Silver Travel writer Petra Shepherd ventures into the little known Kingdom of Bhutan
The term “bucket list” can feel overused, but a trip to Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan Kingdom sandwiched between the giants of India and China, was a 60th birthday present to myself and was the ultimate dream destination to mark such a milestone.
Keen to always experience the road less travelled, my plan was to explore a few of the cultural highlights, take in one of the many festivals and indulge my love of hiking.
Experience the spectacle of the Paro Teschu and Haa Spring festivals
Bordered by forested mountain peaks, Paro is a town in western Bhutan, home to the international airport; it’s where you’ll fly into.
It’s also home to the Tsechu (festival) held annually in late March or April to honour Guru Rinpoche, the founder of tantric Buddhism in Bhutan, a culturally rich event that reflects the deep connection between the Bhutanese people and their Buddhist traditions. To in a small way be part of a traditional celebration, to soak in the atmosphere and observe all the colours, rituals and spectacle involved is what I love most about travelling. The Paro Teschu didn’t disappoint.
I’d planned my trip around this particular festival (one of Bhutan’s most impressive and colourful) but there are more than 160 festivals throughout the year, and you should be sure to build at least one into your itinerary. Thousands flock, all wearing their finest national dress, from the whole region to the open-air festival ground near the Paro Dzong (fort). For four days there are masked dances and ancient traditions being carried out.
It didn’t matter at all that I had no idea of the stories being re-enacted within the dances, the general carnival like atmosphere and pure joy of the audience was infectious and the vibrant colours a visual feast for the eyes. If you can, hire or buy a traditional dress. For men it’s a gho, a knee-length robe tied at the waist with a cloth belt called a ker. It’s put on rather like a dressing gown with the fold creating an enormous and safe pocket, where everything from a mobile phone to lunch is stored.
For women, it’s the kira, an ankle-length wraparound dress. It is typically worn with a long-sleeved blouse called a wonju and a short jacket called a toego.
The Bhutanese are possibly the politest, most welcoming and most smiley people I’ve ever met. No matter how squashed, a space would be found immediately for me to sit down to observe the festival – and the young, who all learn English at school, keen to chat.
The Haa Valley is a lesser visited region of Bhutan, southwest of the Paro Valley. I was fortunate to be there for another but altogether very different festival – the Haa Spring Festival, showcasing Haa’s nomadic traditions. This was as authentic as it gets, not another tourist in site.
There were folk dances, women singing songs as they demonstrated how they compact the mud to build a home and lots of macho displays in nomadic games and skills. I loved it along with local speciality buckwheat dumplings with soft and delicate turnip greens inside.
Climb up to Tiger’s Nest Monastery
Like the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower, the Tiger’s Nest Monastery is the one defining image of Bhutan and a must on every itinerary.
Sitting precariously 900 metres above the Paro Valley, the Paro Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest Monastery) was built in the late 17th century on the site of a cave set into the cliff. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche arrived here on the back of a tigress and meditated in a cave, giving the monastery its name.
You’ll probably wonder how on earth to get there. Bhutan is a destination for physically fit silver travellers; you’ll encounter endless steps and climbs but it’s well worth the extra leg work.
I took the overnight Bumdrak Trek, glamping overnight before descending to Tiger’s Nest early in the morning. However, most travellers will start early with a two hour, well-trodden but steep climb, prayer flags strung across the gorges and fluttering on every hillside, feeling the excitement mount as they climb ever closer.
Hiking poles are always a good idea, especially for the descent. Bhutan is more than 70% forested, and the first carbon-negative country in the world. You’ll get an idea of the scale of the forests from the views at the top of Tiger’s Nest.
Afterward there’s a tremendous sense of achievement along with a ton of photos and many will take up the offer of a hot stone bath to soothe any weary legs and aches and pains. These baths involve heating river stones until red hot, then placing them in a wooden tub filled with water, herbs and aromatic salts. The heat and minerals released from the stones have medicinal properties and are a relaxing way to rejuvenate the body. The practice of hot stone baths in Bhutan is deeply rooted in ancient Tibetan and Ayurvedic tradition with the bath typically a private experience, either in a luxurious spa setting at a hotel or a more traditional, rustic setting in a farmhouse.
Enjoy rural life on a scenic and peaceful hike
With a modest population of just over 765,000, the Bhutanese enjoy a sustainable lifestyle passed down through generations. The population lives in close-knit communities, with approximately 70% engaged in subsistence farming across the rugged Himalayan terrain.
Buddhism, a cornerstone of Bhutanese life since the 7th century, continues to pay a central role in their peaceful existence and to get a feel for this life, and village life in general I trekked The Samtengang Winter Trek. It’s a shorter, easier trek compared to some others in the region and takes place in the Punakha and Wangdue valleys, passing through forests and offering views of the Himalayas.
Staying initially in a homestay where I was welcomed as very much part of the family, sleeping in the family’s temple room, taken proudly on a tour of the village by my host’s sweet and unbelievably polite children.
Like me, most Bhutanese are royalists, worshiping their young and handsome king, walls of every home literally wall papered with images. I was only sad that I didn’t bring along postcards of our king and Prince William and Kate (who visited Tiger’s Nest in 2016) to hand out and add to the montage.
The trek itself was very civilised, sleeping on a camp bed in a tent that you can stand up in and with a rug on the floor, three hot meals a day and all manner of fresh vegetables, including local speciality, national dish and Bhutanese favourite, whole chillies smothered in cheese. The guide with his helpers would pick ferns along the way to cook later, surprisingly delicious, this really was living of the land.
Black eagles would swoop overhead and grey langur monkeys would hop playfully from tree to tree, toothless farmers and women in the fields with their flat bamboo hats would stop to smile.
On a short low altitude village trek, there’s always plenty of see and sit for two minutes and someone will offer you cup of tea. It’s not often you have a trek to yourself, on my four-day trek, I came across only two other westerners and although there are more popular and challenging treks, to get a flavour of rural life, The Samtengang Trek was hard to beat.
Explore the cultural highlights of the capital Thimphu
Thimpu, the vibrant capital of Bhutan, uniquely blends ancient tradition with modernity, with the city’s landscape dominated by the 13th century Trashichho Dzong and crowning a nearby hill The Buddha Dordenna. At 54 meters tall, it ranks among the largest sitting Buddha statues in the world.
I’m from a dying generation that still sends postcards. Postcards I received as a child from a well-travelled god-father inspired my wanderlust to see the world. However, nowadays, it’s often prohibitively expensive and unreliable to send postcards from abroad, so I tend to buy and then post when I’m home. Not so in Bhutan, where you’ll find one of the best holiday bargains and unique souvenirs.
At Bhutan’s main post office in Thimpu, send staff a digital photo of yourself which within minutes they’ll superimpose on an image of The Tiger’s Nest and create a sheet of fully functional personalised stamps at a very affordable 26p per stamp. It’s hard to imagine you can buy a postcard with a stamp for less than £1.
Bhutan is a small country and if you’re not combining with a trek, easily doable in a week. With no direct flights from the UK, I’d recommend flying via Kathmandu and breaking up your journey with a night at Dwarikas, a luxury heritage hotel that takes its inspiration from the architectural grandeur of Newari royal palaces. The hotel is located minutes from the airport.
Happiness is a way of life in Bhutan. Bhutan is committed to protecting its natural environment and has a policy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) that prioritizes environmental sustainability and well-being over economic growth. In a world that is always on the go or currently not the kindest of places, I found discovering the timeless wonders of the mountain kingdom not only fascinating but was wonderfully restorative as well.
Next steps
Go to https://bhutan.travel/ for more information and call our Silver Travel Advisors on 0800 412 5678 to get a quote and book your adventure in Bhutan.
