutan, employees construct an altar to this earth spirit to pay homage to her land and its vibrations earlier than they’re disturbed. We payed our respects to Lu and went into the principle temple. The intricate element and riot of colour within the spiritual murals and silk embroidery felt like strolling inside a jewel field. On the altar have been three huge gold statues of Bhutan’s most vital figures: Guru Padma Sambhava (who launched Buddhism in 747 A.D) Ngawanag Namgyal (the nation’s unifier), and Buddha himself. Want we might share images of this beautiful temple, however no pictures allowed inside Bhutan’s sacred areas! To culminate our dzong expertise and stage up our Bhutanese adventures, we went river rafting with Druk Rafting Service down the Pho Chhu (father river) to its confluence with Mo Chuu (mom river). The category II rapids provided simply sufficient thrills and down time to admire the mountains, villages related by swinging bridges, and the grand finale, the Punakha Dzong from the water—a view reserved for adventurers! We continued to benefit from the river that night from our waterfront lodge, Four Boutique, (one other nice lodge choose by Bridge to Bhutan).
 

Hike to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten

A number of miles north of that historic dzong is one in every of Bhutan’s trendy marvels of Buddhist structure: Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten. Constructed beneath the route of the Queen Mom in 2004, this chorten (or stupa) is meant to thrust back evil spirits and stand as a logo of common peace. We hiked throughout the river’s suspension bridge, coated in prayer flags, to the mountains tiered with rice terraces. Up we went previous little waterfalls flowing between paddies, spinning huge prayer wheels, and chatting with pleasant farmers. Bhutan’s royal household hikes this path every year as a pilgrimage to evoke the deities. We arrived to closed temple doorways, then a monk got here jogging down the hill with the keys; he was the brand new caretaker and had by no means proven it to a foriegner. There have been lots of of carved sculptures of wrathful deities to scare away evil spirits, balanced by sensual yab-yum figures. These depict a male deity in union together with his feminine consort, representing the wedding of knowledge and compassion. To the western eye, it may well look like loads of intercourse and violence, however with such unbelievable element and sophisticated spiritual symbolism, it’s arduous to not recognize this distinctive model of artwork.
 

Temple of the Divine Madman

On the notice of phallic symbols, they’re all over the place in Bhutan! Painted on homes, connected to the eaves of roofs, sculpted because the spouts of fountains, the phallus is a staple in Bhutanese artwork and structure, largely because of Lama Kunley (aka the Divine Madman). This Fifteenth-century character unfold Buddhism with comedic and sexual escapades and rose to saint standing by subduing a demoness with “his magic thunderbolt of knowledge.” As ridiculous as that sounds, he was making an attempt to mock standard faith and make it enjoyable and approachable to the plenty. At present when pilgrims go to the Divine Madman Temple they’re hit on the top with a 10-inch wooden phallus, and {couples} who want a lift in fertility haven’t any disgrace in coming right here. And if a toddler involves fruition for the pair, they return to have the child’s title chosen by the monks. Let’s simply say, Kunley is a standard title in Bhutan.
 

Fears & Pleasure for Journey within the New Bhutan

When Puenzhi Diner heard Bridge to Bhutan had visitors again on the town, the proprietor Yeshey opened her restaurant for the primary time in 2.5 years. In all that point with out tour teams ordering her signature prix-fixe meals, she needed to be creative together with her house and alternatives for earnings, so she turned her restaurant right into a boutique for locals. We sat down in what had grow to be a comfortable front room moreover her previous bar, consuming beers and feasting on a dozen completely different dishes—from bathup noodle soup to emi datshi chiles. We laughed the evening away and took a selfie to shut out the enjoyable. We she seemed on the image she mentioned, “Wow. So many recollections of the great previous days simply got here flashing again…however, I’m scared issues received’t ever be the identical.” Like many Bhutanese who labored in tourism, they needed to transfer on to different careers. The federal government of Bhutan helped them do that throughout these arduous occasions with the De-suung “re-skilling” program, providing programs in all types of trades (carpentry, plumbing, development, and extra) to assist their residents discover new employment and for the nation to develop extra impartial from neighboring India, who has lengthy offered lots of their items and labor. She expressed fears that her previous employees won’t return from their villages and that Bhutan Tourism’s newly elevated Sustainable Improvement Price would scare away many vacationers, leaving her but once more with a closed restaurant. We gave her a giant hug, with full confidence that with the great thing about this nation and unbelievable high quality of her cooking, she was going to be okay.
 

Phobjikha Valley

Leaving Punakha, the panorama went from cactus-studded hillsides to birch timber dripping with Spanish moss and grey langur monkeys enjoying within the timber. Our driver Sonam was very affected person to make numerous photograph stops for wildlife, gushing waterfalls, and mist-shrouded peaks. Zigzagging up the ten,000-foot cross, we lastly descended into the glacier-carved valley of Phobjikha. This wildflower-filled marshland is a protected space for the endangered black-necked cranes, and 13 different globally threatened species. Come October when the majestic cranes make their annual migration from Tibet, individuals from world wide comply with (which explains why there are a ton of luxurious lodges on this sleepy village). We stayed on the pretty new Phobjikha Resort, owned by Tim’s sister, to proceed rising our Bhutanese household. She gave us a improbable room overlooking the valley, full with stunning textiles, clever lighting, and a wood-burning fire. Her staff even taught us learn how to dress in conventional clothes so we’d look our Bhutan finest on the massive competition…
 

Gangtey Monastery

Phobjikha Valley homes the largest personal monastery within the nation and one of the spectacular. Tim’s brother-in-law is the abbot (pays to know individuals!), so we scored an invite for tea with a lama who had not too long ago come again from his 3-year meditation, and front-row entry to the closing ceremonies of this five-day competition. Bhutan is well-known for his or her masks dance festivals and with this stunning Seventeenth-century, mountain monastery as a backdrop, we couldn’t have requested for a greater spot or time to expertise it (we have been actually the one vacationers out of almost 4,000 individuals!). We walked right into a room with intense vibrations of drums and chants from individuals seated hip to hip. We hoped our native garb would assist us mix in, however it didn’t matter, all of the stares have been accompanied with a smile. When individuals poured out of that house in the direction of the principle stage, we hung again and witnessed it flip into the inexperienced room for elaborate costume adjustments and grand entrances on this procession to thrust back life’s obstacles. The dances have been fascinating to observe, as they moved from the courtyard to a bonfire finale on the cliff. We’ll let the images communicate for themselves and finish by saying, it’s a must to witness a Bhutanese masks competition in some unspecified time in the future in your life! Watch our new Bhutan travel guide video to see some these unbelievable dances.
 

The Trans-Bhutan Path

Up till roads have been constructed within the 60s, the Bhutanese relied on a 250-mile footpath that related the nation. Trendy occasions and Mom Nature nearly erased the trail, however as of 2022 the restored Trans-Bhutan Path is open for locals and overseas trekkers alike. We hiked a bit of the path close to Dochula Move, and have been impressed by the plush natural world, the botanical indicators, historic markers, and helpful QR codes alongside the best way. We ended at Dochula’s 108 hand-painted chortens hungry for extra path time. FYI: Whereas the restoration of the path was led by the Bhutan Canada Basis with assist from the Tourism Council of Bhutan, the De-Suung, and numerous volunteers, don’t let the web site TransBhutanTrail.com idiot you into considering it’s essential to spend $20,365 to hike it. It’s a public path and may be achieved for any length you’d like, everytime you’d like by any licensed trekking information. It’s a path everybody ought to expertise, so hike no less than a couple of miles and picture the centuries of footsteps earlier than you.
 

Tiger’s Nest Monastery

If there’s one picture of Bhutan that brings individuals to the nation, it’s Paro Takstang (aka Tiger’s Nest). Seventeenth-century structure hugging a sheer cliff and overlooking a Himalayan valley is in fact photogenic, however it’s additionally deeply symbolic to Bhutan’s Buddhist historical past. There are a couple of legends on the title’s origin, however principally within the eighth century, Guru Rinpoche flew from Tibet on the again of a Tigress to defeat the Tiger demon within the cave and subdue the evil spirits throughout the land. He then meditated there for 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, and three hours and introduced Buddhism and peace to Bhutan. Legends apart, the great thing about this monastery and the pilgrims’ ardour for it’s one thing extraordinary. Mike was main the cost for us all to stand up at 4am to hike up for dawn. As a lot as I groaned, I’m glad he made us trek two miles at the hours of darkness to see the early-morning mist swirl across the temple with completely nobody round. Because the solar got here up, so did the pilgrims trekking the ultimate stretch previous the waterfall and up the cliff of their most interesting garments. We took off our sneakers to enter the temple, feeling the nippiness of the rock beneath our toes. The bottom of the partitions match completely with the angle of the cliff, but regardless of this rough-hewn construction, it the ornament is masterful. We climbed from room to room, receiving handfuls of holy water to coat our hair, neck, and tongues. Each Bhutanese particular person there was doing a number of full-body bows to the altar whereas our heads simply spun with the depth and great thing about this place. After experiencing Tiger’s Nest, most individuals flip round and head again down, however in actuality that is simply 1 of seven temples on this mountain and there’s a glamping camp close to the highest! Climbing 5,867 toes in elevation to Bumdrak temple and camp, we trekked beneath timber dancing with lichen, laundry strains of monk robes, and cliffs that solely appeared to get taller. 9 kilometers later, by way of the rain, we reached Bumdrak Camp serving up cozy beds and sizzling meals and felt like we had reached nirvana.

New Bhutan Journey Information Tip: Ask your information to point out you Dzongdrakha, a lot lesser recognized cliff temple with visible and historic nods to Tiger’s Nest, simply exterior of Paro city. A Guru Rinpoche was mentioned to have leapt to Tiger’s Nest from this cliff, with a tiger footprint within the rock to point out for it. Our favourite a part of the go to? Getting an impromptu personal tour, from the 80-year temple-keeper.
 

Paro Valley

Understanding we might use slightly pampering after our in a single day trek, Bridge to Bhutan organized a conventional hot-stone tub (dotsho) and lunch on the historic Tshering Farmhouse. We slipped into the picket baths with herb-infused water because the innkeeper dropped fire-heated rocks right into a chamber at our toes. Taking within the steam, sizzle, and smells melted the miles away and the meal to comply with left us completely glad. However the goodness saved coming! That evening we had a reservation at Le Meridian Paro, one of many most interesting lodges within the nation. Our nook suite was divine, with views over the Paro River and surrounding mountains. We had a barbecue dinner for 2 on the terrace and a particular of bottle of wine to toast the 100 recollections we’d made on this journey.
 

Planning Your Journey: The New Bhutan Journey Information

Shangri-La by no means comes straightforward, so listed below are few issues to know to make your Bhutan journey a actuality.

Visas: To finish the visa course of, you have to a passport (legitimate for six months); journey insurance coverage (we swear by our Allianz AllTrips Premier Plan); dates of arrival and departure; and cost particulars. The visa software payment ($40) may be paid by bank card. You’ll be able to apply on your 90-day visa on-line or let your information do the processing (it’s sometimes included of their service).
COVID-19 Protocols: Vaccination is strongly inspired however not required. To take precautions, the federal government is issuing random RT-PCR testing on the airport.
Sustainable Improvement Price (SDF): This vacationer tax funds the nationwide social packages, infrastructure, and environmental protections. It’s $200 per day for adults, $100 for youths ages 6 to 12, and free for these 5 or youthful. Sure, it’s costly however we’d say properly price it to spend time on this really distinctive nation, one which’s taking a stand on overtourism and making an attempt to higher serve their individuals and setting.
Flights: Drukair and Bhutan Airways fly to Paro, the nation’s solely worldwide airport. Departures can be found from Singapore; Kathmandu, Nepal; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Bangkok, Thailand; and 5 Indian cities (New Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Gaya, and Bagdogra). Tickets are usually cheaper from India, although you’ll must get India’s vacationer visa ($25) for this transfer. (We flew from New Delhi and used our Indian visa and trans-Atlantic flight as an excuse to increase our journey for three weeks in Kerala and Goa and arguably our favourite continent, Asia!)
Sources: The nationwide tourism web site Bhutan.travel presents probably the most up-to-date info (don’t belief previous articles, rather a lot has modified!) and so they encourage guests to achieve out to their in-house “hosts” to area any questions by e-mail (their FAQ page can be tremendous useful for all kinds of matters.). As we talked about, guides are essential to journey exterior of Paro and Thimphu, and to any cultural websites. Do your individual analysis on tour firms however we can not advocate Bridge to Bhutan extremely sufficient and are so grateful we discovered them as guides and mates.
 

Love for Bhutan

Of the 70 international locations we’ve explored on our HoneyTrek, Bhutan is definitely one of the distinctive and dazzling. We will’t wait to return and hope to see you there! For extra movies and images on our travels by way of Bhutan see our Instagram Stories Highlight Reel and this 90-second IG Rreel and for any questions on our New Bhutan Journey Information, simply attain out!