Arts & Travels of Bhutan

Culture Immersion and Nature Trails: 15 days AT anytime of the year

In 1617 AD, Ngawang Namgyal fleeing political persecution in Tibet arrived in Bhutan on the invitation of Hoptso Lam, a Bhutanese leader who wanted to strengthen the Drukpa Kagyu sect of Mahayana Buddhism locally. Ngawang Namgyal was 23 years old.  Known in Bhutan as Shabdrung Rinpoche, Ngawang Namgyal in the span of 34 years integrated small warring fiefdoms, founded the state of what Bhutan is geographically today, gave it its distinct culture and identity which the people of this Himalayan kingdom guard jealously to date.

Shabdrung (1594–1651) built the first Dzong - or fortress - at Simtokha in 1629 (pictured below). He established the first legal code and form of government, with administrative powers vested in the Druk Desi and monastic affairs in the Je Khenpo, or religious leader. This dual system continued for nearly 300 years till the founding of the monarchy in 1907. Shabdrung (also Zhabdrung= "before the feet of"), was a title historically used in Tibet when addressing a great lama of hereditary lineage. Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal's statues, paintings can be seen in all temples. His Dzongs dominate all the main valleys of Bhutan. Shabdrung is the 3rd most important figure in Bhutanese iconography and history, after Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava the “lotus born” Buddhist master that brought Mahayana Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th century AD.

Born in the kingdom of Oddiyana in ancient India (today's Swat, Pakistan) Guru Rinpoche is legendary in both Tibet and Bhutan. He is famously associated with Taksang:  the "Tiger's Nest" monastery on a sheer cliff wall 500m above the floor of Paro valley. The monastic complex is built around the Taktsang Sengye Samdup cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated, arriving there from Tibet on the back of Yeshe Tsogyal (his famous Tibetan consort and most important disciple and herself a highly achieved Buddhist practitioner) whom he had transformed into a flying tigress for the purpose of the trip. Guru then travelled (flew) to Bumthang in central Bhutan to subdue a powerful deity who had been offended by the local king. Guru Rinpoche’s body imprint can be seen in the wall of a cave at Kurje Lakhang (photo below of Kurje). There are thousands sacred sites in Bhutan associated with Guru Rinpoche and Yeshey Tsogyal, generally called “nye”: caves, rocks, holy waters, body and foot prints. Guru Rinpoche took more than 8 manifestations during his lifetime, some peaceful and some wrathful. His manifestations and deeds are narrated at the Festivals called Tsechu, with its centrepiece the sacred dance of Guru Tsen Gye (Guru's 8 manifestations).

Guru Rinpoche is believed to have been the reincarnation of Buddha who returned to this world to propagate the Vajrayana form of Mahayana Buddhism (“thunderbolt”, ”diamond vehicle”) and is thus often called “the Vajra Guru” or the “second Buddha”.  Buddha is the most important religious figure in Bhutan. He lived (circa 563-480 BC) in central north India and ounded the Buddhist religion or philosophy, as many prefer it to be considered. In Bhutan, Buddha is represented in different forms. That is because in Vajirayana the pantheon includes supernatural bodhisattvas like Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of infinite light; or Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of compassion, known in Bhutan as Chenrezi; or Tara, in Bhutan also called Jetsun Dölma who is the female expression of Chenrezi and thus embodies compassion and action, or the Buddha of medicine, or the future Buddha. To complicate matters, each of them can be represented in different forms. For example, Tara can be White Tara, Green Tara, Red Tara or the 21 Taras.

In your spiritual journey through Bhutan, Arts and Travels of Bhutan will take you to the impressive dzongs, monasteries perched on rocks or tucked away in remote side valleys, and religious sites in 7 valleys famously associated with Shabdrung, Guru, Buddha and their manifestations. You will participate in one of the Tsechus and its many sacred and esoteric dances. A program of hikes will be arranged for those wishing to explore far away monasteries and meditation hermitages.

Depending on the time of the year, you may attend one of the tsechus and its many sacred and esoteric dances. A program of hikes will be arranged for those wishing to explore far away monasteries and hermitages.

If the tour is between November to February, you will spend 2 days at Phubjikha with hiking options for the many nature trails of this extraordinarily beautiful broad valley. At this time of the year, Phubjikha is host to the black neck cranes that migrates here for the winter from Tibet. Gantey Gompa, the expansive monastery and monastic institution that is the seat of the reincarnation of Pema Lingpa – another historically important figure in Bhutan who discovered Ters or hidden treasures and is also knows as a Terton - is strategically placed in the middle of Phubjikha. Most Bhutanese aristocracy descends from Pema Lingpa and these aristocratic families are called Peling.

From Phubjikha, it is 4-hours drive to Punakha, the winter seat for the Central Monastic Body, seat of the Shabdrung. We will visit the most stunning of all Dzongs of Bhutan and several historical sites of Punakha Valley.

The program includes 3 days in Thimphu, the capital: dzongs, museums, markets, craft shops. Thimphu is a city of 150,000 people, experiencing the pains of a continuing construction and clutter. Elsewhere, Bhutanese architecture of sloping roofs, wood frontages painted with flowers and Buddhist symbols, arched windows keeps with tradition. Thimphu has taken on a more modern landscape, filled with glass facades in cement buildings of up to 7 floors that crowd every corner of town. It is fast losing its picturesque postcard look but the mountains that encircle it redeem it with breathtaking amazing nature.