A trip to Bhutan - The land of Thunder Dragon

The Dzong of Punakha

Hola Peeps,

Inspired from the frequent holiday updates from @purepinay(Gilaine) I am writing an article about my Bhutan trip.

To begin with lets talk something about Bhutan.

Bhutan is called as the land of Thunder Dragon. The Thunder Dragon is a mythological character. Due to its geographical location(vicinity of Himalayas) there is a lot of lightning throughout the country. This lightning is imagined as the Thunder Dragon breathing fire red lightning.

Bhutan is not just carbon neutral, its carbon negative. i.e. It forests absorb more carbon-dioxide than the country emits. Isn't that just amazing. A small country contributing towards the environmental balance. Having said that it has a beautiful forest stretch spread along most of the cities. Deep and long spread valleys. Mesmerizing views.

Carbon negative country for a reason

Bhutan is a democratic constitutional monarchy which has a king and also a Prime minister. It is a lovely country with lovely and welcoming people. I had a feeling of calmness during my holiday to Bhutan.

Let's start about my holiday

A holiday with your close ones is always special. I have 100s of friends but very few close ones. Its often said that if a friendship lasts for 7 years, it is meant to last for ever. I am lucky to have 4 such friends. After a lot of convincing we all agreed for a 7 days holiday. One from Australia, 2 from USA and 2 from India. We all are working in different countries after our graduation together.

That's the plan

Pune to Phuentsholing

Starting from Pune (Maharashtra, India), we boarded a flight to Kolkata (West Bengal, India). From West Bengal we flew to the border of India i.e. Bagdogra. Then we traveled for 3 hours by car to reach the literal border of India i.e. Jaigaon from where you can walk into Bhutan. Yes, you can literally walk through a gate to enter Bhutan Phuentsholing.

We spent our night there in Phuentsholing where we had our entry permit processed. Indian citizens visiting Bhutan simply have to carry a voters id or the passport. Visa is not required. It can be done in a matter of 2 hours. The office is a crowded one, not very well managed. But not a big deal.

In Phuentsholing itself we got a feel of the culture in Bhutan. We were welcomed by a girl into the hotel. She even offered to carry our luggage which we refused to. Further more girls met us at reception, hotels room and dining area. We learnt that most of the places in Bhutan are operated by Women. They work head to head with men.

Bhutan has a relaxed lifestyle. Nothing was as per time. Breakfast, the tour guide, the driver and the entry permit all arrived late. But we did not mind since we were on a holiday and not a tight work schedule.

India Bhutan border

Phuentsholing to Punakha

Along with our tour guide Dorji and our driver Dilip we started our journey to Punakha city. All cities in Bhutan have to cross forests, valleys and a lot of greenery. We loved the travel too. On our way to Punakha we also visited a monastery. Yes, Bhutan is a Buddhist country.

Punakha is one of the oldest cities in Bhutan. It was once the capital of Bhutan. It still has great importance from administrative point of view. Located in the valley of Punakha it is situated at a lower altitude and thus comparatively a warm city in Bhutan.

There is a temple of fertility called Chimi Lhakhang in Punakha. Yes we too found it weird. But people there believe that if a married couple visits that place then they can be blessed with a baby. We did a small trail/hike to reach to the temple. We embarassed our tour guide Dorji with a lot of questions about that place. Dorji is a deadly fan of Salman Khan(Indian Bollywood actor). This is when we realised that Bhutan is so influenced by India. Being surrounded from 3 sides by India, it follows all Indian TV series and movies.

Temple of Fertility

Punakha Dzong is one of the most beautiful structures in Bhutan. Its a very beautiful architecture and thus a big tourist attraction. It is an administrative center of Punakha city. We were in love with the building.

Our tour guide Dorji in his uniform

Punakha to Thimphu

Thimphu is the current capital of Bhutan. The fifth King along with his beautiful Queen Jetsun Pema lives in a palace in this city. The palace also witnessed the birth of their first child. Celebrating the birth of the royal prince, thousands of volunteers planted 108,000 trees in the Bhutan forests which was a Guinness World Record.

On the way from Punakha to Thimpu we come across the highest point of Bhutan, the Dochula Pass. Air gets thin here and thus gets difficult to breathe when arrived but gets normal eventually.

2 noteworthy mentions about this place are the 108 Stupas and the view of Himalayas. The 108 Stupas look great. Very photogenic place.

Unfortunately we could not see the view of the mighty Himalayas due to unclear weather. We were not lucky enough. Its cloudy most of the times.

Dochula Pass. 108 Stupas in the back

Thimphu has a gigantic statue of Buddha Shakyamuni. It is an amazing seated statue of Buddha watching over the whole city of Thimphu. A must visit place in Bhutan. No words, the image is enough.

Buddha Shakyamuni

Dzong at Thimphu

Thimphu to Paro

Paro is a well-developed city of Bhutan. It is the only city with an international airport. Someone wanting to land directly in Bhutan can board a flight from India and land directly into Paro. That will save 1 night stay at Phuentsholing. Though the entry permit has to be processed already. Someone visiting Paro may easily feel that Paro is the capital city of Bhutan. It is comparatively at a higher altitude and thus cold enough.

Buddha watching over all of us

A simple google search of Bhutan will definitely give you a picture of the very famous Tiger’s nest i.e. Paro Taktsang. It is a very beautiful temple built on a high mountain cave. It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava who introduced Buddhism to Bhutan had meditated in that cave for some 3 years. He had climbed the mountains on the back of a tigress and thus named as the Tiger’s nest.

Paro Taktsang is a 3 hour hike. Not a difficult one but not very easy too. But trust me it is definitely worth. The view from the top is simply amazing. Another must visit place in Bhutan.

Tiger's nest

The city of Paro enjoys some night life too. You can visit Karaoke clubs there. We visited the dragon club which was fun.

You can also try the famous Druk beer from Bhutan in this city.

Paro to Phuentsholing

The road from Paro back to Phuentsholing is very depressing. Not because it’s boring but because it is marking the end of an amazing holiday in a wonderful country. Return journeys are never fun.

We played an amazing board game ‘Coup’ throughout the journey. It was a big savior at the end of the journey. It kept our fun intact.

On the way back there is a nice suspension bridge which we visited. It is the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan. Though a time filler, it got us some nice clicks.

Hanging bridge

A 7 days holiday to Bhutan will cost approximately 50k INR. Indian currency is accepted all over Bhutan. One can directly land in Bhutan at Paro airport to reduce a one night stay at Phuentsholing. Though flight frequency to Paro is not that great. Language should not be a problem in Bhutan. Hindi or English should work well. We had our tour guide Dorji with us and thus never faced any local issues.

The central government employees of India can avail the LTC(Leave travel concession) by visiting Bhutan. Neighboring countries like Bhutan, Maldives, Srilanka and Nepal are allowed under the LTC claim by Indian government.

All pictures are of my own.

I support @good-karma, @steemgigs, @yehey, @firepower,@busy.witness, @curie as witness.