The little-known Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan purposely keeps tourist costs high topreserve its unique Buddhist culture. Toni Farrugia is among the lucky few to have visited.
I can’t really recall when I first became intrigued by the idea of travelling to Bhutan – most probably it was during geography lessons back in my school days. Years later it became an ambition when I read it was advisable to travel to Nepal before going to Bhutan in order to minimise the culture shock.
An attempt to cull the stray dog population was stopped because of Bhuddism’s attitude that no creature should be killed or made to suffer
Travelling to Bhutan will cost you an arm and a leg. For starters, there are the vaccinations against hepatitis A, menengitis, typhoid and rabies.
Then there are the flights. There are no direct flights from Europe so one must go to Bangkok and catch a flight by Druk Air, Bhutan’s national airline. The three-hour (each way) Druk Air return flight costs as much as the 11-hour (each way) London-Bangkok return, even before the cost of overnight stays in London and Bangkok have been factored in.
On top of this there is the daily tariff of $200 that must be paid per person, per night in Bhutan. The payment includes all accomodation, food, internal land transport, and the services of guides and porters. The rate applies irrespective of location, season and accomodation.
The aim of all this is to control the number of tourists entering the country. Throughout its history Bhutan – which has the local name Druk Yul, meaning ‘Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon’ – has never actively encouraged visitors.
In the 1970s the government slowly began to admit foreign visitors, but, horrified by the effects that mass tourism had inflicted on neighbouring Nepal, wisely decided to restrict their numbers first by quotas and then through high prices.
That way, the royal government correctly reckoned that the country’s culture and environment would not be swamped by hordes of backpackers travelling on a shoe string. To put things into perspective, in 2010 there were circa 30,000 tourists in a country of 46,500 square kilometres. Furthermore, the areas which these tourists are allowed to visit are strictly controlled.
All this may seem bizarre to Westerners. However, this is a deeplyreligious Bhuddist country, where respect for life is paramount. (In 1998 an attempt to cull the stray dog population of Thimpu, the capital city, was stopped because of Bhuddism’s basic attitude that no creature should be killed or made to suffer).
This unorthodox attitude to economic well-being is best summed up in the state’s philosphy of “Gross National Happiness”, which is defined as respect for culture and religion, good governance, economic welfare and care for the environment. If travelling to Bhutan is expensive, landing there is pretty scary. The country’s only international airport is located six kilometres from Paro town in a deep valley on the bank of the Paro river at an elevation of 2,200 metres. With surrounding peaks as high as 5,500 metres, it is considered the world’s most challenging airport and few pilots are certified to land there. Flights into Paro are allowed under strict meteorological conditions only and restricted to daylight hours.
When I arrived, Thimpu was en fete as it was holding its annual tsechu – a four-day religious festival with numerous dances and very colourful costumes. The locals attend in their finest clothes, adding to the colour of the occasion.
The tsechu is held in the local dzong, a fortress with dual-purpose facilities housing religious and administrative offices. Bhutan is divided into 20 administrative districts and each district has its own dzong and tsechu.
Next on the itineary was the obligatory visit to the local monastery, nunnery, stupas (Buddhist shrines), the takin mini-zoo (the takin is the national animal, best described as a cow with a goat’s head), the 50-metre bronze statue of Buddha overlooking the capital city, and the Chorten, a memorial to King Jimge Dorji Wangchuck, who modernised the country through planneddevelopment.
The next day I travelled to Punakha, the country’s ancient capital until 1961 when Thimpu overtook this role. It is impossible to get lost in Bhutan as there is only one road from one place to another. The catch is that this invariably means ascending up one side of a mountain and then descending down the other side. The road from Thimpu to Punakha passes through the Dochu La (‘la’ means ‘pass’) at 3,150 metres. Here a memorial has been erected to honour the soldiers killed in the 2003 military action against Assamese separatists, who had set up guerilla camps in southern Bhutan. The military operations were led by the father of the present king, who led from the front dressed as an ordinary soldier.
The final stop was Paro. Here I watched a traditional archery competition. Archery is Bhutan’s national passion, but is today practised with modern hi-tech equipment. Competitions are between two teams in traditional Bhutanese dress shooting at small wooden targets place 140 metres apart.
When an arrow hits the target, the archer’s team-mates perform a celebratory dance and sings the praise of the shooter. If he misses, members of the opposing team will shout back and tell the archer how terrible his aim is and make ribald remarks.
On a clear day at the Chele La (3,900 metres), which can be reached from Paro through a typical winding route, one has panoramic views of the snow-capped Himalayas. From here it is possible to descend to the Ha valley where the pastureland is dotted with yaks.
The highlight of any visit to Bhutan is a hike to the Taksang monastery, the most famous in Bhutan, perched on the side of a cliff 900 metres above the floor of Paro valley. The name means ‘Tiger’s Nest’; it was so named because Guru Rimpoche is said to have flown to the site on the back of a tigress.
The hike uphill takes about two hours and is, needless to say, pretty strenuous. The breathtaking view of the monastery itself and the view from the monastery are well worth the effort.
Bhutan is not your ordinary type of holiday destination. However, the virtually untouched environment, the Buddhist culture, the friendliness of the people and the helpful tour operators make it a once-in-a- lifetime experience.