Thimphu, Paro & Punakha, Bhutan

Thimphu, Paro & Punakha, Bhutan

Bhutan as I see…

It’s a country that says a lot to the rest of the world. After seeing Bhutan, I realized World is known in two parts; one part is Bhutan and the other part is the rest of the world. Likewise, people in the world are divided in two sections, one section of people are those who have seen Bhutan or live in Bhutan and the other section of people are those who have not seen Bhutan.

Bhutan offers something that many others find it extremely difficult and that is peace. The country is serene and entirely peaceful. Bhutan does not worry over the past neither it is anxious about the future, it’s the country that enjoys the present time while rest of the countries are in the rat race and are always looking ahead.

Bhutan people are at their best in everything they do including the way they live life. They exhibit peace and calm. They don’t heed to any sort of illusions in life, they live a natural and pure life. Many Bhutan people are unaware of Junk Food such as Pizza and Burger and there are no street foods, probably that is the secret of their fitness.  

From the highway

The building architecture in Bhutan

The most attractive tourist destinations in Bhutan are,

1. Thimphu 
2. Punakha
3. Paro

Paro being the place that hosts Bhutan’s International Airport also has quite a few monuments and monasteries.

Thimhpu is the capital of Bhutan and has rich heritage.

Punakaha was the earlier capital of Bhutan and has the highest ancient cultural heritage. 

Paro:

At distance of 800 +kms from Kolkata (India) has the most beautiful Airport with a single runway. It’s amidst the hills and is fully adorned with snow during winter season. The flight offers a picturesque journey with a mesmerizing view of World’s tallest mountain Mount Everest (8+kms) and Kanchenjunga Mountains. Bhutan has the large portion of Himalayas and so you will never miss to see the Himalayas during your stay in Bhutan. 

Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest): Paro hosts one of top tourist attractions in Bhutan, Taktsang Monastery. It has a very rich history and dates back to as old as 8^th century. The temple is at the edge of the mountain or rather it’s on the cliff. The place is as natural as it can be. The trail to the temple is very adventurous and risky. Especially the risk exponentially grows with the bad weather such as a bad light, snow or rain. The round-trip trekking is approximately 6 hours and this is a must visit even if it is difficult to do. The entry ticket to the tiger's nest is 500/- per adult and child less than 10 years have free entry. Additonally if the child of 10 years above with a School ID are exempted 50% of the adult fee. 
Few critical suggestions,

• There are walking/trekking sticks available for a nominal price of Rs. 50/-, one could use these.
• Carry enough things to munch and drink. Carry water. Water may be lesser consumed compared to the energy drinks.
• Carry an umbrella even if it is sunny while you start the trek – the weather unpredictable.
• Wear extremely fantastic sports shoes which offer good grip. There are chances of slipping due to lose mud.
• Go in a crowd. There are chances of getting lost in the mountains as there are multiple trek trails at times one will encounter (some explored and some not).

 

Tiger's Nest

Tiger's Nest

National Museum: Paro also has a National Museum and it is a place where you can truly understand the Bhutan and its cultural existence. Highly advised to visit, as it blends the Indian yogis with the Bhutan gods in the formation of Bhutan

Oldest Monastery: There are 108 Bhudha Monasteries in the world and Paro hosts one. This is most auspicious one.

Thimphu :

Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan. It is the newer capital and is a bit more developed city. This place encompasses the country’s administration, government and political institutions. And incidentally these government organizations are open for tourist to visit as they are unique in their way of existence and the way the operate. There are two wings of administration in the country, one is the political wing which includes the King, prime minster and other administrations departments while the other wing is Religious wing which is headed by the highest enlightened Monk. And both these wings are situated in one single complex. The complex was the Fortress earlier and now hosts all the above. Its called as Memorial Chorten. 

Memorial Chorten, Thimphu

Memorial Chorten, Thimphu

Inside of Memorial Chorten, Thimphu

Inside of Memorial Chorten when light is fading, Thimphu

Memorial Chorten at night, Thimphu

Memorial Chorten, Thimphu

Thimphu boasts of many temples including the 108 cluster of stupas in a single complex. Each stupa signifies certain belief. This cluster of Stupas is found on the highway between paro and thimphu. One can see Himalayas from this altitude. If you are unlucky then this place is sometimes completely en-wrapped by the mist and fog with a visibility of barely couple of meters. 

108 Stupas, On the way to Thimphu

108 Stupas, On the way to Thimphu

There are couple of temples in the city of Thimphu which worth a visit. One in the main city and another on a hill nearby.

Another major tourist attraction is the world’s (as understood) largest and tallest Bhudha, its called as Bhudha Dordenma. This on the hill at significant altitude. It is fully lit in the night and offers an extraordinary view of the hills and the Bhudha in the night. It’s a remarkable place to meditate, under the Bhudha statue there is a temple and one can sit inside it and do meditation. Cent percent peace and purity offered by the place make an individual travel to transcendental state. Experience it!!!

Bhudha, Dordenma

Bhudha, Dordenma

Bhudha, Dordenma

Bhudha, Dordenma

Punakha:

Punakha is a relatively small place but known for it being the older capital of Bhutan. The most major attraction of the place is that it is in the valley with two rivers flowing in between the mountains. The two rivers are called as Pochu and Mochu. Pochu being the male river and Mochu is the female river. Both these rivers meet in Punakha centre. Naturally, with valley and rivers around Punakha it is blessed with most attractive, splendid nature and climate. It is so very picturesque that one can find it difficult to take themselves off from indulging in it. So, the best way to get indulged with the nature there is by doing rafting. A bit expensive affair, however definitely worth doing it. One of the two rivers can be choosen for rafting. Pochu the male river is highly adventurous with many risky bumpy ride while Mochu the female river is less risky but also adventurous. It is around 13kms of rafting and takes 2 hours to complete. Highly advised to go for rafting. It’s a life time rafting experience!!
 

On the highway to Punakha

On the way to Punakha

Merged River in Punakha, a view from hotel

A view from a bridge to Monastery in Punakha

A Punakha Town view

A view from Hotel in Punakha

A view from a hill top in Punakha

Punakha also hosts older Bhudha temple with a school in it that teaches the culture and religious teachings with centuries old inscriptions. So you can see it as a gurukula.

Travel & Stay:

By flight to Bhutan and hire a taxi for all days of your stay. This is the best way you can enjoy and be hassle free in the place.

The itinerary goes like this.

• Day 0 (India)
• Night flight to Kolkata

• Day 1 & Day 2 (Thimphu – Hotel : Hotel 89, 89 is the hotel name)
• Early morning flight to Paro
• Paro to Thimphu by taxi( 55KM approx. one and half hour) 

• Day 3 (Punakha – Hotel : Kingaling)
• Morning after breakfast drive to Punakha, spend the rest of the day with activities mentioned above

• Day 4 & Day 5(Paro – Hotel: City Hotel)
• Drive to Paro after breakfast. Visit tourist attractions. Preferably keep the Tiger’s nest for the Day 5. 

 Travel document formalities 

• Passport or Voter ID is must (Aadhaar Card will not be accepted) 
• Permit letter to be fetched in Thimphu by submitting the photocopy of the passport. It takes hardly 15 mins to fetch the permit letter. A very simple process.
• Keeping the boarding passes all the time handy is important either in Airport of Permit office in Thimphu
• Indian currency except 500 and 2000 denominations is accpeted at all places in Bhutan
 

Best time to visit: 

Oct to December, if one wants to enjoy the SNOW. March to Oct in case you like to be in the moderate climatic conditions.