It was early march, the time when winter says bye in India. Tired of our busy schedule, we thought of visiting a nearby hill station. As usual my wife googled and we decided to travel to the kingdom known for its mountains, dzongs and peace. We took the famous and the fast Rajdhani express from Tinsukia to New Cooch Behar. As everything in our tour was pre-booked by Avani Travel Svc.(A travel company owned by my friend), we just packed and boarded the train. Though Indians do not have much restrictions anywhere in Bhutan but it is recommended to pre-book everything in advance. But for tourists from other nations, it is a must to take a guide from the point of entry to this kingdom.
We reached New Cooch Behar around 11 in the morning and traveled by car to Phuentsholing. The roads were pretty good and it took around 2 hours to reach. Phuentsholling is the border town of Bhutan. Though the town is divided into two by the international border, one can tell the difference immediately after entering to the Bhutanese part. Where the India part is overcrowded with people, tuktuks, buses, cars going from everywhere to everywhere, the Bhutanese part is calm, disciplined without any noise or honks. The huge gate at the entrance of Bhutan with Dragons painted on it did make us feel like entering a kingdom.
Pic1: The entrance gate to Bhutan at Phuentsholling
We were booked at Hotel Druk for the night. After we checked in we went to the immigration office to get our passports stamped. Since, Feb 2017 Bhutan has started an online system for visa/temporary immigration. As we had already applied online, our passports got stamped in just 5 min. We then took a quick tour of the small town, bought some souvenirs, had some beef momos & beer and headed straight to bed.
Pic2: Hotel Druk, Phuentsholling
The next morning, we got up early and had a good breakfast, as we knew it is going to be a long day. We were scheduled to drive to Thimphu, which is around 190 kms from Phuensholling and approximately 2500 mtrs in altitude. We started at around 09 in the morning. After being checked by border controls just outside the town, we reached the famous Kharbandi Gonpa from where we had the scenic view of the plains of India.
Pic3: Plains of India from Kharbandi Gonpa.
Our journey took us 6 hours as we passed through many small towns like Gedu, Chukha and Chunzom. The college town of Gedu was remarkably beautiful. The college on one side with the view of great Himalayas on the other side and a small stupa in front of the college, made this small town incredibly beautiful. We stopped our car and took a stroll down the road. The only thing we did feel was peace.
Pic 5: The college town of Gedu
As we were about to reach Thimphu, we crossed the confluence of Pa Chu and Thin Chu. Pa chu is the river of Paro and Thin Chu is the river from Thimphu. The confluence is considered to be a holy site and we saw three stupas of different architecture there. On inquiring, our driver explained that one is of the Bhutanese architecture, one is Tibetian and the third one is Nepalese.
Pic 6: The confluence of Pa Chu and Thin Chu
We also loved to see the huge poster of the King and the Queen of Bhutan. For us, the huge entrance gate with the huge poster of Bhutanese royals, was indeed a royal welcome to Thimphu.
Pic 7: Entrance to Thimphu
After a scenic journey we reached the city of Thimphu. As we were pretty tired we headed straight to our Hotel- Hotel Druk. We had booked a Deluxe room as suggested by my friend. The wooden floor, the furniture with dragon carvings and the bath tub gave us a pure sense of luxury. The best thing about Hotel Druk is that it is located right at the city center. So be it shopping or trying some local food, one has to just step out of the hotel.
Pic 8: Hotel Druk, Thimphu
Pic 9: Hotel Druk, Thimphu
It was a lovely sunny morning and we were all set to see the beautiful town of Thimphu. First we visited the Memorable Chorten dedicated to the 03rd King of Bhutan. He was also known as the father of modern Bhutan. It was crowded with local people who came to pray at this holy place.
Pic 10: Memorable Chorten
Our next site to visit, was Buddha Dordema. It is actually a huge statue of Buddha overlooking the city of Thimphu. Constructed in golden color on a peak, this statue looked magnificent. There was also a Buddhist monastery with more than hundred thousand statues in it.
Pic 11 & 12: Buddha Dordema, Thimphu
We then drove to the 15th century Changakha Lhakhang spectacularly located on the spur. This was actually a 12th century temple perched like a fortress on a ridge. Parents traditionally come here to get auspicious names for their newborns.
Pic 13: Changakha Lhakhang, Thimphu
As my wife is very fond of animals she insisted in seeing the national animal of Bhutan. Though not in our itinerary, our driver didn’t hesitate to take us to the Takin Zoo, where we had a chance to glance at that beautiful animal.
Pic 14: Takin, National Animal of Bhutan
The next few destinations were Heritage Museum and Folk museum that provided us a fascinating insight into the Bhutanese material culture and way of life. Also, the visit to the school of Arts and Crafts and the National Library which held a vast collection of ancient Buddhist texts and manuscripts, some dating back several hundred years, as well as modern academic books mainly on Himalayan culture and religion, really amazed us.
Pic 15: A glimpse of various museums in Thimphu
It was three in the afternoon and we could visit the Tashichho Dzong only after 05:30 in the evening. So we decided to go to the famous view point in Thimphu from where one can see the Dzong, the parliament & the royal palace. The chilling wind with the soft sun and the birds eye view of the Dzong was something really magical for us.
Pic 16: Clockwise from top 1. Dzong 2. The Royal palace 3. Flowers 4. Parliament
So finally its 5:30 in the evening, we gathered with other tourist in front the Dzong. While waiting we were lucky enough to see the flag down ceremony too. Dzong is actually a Buddhist monastery built as a fortress. The Dzong not only houses the religious leader of the country but also the King. There are 4 main buildings inside the Dzong with a huge courtyard. At one corner the king has its office while at the center there is the monastery and the seat of the religious leader. We really loved the guided tour of the Dzong as it enlightened us with many new things about the Buddhist religion.
Pic 17 & 18: The Thimphu Dzong.
That was the end of our Thimphu tour.
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