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The road to Punakha, Kingdom of Bhutan
Click on the pictures to enlarge
| While the Paro-Thimpu road crosses rather stark and barren terrain, the road to Punakha (from Thimpu) traverses thick forests of blue pine, oak and maple. After Dochu La, it descends into hemlock, cypress, and the like. By one's arrival in the Punakha (the "k" is almost silent) valley, one will find more tropical plants like banana, mango, orange, and even cactus and pomegranate. The road, built in 1984, is tolerable but gets gradually worse going east. | |
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The village of Hongtsho (elev 9480 ft) was settled by Tibetans who fled after the Chinese invasion of 1959. Tibetan villages are easily identified by the white facades, less ornamental painting, and black beams. However, more assimilated areas, such as Trongsa, are hard to identify as heavily Tibetan. Tibetans and Bhutanese, despite a few centuries of fighting, generally consider each other brothers. |
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The valleys between ridges often have small rivulets and occasionally waterfalls. Some of the rivulets have been harnessed for the spinning of prayer wheels. Inside this shed-like building is a single large wheel driven by the rivulet. |
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A large chorten and prayer flags greet your arrival at Dochu La, a pass at 10,300 ft. There is a small cafeteria just above the pass, which features some of the most overpriced goods I've encountered anywhere in the world (running into the hundreds of dollars). Theoretically, from this point it is possible to see peaks up to 24,734 ft (although Lonely Planet disagrees with itself as to the height of this peak). Unfortunately, a clear day is as rare in Himalaya as a smog-free day in Beijing. The area is believed to be inhabited by a plethora of not-so-nice spirits, including a cannibal demoness. Fortunately, the Divine Madman built a lhakhang to subdue them. Around the pass I encountered some daphne, a tough bush used to make paper. I tried to break it and lost. (It reminded me the last time I arm-wrestled. I lost to a girl... in 6th grade.) |
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Here is a rare clear day at Dochu La, sent to me by C.C., who is working for the Australian Development Bank in Bhutan, one of very few foreigners to be allowed to work in Bhutan. Along the very back snowy ridge are some of the world's tallest mountains. Click the pic to enlarge. |
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I believe that this is the village of Thinleygang (elev 6100 ft). The local local farmers have had significant problems from predators attacking their domestic animals. They have worked nightshifts screaming or banging objects to keep the predators away. The village is similar to many others seen along the road, with small 2-story and 3-story houses rising like mushroom stems out of the terraced fields. |
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It's not a blue poppy, but actually the Primula denticulata. |
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