Bhutan Kingdom of Happiness

This morning, a winding drive up the hills through alpine vegetation and carpeted flower decked fields will take us to the Chele-la pass(3810m). Chele la is a windy pass, filled with white prayer flags fluttering in the breeze. En-route, we may encounter yak-herder huts and grazing yaks. Further, we drive down to the picturesque Ha valley, where bridges, green hills and a charming river await your camera.

On our way back at Chela La, we will have good light to photograph the prayer flag and Jhomolhari range of snow peaks, if the day is clear. We return to Paro in the evening.

We head out early after breakfast towards Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. It is perhaps the only capital city in the world that doesn’t have traffic lights! It is a picturesque drive along Paro Chu River. We drive past terraced rice fields and old houses along the way, before we reach Thimphu.

Later in the day, we go to Thimphu dzong, a large complex that houses the central monastic body of Bhutan. In the evening, we will wander the town with our cameras for interesting sights in the city. Pious people circumambulating National Memorial Chorten in the evening are a photogenic sight.

We start early this morning on a drive to Punakha valley. Today, we pass through some of the most scenic landscapes that Bhutan can offer. A one hour drive up winding hilly roads will bring us to Dochu-la pass, where we can see the snow-capped mountains at a distance on a clear day. At Dochu-la is a very photogenic monument of 108 chortens, packed together densely in a green surrounding. You will never be tired of photographing this monument from all possible angles.

After a leisurely lunch on the way, we drive downhill and come across the terraced fields and homesteads of the Punakha valley. Much of it is a beautiful drive through pleasant rural landscapes. In the evening, we walk through paddy fields in a small village to visit a small temple on a hillock dedicated to Drukpa Kunley, a much revered monk dear to the people of Bhutan. A short walk will give us insights to rural life and agricultural activities in Bhutan.

The temple itself is a charming place on a hillock, where you may get to see young monks playing football, surrounded by a thick line up of vertical prayer flags. It’s a sight that is guaranteed to make your cameras drool.

We will visit Punakha dzong this morning, crossing a lovely wooden bridge lined with prayer flags. Inside the dzong are the quarters of the monks and prayer hall with peaceful courtyards. We will spend some time exploring and photographing the dzong for most of the morning hours.

In the later half of the day, we will drive up to a mountain village, offering panoramic views of the Punakha valley below. In this small quaint village, you can interact with local villagers busy tending to their fields of corn and maize. The quiet of the pine forests enveloping the landscape are soothing to the soul, and you will be transported to an elevated state of mindfulness. This is as picturesque as rural Bhutan can get. A nunnery is perched on a hill below nearby, which we will visit in the second half. Bhutan has many nunneries, locally known as Ani Gompas, and the nuns play an important part in the religious life of Bhutan.

In the evening, your photography mentor will take you through an intense drill of photographing Punakha Dzong in different kind of lighting, from different angles and perspectives. Beware, you may be amazed of what you may produce with your camera today, weather and light permitting.

We make a slow and leisurely drive from Punakha back to Paro, retracing our steps and stopping along the way. This is your day to wander the streets of Thimphu to shop for souvenirs. Overnight stay at Paro.

This is our day to visit and photograph one of the iconic sight of Bhutan – Paro Taktsang, also called Tiger’s Nest Monastery. The monastery is sticking out from a steep vertical cliff. We begin the day easy, and make the picturesque drive through farms and villages in the hills. Taktsang monastery is perhaps the most famous and most photographed of Bhutan’s monasteries, perched on a cliff above the Paro valley. We exercise our legs today, as we slowly make the three-hour walk up the hill to the monastery, photographing the landscapes along the way.

We take our time to climb up slow and easy as the day progresses. We will have plenty of time to see and shoot from a high ground, and near the monastery before we head back. We time our visit here in a way that we make the best of opportunities to shoot the monastery, in best possible light.

Breakfast and checkout.

Travellers who have opted for ground transport to Bagdogra will drive from Paro, reach the hotel in Bagdogra by evening and check-out next day.