2020-03-01_Wanderlust

28 wanderlust.co.uk March 2020

Visittheworld’sfirstcarbon-negativecountryforitsancientmonasteries,mountaintrekking,

tropicalforestsandsacredspecies,aswellsomefreshairandyourownsliceofhappiness...

AWL; Alamy; Shutterstock

Dzongs of Bhutan

The Tsechu festival at

ancient monastery

Tashichho Dzong

W

hoever said
Bhutan was
the last
Shangri-la
could well
have been right. Its reputation as
one of the world’s ‘greenest’
countries is well-earned: tropical
lowland forest and Himalayan
mountains blanket much of its
protected landscape and with its
‘sponge-like’ forests soaking up
more carbon dioxide than it emits,
Bhutan became the first carbon-
negative nation. But it’s not just the
government that looks after it. The

locals are also guardians of their

sustainable way of life, finding it

the key to their happiness.

Visitors can get a sense of this joy

in unhurried capital, Thimphu,

where the main hustle centres

around Tashichho Dzong, an

ancient Buddhist monastery, and

the civil and royal seats of o‚ce,

too. While you might not get to see

the Dragon King on his way to

work, you can still shu…e around

the complex to glimpse orange-

robed monks deep in reflection,

the silence only stirred by the

squeak of their prayer wheels.

At night, the whitewashed

building lights up, a view best

enjoyed from Changangkha

Lhakhang, a 12th-century temple.

During the day, newborn cries spill

out of this shrine to protective

deities, often visited by new

parents seeking blessings for their

babies. One thing you won’t see

from this panorama is tra‚c lights

• there’s not a single one in the city.
  If the hills are calling out to you,
  make your way west of the Black
  Mountains, where trekkers may
  stumble across barking deer,
  Himalayan black bears and even

leopard. Look to the skies for the

real highlight, though: black-

necked cranes. At Phobjikha

Valley’s RSPN centre, keen

birdspotters can spy these rare

birds swooping over glacial glades

of open grassland during their

winter migration. Those sacred

cranes steal the show, at least until

they disappear in mid-March;

come November, you’ll find the

locals in full celebration mode,

singing and dancing to welcome

the birds back to the region at an

annual festival. It’s an attitude to

life that most visitors can’t resist.

Go

Now

for a breath of fresh air

THE DESTINATION:

BHUTAN