We spent most of the morning at Jambay Lhakang temple – before making our way to a nearby homestay, for a chance to try some archery and the Bhutanese version of “darts” (to me it felt closer to ax-throwing than what we consider “darts”), followed by a farm-house lunch.

Thus invigorated it was time for a bit of a work-out – or a walk in the valley. First stop – after less than 2km – was at Kurjey Lhakhang, a monastery complex with three temples … the oldest going back to 1652, the youngest only to 1984. We took the time to tour the three of them (and showing gratitude to the invention of temple socks).

After the tour and a stop at some well-hidden toilets, we continued the walk, now heading towards the Bumthang Chhu River, eventually crossing Dawathang Zam bridge. Two more monasteries were ahead of us – first Tamzhing Monastery, built in 1501, the “Temple of the good Message” and today in desperate need of renovation. The final monastery for the day was just 400m down the street – Könchogsum Lhakhang. This monastery had almost completely burned down in 2010 due to a butter lamp fire; as such the main buildings are fairly new – enveloping the restored few remains of the original building, which survived the fire.

Well – with all those monasteries … what is missing in such monastic day? Right – of course a brewery – the next stop was at Bumthang Brewery for a choice of cake or a fresh Red Panda Beer (aka red panda juice) right from the cask.