Thimphu lies in the Wang Chhu valley, which flows out of the Himalayas to the north near the border with Tibet. The Wang Chhu is a clear river with tempting rapids, reminding me of the Salmon River in Idaho. The hills rise sharply from the river bed providing remote, contemplative places for monasteries. As I am working on weekdays, we have used the weekends to explore the nearby hills.
Buddhism is central to life here in Bhutan and monasteries are central to Buddhist education and development of the practice of meditation. The first two monasteries we visited are just north of Thimphu. Following the Wang Chhu, we made our way up valley driven and escorted by Passang, the ED nurse manager. Tango was built hundreds of years ago and functions as a Buddhist University at roughly 10,000 feet above sea level. The monks in residence were informative and even playful as they dressed Aidan up in red robes. Check out our photos - Aidan dresses up pretty well in red. We hiked down the mountain and then back up another trail to Cheri monastery. Though in an equally stunning location, the feel of Cheri was completely different from Tango. Cheri is a monastery for advanced meditation practices. We saw no one and heard almost nothing. It was incredibly peaceful in its isolation. Though I found it hard to imagine what three years, three months, three weeks, and three days of meditation would be like; I also found it hard to hike back down the mountain toward civilization.
Seeking another monastery experience and on the advice of my friend Rick, the following weekend we hiked to Phajoding. All of these monasteries are high up on the side of mountains and the monks supply their homes by hiking down and then hauling supplies back up. It is quite a work out when the "grocery run" is an 1100 meter climb to 12,000 feet. Our hike was without groceries and despite the "boring" hike through the forest, our kids made it. Phajoding was built some 800 years ago and was formerly a very important and affluent monastery. Over the years it has fallen into disrepair though monks continue to find what they seek in that place. When we arrived, the sounds of wind blowing though the trees and faint chanting spilling out of the buildings greeted us. Farther up the hillside yaks were grazing unconcerned by our presence. In the surrounding fields stood several tents placed by trekking parties for the first night of the Thimphu to Paro trek. Just like Cheri monastery, we saw nobody except for a couple of monks bringing supplies up from the valley. The kids hoped they didn't forget the butter down in town. We lingered to enjoy the long views over Thimphu and the Wang Chhu valley. If I hadn't been told that the monks seek these places to perfect their meditation practice, I would have thought they stay on the mountain just for the views. On the way down, we met Martine and Henri from Nice, France. We had a conversation with them that could have been mistaken as one between old friends who had not seen each other for a long time. They told us of their backpacking trip on the Continental Divide Trail through Colorado and how they hoped to return in two years to complete it. As they were likely fifteen years older than me, we admired their energy and adventure; and hoped to meet them when they returned to Colorado (maybe even on the CDT). After such a fine hike to a beautiful place coupled with meeting Martine and Henri, we made our way back into Thimphu and finished the day with ice cream cones. It could not have been better.
This past weekend, we traveled out of the Wang Chhu valley for the first time. Returning to Paro (where we landed upon arrival to Bhutan), we headed to Taktshang, also known as Tiger's Nest monastery. Bhutanese culture has it that Guru Rinpoche, sometime in the eighth century flew on the back of a tigress to this cliffside location to subdue the evil demons in that area. After completing his task, he remained in a cave to meditate for three months. A monastery was built in that location and is a very holy place for Buddhists. The cave in which Guru Rinpoche meditated is protected as the most important space in the monastery. As with each of the monasteries we have visited, the intricacy of the artwork is stunning, demonstrating a deep devotion to Buddhism. Similar to the other monasteries and despite the larger numbers of tourists at Taktshang, the sense of peace was pervasive.
After Taktshang, we visited the National Museum of Bhutan. It is located above the town of Paro and the Pa Chhu (river). The valley floor is covered with fields of ripening rice, the backdrop the Himalayas: golden rice against snowy peaks. The National Museum holds collections of art representing Bhutanese and Buddhist culture and provided us with answers to some of the questions we had as we watched the masked dances at the Tsechu Festival during our first week in Thimphu. We finished the day at the Gangtey Hotel. Designed like (or maybe even within) a monastery, our room was colorful and comfortable. Sitting on a bench of land above town, we watched twilight overtake the valley with few lights to obscure the view.
On Sunday, our driver delivered us 1600 meters above the Pa Chhu valley to Chelela. Chelela is a pass between the Pa Chhu and Haa Valleys and is accessed by the highest motor road in Bhutan. At 3810 meters, the pass afforded us a lofty start to the ridge above. Our hope was to view Jhomolhari and some of the high Himalayan peaks on the Bhutan/Tibet border. We had a bluebird day walking up the ridge, weaving our way through thousands of prayer flags. As we hiked up, Jhomolhari and the surrounding peaks stood clearly in front of us. To the west on the Nepal/India border stood Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. What a place, what a day! The planned hike of thirty minutes turned into a two hour wander and even then was much too short. But that is what we are discovering about our whole experience here in Bhutan - it all seems too short.
We have several more trips planned yet before we leave Bhutan. Stay tuned for the next post.
Cheers,
Paul
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