Best Bhutanese Bumthang Spiritual Heartland, Phobjikha Black-Necked Cranes, Trongsa Dzong, Mongar East and Bhutan Deep Eastern Himalayan Heritage Tour Destinations
Browse more guides: Bhutan travel | Asia destinations Best Bhutanese Bumthang Spiritual Heartland, Phobjikha Black-Necked Cranes, Trongsa Dzong (1644-1647), Mongar East and Bhutan Deep Eastern Himalayan Heritage Tour Destinations I planned three Bhutan trips before I actually went, and the country I had imagined and the country I walked into were two different places. The brochures show monks in red robes and prayer flags fluttering at high passes, and those are real, but central and eastern Bhutan is also potholed switchbacks, woodsmoke kitchens at 2,800 m, a king whose face appears on the 100 ngultrum note next to a slogan about happiness, and a Sustainable Development Fee of USD 100 per adult per night that I paid in advance through a tour operator because Bhutan has not permitted independent tourism since 1974. This guide walks through the places that made me re-plan my life: Bumthang's four valleys, the Phobjikha winter wetland where 600 of the world's 6,000 black-neck...