Bhutan - The Land of Happiness - Part 2

Now we continue our journey into picturesque Bhutan, if you haven't already read the Part-1 of this post, I would highly recommend you to do that now before going forward. 

So far we had been mesmerised by the beautiful Dzongs, Clean rivers, Magical mornings and not to forget the Taktsang Trek. Next our journey took us to highest motorable point in Bhutan i.e. the Chele La Pass. 

Its a very scenic place surrounded with mountains in all directions. 

Just like with other places in Bhutan this one has lots of colorful flags all around us. Beautiful breeze constantly keeps blowing here, the scenery is just picture perfect.

Next was Dochula Pass, here you will see a complex of 108 stupas arranged in a circular fashion. 

Notice the small little square in the middle of all Stupas? That has a neatly painted Buddha surrounded by typical Bhutan wood work. It looks very beautiful. 

There is a nice coffee shop near by, this is where I met one of the most adorable Tibetan Mastiff. I instantly fell in love with it.

Next day it was time to visit Phobjikha valley, this is a must visit place, the valley is like an amphitheater of nature. This place is considered as the Switzerland of Bhutan. If you are lucky you can even spot the black necked crane

Near by there is a beautiful monastery called the Lhodrak Kharchu Monastery

Next it was time to visit the Punakha Dzong, a beautiful fairy tale Dzong at the bank of the river. 

The Dzong is magnificent, its huge and its beautiful at the same time. 

Later we visited the Thimphu Palace in the evening. Its is a spectacle to the eyes in the evening when all the lights come up. 

Its surrounded by these beautiful maple trees which looked magical during the evening.

Finally it was time to visit the massive, golden Buddha statue sitting in a meditation pose. Statue is grandiose and peaceful at the same time!

By now it was time to head back home. Bhutan is an amazingly beautiful place, her natural beauty and her people something I will cherish forever! We loved it, totally recommended! 

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.