Waking up with the Himalayas in front of you in its morning glory is a visual treat bar none! This is one of the (many) memories of a lifetime. Kids getting up at 5.30am as well and asking you a thousand questions doesn't quite allow us to fully enjoy the scenery around us, but I sneak in some time on the patio, enjoying the views and getting some writing done.
After some nice breakfast by 8am, we bid our hosts Tashi Delek (adieu) and start on our journey for the day. A 30-min ride takes us to the start of our hike up to a temple. We cross the bridge and walk past vegetable plantations on the hillside. My daughter was game for the hike, but my son started protesting after the first few hundred meters. My wife and myself had to alternate carrying him and coaxing him to walk in between. It wasnt too steep, but was muddy and slippery in places.
The 3-storied temple on top was adorned in tantric style, with all God figurines in masks. At the top, it was a beautiful view of the Mo Chu river meandering along the Punakha landscape dotted with terrace farms. The way down was a lot more easier, especially if you have to carry your kid. The whole hike took about 2 hours and was well worth the effort. White water rafting was offered near the start of the trek, but at Ngultrum 10,000, it was a tad too costly and the kids were too tired after the hike, so we had to skip. Btw, Rupee is 1-to-1 with the local currency Ngultrum and is readily accepted everywhere). Ngultrum is also not useful outside of Bhutan, so we spent all local currency we had except those as souvenirs.
Another 30-min ride through roads that would struggle to fit in one and a half cars took us to the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan, spanning 140+m across the Po Chu river. We savoured a local cucumber with chilli powder as we took a short 5-min walk to the bridge, with 2 bees annoyingly stalking my son and myself. The bridge is a nice photo-op, but we were intrigued by a cow grazing grass in the middle of the swift flowing river. Even the guide had no idea how it got there, but the cow didnt seem to mind it one bit!
Another 30-min ride back down the Po Chu river brought us to our lunch stop at Bhabee Restaurant, Wonakha, a bit outside Punakha, where we were served with Indian fare. The Phulka and dhal deserved accolades, but the curd seemed a bit odd, so downed it with some pickle. At the restaurant, we saw the cutest little baby kitten, with its mother guarding the baby ferociously, chasing away a few dogs as they veered too close for comfort.
After lunch, we embarked on a 2-hour drive to Gangtey. Halfway through, the roads gave way to patchy mountain roads, challenging both the driver's skill and the car suspension. The roads near Gangtey were especially tricky to navigate. We also saw some Yaks along the way, which was the highlight of the road trip.
Gangtey Gompa temple is another majestic old shrine headed by the 9th re-incarnation of Penlop (local ruler). It consists of a resident monastic school as well. The legend has it that the people here didnt trust the head monk due to which he went to Tibet. After that, the village was ravaged by wild animals to the extent that the villagers went to Tibet to recall the head monk and soon things came back to normal.
From Gangtey Gompa, you get a fabulous view of the Pubjikha valley below, where black neck cranes migrate from Tibet to roost in the winter. Interestingly, the cranes circle the Gangtey Gompa temple 3 times before landing in the wetlands and also before they migrate back to Tibet in spring.
There is a crane information centre in the valley to educate the local population and conserve the environment. There is an injured crane named Karma residing there. The wetlands are not without danger for the cranes though, with foxes and leopards spotted with night vision cameras.
We stayed at probably the only hotel in the valley of about 6000 inhabitants. My kids started playing with a local girl and her cats, and the rest of the evening went in a jiffy with shrill screams of running kids and playful cats. The dinner had so many dishes that we were overwhelmed, but everything tasted wonderful. In Bhutan, you can never fault the people or the food. It does get quite cold in the valley @ 2900m even on a summer evening, so it was early bed for us with maximum heater on.
After some nice breakfast by 8am, we bid our hosts Tashi Delek (adieu) and start on our journey for the day. A 30-min ride takes us to the start of our hike up to a temple. We cross the bridge and walk past vegetable plantations on the hillside. My daughter was game for the hike, but my son started protesting after the first few hundred meters. My wife and myself had to alternate carrying him and coaxing him to walk in between. It wasnt too steep, but was muddy and slippery in places.
The 3-storied temple on top was adorned in tantric style, with all God figurines in masks. At the top, it was a beautiful view of the Mo Chu river meandering along the Punakha landscape dotted with terrace farms. The way down was a lot more easier, especially if you have to carry your kid. The whole hike took about 2 hours and was well worth the effort. White water rafting was offered near the start of the trek, but at Ngultrum 10,000, it was a tad too costly and the kids were too tired after the hike, so we had to skip. Btw, Rupee is 1-to-1 with the local currency Ngultrum and is readily accepted everywhere). Ngultrum is also not useful outside of Bhutan, so we spent all local currency we had except those as souvenirs.
Another 30-min ride through roads that would struggle to fit in one and a half cars took us to the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan, spanning 140+m across the Po Chu river. We savoured a local cucumber with chilli powder as we took a short 5-min walk to the bridge, with 2 bees annoyingly stalking my son and myself. The bridge is a nice photo-op, but we were intrigued by a cow grazing grass in the middle of the swift flowing river. Even the guide had no idea how it got there, but the cow didnt seem to mind it one bit!
Another 30-min ride back down the Po Chu river brought us to our lunch stop at Bhabee Restaurant, Wonakha, a bit outside Punakha, where we were served with Indian fare. The Phulka and dhal deserved accolades, but the curd seemed a bit odd, so downed it with some pickle. At the restaurant, we saw the cutest little baby kitten, with its mother guarding the baby ferociously, chasing away a few dogs as they veered too close for comfort.
After lunch, we embarked on a 2-hour drive to Gangtey. Halfway through, the roads gave way to patchy mountain roads, challenging both the driver's skill and the car suspension. The roads near Gangtey were especially tricky to navigate. We also saw some Yaks along the way, which was the highlight of the road trip.Gangtey Gompa temple is another majestic old shrine headed by the 9th re-incarnation of Penlop (local ruler). It consists of a resident monastic school as well. The legend has it that the people here didnt trust the head monk due to which he went to Tibet. After that, the village was ravaged by wild animals to the extent that the villagers went to Tibet to recall the head monk and soon things came back to normal.
From Gangtey Gompa, you get a fabulous view of the Pubjikha valley below, where black neck cranes migrate from Tibet to roost in the winter. Interestingly, the cranes circle the Gangtey Gompa temple 3 times before landing in the wetlands and also before they migrate back to Tibet in spring.There is a crane information centre in the valley to educate the local population and conserve the environment. There is an injured crane named Karma residing there. The wetlands are not without danger for the cranes though, with foxes and leopards spotted with night vision cameras.
We stayed at probably the only hotel in the valley of about 6000 inhabitants. My kids started playing with a local girl and her cats, and the rest of the evening went in a jiffy with shrill screams of running kids and playful cats. The dinner had so many dishes that we were overwhelmed, but everything tasted wonderful. In Bhutan, you can never fault the people or the food. It does get quite cold in the valley @ 2900m even on a summer evening, so it was early bed for us with maximum heater on.
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