Lonely Planet Bhutan , livre ebook

Bhutan

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Bhutan
Bhutan’s Top 17
Need to Know
If You Like…
Month by Month
Itineraries
Festivals
Booking Your Trip
Planning Your Trek
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

THIMPHU
Sights
Activities
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Around Thimphu
North of Thimphu
South of Thimphu
WESTERN BHUTAN
Paro Dzongkhag
Paro
Upper Paro Valley
Paro to Bondey
Bondey to Thimphu
Haa Dzongkhag
Paro to Haa Via Cheli La
Haa
Around the Haa Valley
Haa to Chhuzom
Punakha Dzongkhag
Thimphu to Punakha
Punakha & Khuruthang
Upper Punakha Valley
Wangdue Phodrang Dzongkhag
Punakha to Wangdue Phodrang
Wangdue Phodrang
Wangdue Phodrang to Pele La
Phobjikha Valley
Chhukha Dzongkhag
Thimphu to Phuentsholing
Phuentsholing
CENTRAL BHUTAN
Trongsa Dzongkhag
Pele La to Trongsa
Trongsa
Around Trongsa
Bumthang Dzongkhag
Trongsa to Jakar
Jakar
Chokhor Valley
Chokhor Valley
Tang Valley
Jakar to the Ura Valley
Southern Dzongkhags
Trongsa to Zhemgang
Zhemgang to Gelephu
Gelephu
Royal Manas National Park
EASTERN BHUTAN
Mongar Dzongkhag
Jakar to Mongar
Mongar
Lhuentse Dzongkhag
Mongar to Lhuentse
Lhuentse
Around Lhuentse
Trashigang Dzongkhag
Mongar to Trashigang
Trashigang
Trashigang to Merak
Trashi Yangtse Dzongkhag
Trashigang to Trashi Yangtse
Trashi Yangtse
Around Trashi Yangtse
Samdrup Jongkhar Dzongkhag
Trashigang to Samdrup Jongkhar
Samdrup Jongkhar
TREKS
Trek Routes
Route Descriptions
Directions & Place Names
Health & Safety
Rescue
Druk Path Trek
Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek
Bumdrak Trek
Saga La Trek
Jhomolhari Trek
Jhomolhari Loop (Soi Yaksa) Trek
Laya Trek
Snowman Trek
Owl Trek
Nabji Trek
Merak–Sakteng Trek

Understand

Bhutan Today
History
The Bhutanese Way of Life
Buddhism in Bhutan
Arts & Architecture
The Natural World
The Bhutanese Table

Survive

Directory A–Z
Accessible Travel
Accommodation
Activities
Children
Climate
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Food & Drink
Insurance
Internet Access
Language Courses
Laundry
Legal Matters
LGBTIQ+ Travellers
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transport
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Entering the Country
Air
Land
GETTING AROUND
Air
Bicycle
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Taxi
Health
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Bhutan

Bhutan is no ordinary place. It is the last great Himalayan kingdom, shrouded in mystery and magic, where a traditional Buddhist culture carefully embraces global developments.

Low-Volume, High-Value Tourism
The Bhutanese pride themselves on a sustainable approach to tourism in line with the philosophy of Gross National Happiness. Foreign visitors famously pay a minimum tariff of US$250 per day, making it seem one of the world’s more expensive destinations. However, this fee is all-inclusive – accommodation, food, transport and an official guide are all provided, so it’s not a bad deal. You don’t have to travel in a large group and you can arrange your own itinerary. What you won’t find is budget independent travel.

Surprising Bhutan
Bhutan is like nowhere else. This is a country where the rice is red and chillies aren’t just a seasoning but the main ingredient. It’s also a deeply Buddhist land, where monks check their smartphones after performing a divination, and where giant protective penises are painted at the entrance to many houses. Yet while it proudly prioritises its Buddhist traditions, Bhutan is not a land frozen in time. You will find the Bhutanese well educated, fun loving and very well informed about the world around them. It’s this blending of the ancient and modern that makes Bhutan endlessly fascinating.

The Last Shangri-La?
So why spend your hard-earned money to come here? Firstly, there is the pristine eastern Himalayan landscape, where snow-capped peaks rise above primeval forests and beautiful traditional villages. To this picture-book landscape add majestic fortress-like dzongs and monasteries, many of which act as a stage for spectacular tsechus (dance festivals) attended by an almost medieval-looking audience. Then there are the textiles and handicrafts, outrageous archery competitions, high-altitude trekking trails, and stunning flora and fauna. If it’s not ‘Shangri-La’, it’s as close as it gets.

An Environmental Model
Environmental protection goes hand in hand with cultural preservation in Bhutan. By law, at least 60% of the country must remain forested for all future generations; it currently stands above 70%. Not only is Bhutan carbon neutral, but it actually absorbs more carbon than it emits! For the visitor, this translates into lovely forest hikes and superb birding. Whether you are spotting takins or blue poppies, trekking beneath 7000m peaks or strolling across hillsides ablaze with spring rhododendron blooms, Bhutan offers one of the last pristine pockets in the entire Himalaya.

Black Hat Dance | DANITA DELIMONT / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Why I Love Bhutan
By Bradley Mayhew, Writer
There is much to love about Bhutan, but it’s the sacred side of the country I enjoy the most. I love joining pilgrims as they look for saints’ footprints in a rock face, or explain monastery history in terms of flying tigers and unruly demons. On one hike alone, a reincarnated lama blessed me with a thangka made from the nose blood of a saint and then hit me on the back with the stone footprints of a divine skywalker. From Gross National Happiness to crazy wisdom, a journey to Bhutan is a journey into a different reality.
For more see, Our Writers
Bhutan’s Top 17

Taktshang Goemba
Bhutan’s most famous monastery, Taktshang Goemba is one of its most venerated religious sites. Legend says that Guru Rinpoche flew to this site on the back of a tigress to subdue a local demon; afterwards he meditated here for three months. This beautiful temple clings to the sheer cliffs soaring above a whispering pine forest. The steep walk to the monastery is well worthwhile, providing the most photogenic views of the monastery and the Paro valley, and you can combine a visit with the Bumdrak trek.

PETER ADAMS / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Terrific Tsechus
Most of Bhutan’s dzongs and goembas (monasteries) have annual festivals featuring sacred dance dramas. The largest of these festivals is the tsechu – with dances in honour of Guru Rinpoche. The dances are performed by monks and laypeople dressed in colourful costumes and painted masks, and the dancers take on aspects of wrathful and compassionate deities, heroes, demons and animals. During the dances, atsara (masked clowns) mimic the dancers and perform comic routines, and even harass the audience for money in exchange for a blessing with the wooden phallus they carry!

Haa tsechu | DANITA DELIMONT / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Himalayan Treks
Bhutan’s treks are physically demanding but hugely rewarding. They are the only way to get close to Bhutan’s high mountains and to visit such fabled valleys as Laya and Lingzhi. The Jhomolhari trek and Snowman trek in particular rank as two of the world’s classic walks. On all treks you will be expertly guided and looked after and your pack will be carried by ponies. Meeting traditionally dressed locals tending their animals according to century-old traditions will be a highlight of your trip.

DUCOIN DAVID / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Archery
Bhutan’s national sport of archery (datse) is exhilarating to watch, with competitions held across the country throughout the year. There are two classes of competition: one for the traditional bamboo bows, and another for the space-age carbon-fibre bows that propel arrows at astonishing speeds. The targets seem impossibly tiny and the distance immense, yet the target is hit quite regularly. Narrow misses, bawdy banter and singing and dancing accompany the whoosh of arrows and hoots of delight as the competition heats up. Look for weekend practice sessions at Paro’s Archery Ground .

ANGELO CAVALLI / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Haa Valley
Just a few hours’ drive from Paro, over Bhutan’s highest motorable road, this little-visited valley is home to magical cliffside hermitages, ancient temples and charming villages. Accommodation is focused around boutique farmhouses and homestays rather than big group resorts, giving it a more intimate feel. The valley rim is a great place to do some hiking or trekking, either along the Cheli La ridge or up to the Saga La, with its fine views of snow-capped Jhomolhari. Budget a couple of days to beat the crowds.

ANDREW STRANOVSKY PHOTOGRAPHY / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
Punakha Dzong
Superbly situated where two rivers converge, Punakha Dzong is the most dramatic and beautiful example of Bhutanese architecture in the country. Visit in spring to see the famous jacaranda trees splash lilac flowers down the whitewashed walls and red-robed monks wandering on a sea of purple petals. The fortress-thick walls are intimidating and are silent one moment, then warmed with the echoes of giggles in another as a horde of young monks head off for a meal. The dzong’s spring festivals rank as the country’s most colourful.

LINEGOLD / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Traditional Textiles
Hand-woven and embroidered textiles are generally recognised as Bhutan’s premier handicraft. Centuries of tradition have honed the techniques of textile dyeing, weaving and stitching. Most of the weavers are women and it is a rare home in Bhutan that does not ‘clunk’ to the sound of a loom. In addition to the National Textile Museum in Thimphu, there are small shops th