Bhutan - The Land of Happiness - Part 1

This Diwali we got an opportunity to visit Bhutan - The Land of Happiness. It was high on our bucket list and finally things were falling in place for the visit to materialise. 

Bhutan is a unique country since it gives more importance to Gross National Happiness (GNH) and not to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Happiness of her people is really important for Bhutan, you can see a glimpse of this everywhere. From the guides to the hotel staff to the people you mean on the roads, they all seem to be very kind, ready to help and of kind nature!

Another phenomenal thing about Bhutan is how they have preserved their natural beauty to a large extent.  

The moment you enter Bhutan you feel a sense of calmness everywhere, its fresher air, lesser people, lesser vehicles etc just make you feel a lot more peaceful!

The mornings are magical with pristine blue skies and beautiful landscapes. 

Bhutan has a lot of Dzongs. These are kinda fortresses which are now used as government buildings and monasteries. 

Quite often these Dzongs are located at the bank of a river. 

Bhutan was never colonised, this has helped them preserve a tint of buddhist architecture in every single building. 

Bhutan loves flags! No matter where you go you will see a cluster of colourful flags waving boldly in the cool breeze. 

Currently about 71% of land area in Bhutan is covered under forest. And this is not just a number in government books, it can be seen everywhere. The hills are covered with variety of trees, its difficult to find a bare patch of land!

Another glimpse of a magical morning.

We did the Taktsang (or the tiger's nest) monastery trek today. Whenever you google about Bhutan you are bound to see this picture. This monastery is located at the edge of the cliff. 

Its a wonder how they even built something so magnificent at the edge of a mountain!

This is the picture of Taktsang from the base village. Yep, at this point it did fell like too far away!

The trek is about 6 km from the base, the trail is marked and is very clean. It is a beautiful trail going through thick beautiful forest cover.

Like I mentioned earlier, you will find clusters of colourful flags everywhere and the trail is no exception.

The view from the Taktsang is breathtaking. As far as the eye can see in every direction, not a single patch of land remains bare; instead, it is blanketed with trees for miles on end.

Since the trail is relatively easy to walk, we weren't very tired after reaching back to the base. It took us about 7 hrs in total to go and come back. 

So far it had been an splendid experience for us, we were already in love with Bhutan and its green cover. In the next post, I will take you on a journey to its major cities.