Black Necked Crane Festival 2015

Kuzu zangpola - it was 2 years since I was in Bhutan. I had heard about the Black Necked Crane festival, a major 'tsechu' on November 11 in the Phobjhika valley. I organized a group of 10 adventurous Canadians to spend a week in Bhutan with the highlight being at the Gangtey Gompa for this festival.

We had a day to recover from jet lag and walked the streets of Kathmandu before flying to Paro in Bhutan. The pilots say the landing is one of the more challenging airports but we had a very smooth landing with amazing views of Mt. Everest and the Himalayas on the way in!

Our guide Tshering and assistant guide Chimi met us at the airport and loaded us on the bus which was to be our transport for the next week. We headed to our hotel and enjoyed a delicious lunch before visiting the Paro Dzong (fortress). As the sun went down we crossed a beautiful wooden bridge (once featured in the movie The Little Buddha) and headed for a walk through the town of Paro.

Paro Dzong (fortress)

Bridge used in filming the Little Buddha

Taktsang Monastery

Next day was our 2 hour trek up a mountain side to the Tiger's Nest - the Taktsang Monastery where the legend of Guru Rinpoche rode the back of a tigress and landed here to meditate. I was a nice warm day in the sun and we had incredible views of the monastery and the valley below. It really felt like a pilgrimage and we spent some quiet time in many rooms of the monastery under the watchful eyes of the various Buddha's, detailed paintings, butter lamps and offerings.

Our next day was a drive to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. We stopped to cross the river to a small monastery on the way arriving in Thimphu at lunch. We settled into our rooms and then headed off to see the Dordenma Buddha, the tallest Buddha structure in the world at 161 feet high. Impressive as it reflected the afternoon sun on its golden shoulders. As it has not had the final consecration, we were allowed to take photos inside.

Dordenma Buddha

5th King -  Jigme Singye Wangchuck

Then we were off to the Memorial chorten in central Thimphu. What luck...we were also in Bhutan for the celebration of the 4th King's birthday. All the buildings were trimmed with gold and a festive atmosphere all around including monks chanting for the good health of the 4th King, who is the father of the current 5th King.

Chortans at Dochu La pass 3140m

Then were off on a sunrise start to drive many hours over rough, dusty roads which are under construction and repair to Dochula pass at 3140 meters. We had breakfast there and incredible views of the mountains and the Memorial Chortens the Queen Mother built to honour the soldiers lost in a skirmish in 2003.

Punhaka Dzong

At my request, we made a stop at Punhaka Dzong, the second oldest and second largest fortress in Bhutan...an architectural marvel at the confluence of two rivers - the Mo and Pho.

Arriving after dark that night we were divided into two groups for a home stay in Phobjhika. The host families were wonderful serving us butter tea, black tea, red rice, yak meat stew and some delicious vegetables for dinner. After, they set up a traditional Hot Stone bath for everyone. This consists of dropping hot stones from a fire into one end of a wooden tub to heat the water. Herbs were sprinkled on the water and most everyone soaked and enjoyed washing off the dust in this unique bath!

Boardwalk through Phobjikha valley to the Gompa

On November 11, morning arrived clear, sunny and warm! We hiked for a few hours through the valley and actually spotted the first 13 black necked cranes that had recently arrived in the distance while making our way to the monastery - Gangtey Gompa where the local festival is held. We could hear the songs and dancing while making our way in up the hill and what a scene! Performers dressed like cranes, mask dancers and a type of entertaining clown danced to traditional Bhutan music. It was the highlight of the tour!

Gangtey Gompa

Over the next few days,  we visited the Chimi Lakhang, a monastery with an interesting history of the Divine Madman, Lama Drukpa Kunley a Tibetan saint who espoused some crazy wisdom to Bhutan.

We made our way back to Paro for a welcome celebration pizza dinner (!) and the flight back to Kathmandu in Nepal with more incredible views of the Himalayas.
Tashi Delek (good luck) from Bhutan

Druk Air flight back to Kathmandu