This gallery contains 12 photos.
Today started with great views of the valley from our hotel and a great breakfast (with great bread and cheese, plus home-made jam and yogurt). The drive was local today, we were just heading for Jambay Lhakhang, a temple believed … Continue reading
We were already well into the afternoon by now – so it was time to continue the journey towards today’s destination – Bumthang … another good 60km to go.
En-route we had a short stop at the border between the Trongsa and Bumthang regions at Yotongla Chorten – to then proceed to a weaving mill, to get an introduction to weaving and an opportunity for souvenir shopping. We made it to Bumthang only after dark – again with well heated rooms, a great dinner and (in my opinion) the best hotel of the whole trip waiting for us.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
We had made it to Trongsa – and were now looking at a visit to Trongsa Dzong, the largest fortified monastery in Bhutan situated high above the river with spectacular views. We had the usual tour through the dzong (well … Continue reading
This morning we had a drive of about 80km ahead of us. First heading back up to the monastery and across Lawala pass and then heading East towards Trongsa. The drive was broken up by a few stops along the way – shorter photo/ toilet stops, one at Pele La pass (at 3420m above sea level) and a longer one at Chendebji Chorten, a bright-white stupa dating back to the 18th century.
As we reached the Mangde Chhu River valley we got a first glimpse of Trongsa Dzong from a view point – with the dzong about a kilometer away (as the crow flies). We however had to follow the street along the valley – making this a 13km drive (plus a stop at a waterfall cafe en-route with probably the best espresso on the trip) – taking us a bit less than an hour.
This gallery contains 16 photos.
We arrived at Gangtey Monastery in the afternoon – had a quick tour around the monastery and its temples – before hitting the Gangtey Nature Trail for a bit of a physical workout. We kicked it off at the monastery, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 16 photos.
We left the capital in the morning for the 125km drive (about four hours – plus stops) to Gangtey Monastery and the Phobjikha Valley. Our first stop was already less than an hour into the drive, as we made it … Continue reading
This gallery contains 16 photos.
After lunch it was time for some lighter content – and Simply Bhutan, a museum resembling a Bhutanese village showcasing some of the country’s traditions, hit the spot. After a welcome with a shot of local liquor (arra) we were … Continue reading
This gallery contains 15 photos.
Today we had an action-packed day ahead of us – set up similar to our day in Gangtok with the morning on Buddha-heavy and the afternoon more profane. We kicked the day off with a visit to the National Memorial … Continue reading
This gallery contains 15 photos.
This morning it was time to say good-bye to India, our drivers and tour guide, as we were going through the bureaucratic process of leaving India – and the very straight-forward entry into the Kingdom of Bhutan. Entering Bhutan was … Continue reading
Today started with an orchid tour around the hotel premises – after which it was back to the cars for a final long drive of about 170km, now heading into the lowlands of West Bengal towards Jaigaon and the border crossing into Bhutan.
As yesterday we were initially following the Teesta River, until we used the Coronation Bridge to cross the river and continue East towards the border. Soon the scenery changed – instead of a mountainous forest we were now driving through more of flat bush land (well, some of those bushes turned out to be tea gardens). We made it to our hotel near Jaigaon in the late afternoon, with little to do around.
