We are planning two trips in Bhutan in the Fall of 2010; a Class II-III and a Class III-IV+. Because resources for tourists are limited, we need to confirm our lodging reservations for these trips well in advance. The minimum number of paddlers for each skill level is eight. If you are interested, email us for reservation information . Click here for more details.
It was around this time last year that we were in Bhutan finishing up a 2 month stay. We spent that time traveling with a Buddhist study group, scouting rivers for upcoming kayak groups, running our Class II-III trip, catching what we could of the fifth king’s coronation and capping it all off with our Class III-IV+ trip. What follows is an account from that final kayaking trip. You can follow the links to these Bhutan posts to read about our other adventures there. If these trips sound interesting to you, consider joining us in the Fall of 2010 when we’ll return again to kayak Bhutan!
(Is it O.K. that I am sitting in a hotel in Quito, Ecuador while writing about part of our trip in Bhutan this last fall? The reality is, if I don’t do it now, it will never happen and our time there was just too special not to write about!)
Part of the multi- storied fabirc religious banner, or Thondrol, is seen hanging from the Trashi Chhoe Dzong in Thimphu.
Between the Class II/III cultural trip we had just finished and the Class III-IV+ that was about to start, we found ourselves with an unscheduled day and a half. We had planned to spend it in the town of Paro where the airport is located, and where we could do laundry and relax while waiting for the next group to arrive. Instead, we received a last minute surprise from Ugyen, our generous Bhutanese outfitter. The gift was in the form of a hotel room in Thimphu on the eve of the coronation of the fifth king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. (Thimphu, the capital, is located east of Paro, just over an hour away.) We weren’t sure how much of the actual ceremony we were going to be able to see, but we couldn’t pass it up.
Since our arrival in country on October 4th we had watched people hard at work preparing the roadways, temples and dzongs for the upcoming event. Roads were decorated with arches, banners and prayer flags.
The van we used during our week of scouting passes under a decorative arch on the road between Punakha and Thimphu prior to the coronation.
Prayer flags and paddlers on the Chumkar Chu.
While our time in Bhutan began in early October, our first group of kayakers arrived on October 24th. All were familiar faces. Everyone had been on trips with us before. Although for a few, many years had passed. So we enjoyed quite a reunion, sharing pictures of new family members and stories of our last adventures together. Mary and I met folks at the airport along with our driver Hari, cultural guide Karma, Kali, an excellent kayaker and raft guide from Nepal (whom we met in Bhutan in 2006) and Tinley, a Bhutanese kayaker on the fast track to becoming a very strong paddler and guide.
The only airport in the country is located in Paro. Situated in the west, Paro is the second largest town in the country (with some 36,000 people including outlying areas). The flight in is both breathtaking and thrilling; breathtaking with views of the Himalaya and thrilling because the airport is nestled in a narrow valley that results in one of the most interesting approaches I have ever experienced in a commercial airliner.
Dzongs, like this one in Trongsa, were one time fortresses that now serve as monasteries and government buildings in one.
The class II-III group at the confluence of the Mo (mother) and Po (father) rivers with the Punkha Dzong behind.
We are just back from running trips in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and preparing to leave again for our winter season in Ecuador. Lots of folks have been asking to see images and other information about Bhutan and we will be posting reports as we can. In the mean time, here are links to some galleries that two of the participants on our class III-IV+ trip have posted. Enjoy and do check back.
Kuzuzangbo la,
Phil and Mary
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