Main Gate to Pashupatinath Temple

Pashupatinath from other side of Bagmati River

Designated a World Heritage Site, the 24m-high pagoda-roofed temple itself is closed to non-Hindus.  There is historical evidence that a temple to Shiva existed at this site in 879 AD.  The present temple dates from 1697. 

Pagoda-style gilded rooftops of Pashupatinath

 Just inside the gate it’s possible to catch a view of a giant brass statue of Shiva’s bull Nandi.

Shiva's Bull Nandi

The temple is part of a large complex of temples, ashrams, images and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river.  People come here to take ritual baths.

Want to bathe amid the garbage?

One former temple complex, the Panch Deval, is now a home for destitute old people.

Rooftops of the Panch Deval (Five Temples)

One of the oldest temples is this one.

Temple to Vasuki, King of Nagas

This one’s fairly new.

Across the river from the Pashupatinath Temple, there is a series of stone terraces with numerous small Shiva shrines. 

Shiva Temples

These one-room temples are often used as lodgings by wandering sadhus (wandering ascetics) and each contains a central Shiva lingam. 

Looking through a series of Shiva Temples. Note the sleeping mat.

Despite the varying styles, all have a mask of Bhairab, Shiva’s fearsome incarnation, on the south wall and a Nandi statue and animal-head water spout on the north.

Carving on Shiva Temple

Smaller carvings on a Shiva temple

 Some of the buildings have very elaborate architectural details.

Carving over a doorway

Part of a door

The top panel of the above door

Lest one get the impression that everything here is worthy of the photographer’s attention, consider these views.

Southeast of the temple

Old Shiva temples on the way from the parking lot

Thimphu apartment building

Paro apartment buildings

 Some towns like Wangdi are being built anew in different locations. 

The new Wangdi

Once everyone has been moved from their old dwellings to a new one, the old town will be destroyed.  We went to the new town because the bank had already moved, even though few if any dwellings were complete.

Buildings under construction in the new Wangdi

Scaffolding

 In rural areas, one may see the mud wall ruins of old houses

House ruins in village of Nabji

next door to new construction.

A house under construction in Nabji

New construction

It’s not unusual to find buildings with metal roofs that are kept in place with large rocks.

Metal roof with rocks

Kyichu Lhakhang

The road through the valley to the lhakhang had recently been resurfaced so it was much smoother than most Bhutanese roads, but its width was fairly typical.

Remember, Paro is the location of Bhutan’s only airport.  It’s huge in comparison to most of the valleys in Bhutan with lots of wide open space.

Prayer wheel and flags at Drukgyel Dzong

Exterior walls of Drukgyel Dzong

Old steps up to entrance of Drukgyel Dzong

Entrance courtyard

There's no stucco left on this wall

This tower still had its stucco and paint

The walls were an interesting mix of building materials.

Mix of building materials in walls

Cut-stone walls

Rough stone walls

The dzong is at the end of Paro valley near a major route to Tibet, so the mountains loom up behind the dzong.

The way to Tibet

In the valley, some of the rice fields had been planted.

Paro Valley from Drukgyel Dzong

Rice fields

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong on a bluff

To discourage attacks cacti were planted on the hillside.

However, once one attains the hilltop, the way into the dzong was much easier than at the others I’d visited.

Entrance to Wandue Phodrang Dzong

This dzong was under renovation; thus, the pile of building materials in the above photo.  For me one of the more interesting facets of this dzong was the fact it had not been restored; it looked old.

Dochey in administrative area

The painting on the utse may date from when the dzong was rebuilt after the 1897 earthquake.

Utse at Wangue Phodrang Dzong

At Wangdi one can see the mountains between the buildings.

Unlike the dzongs with walls around them, at Wangdi one can see the mountains between the buildings.

In the religious sector of the dzong the monks’ quarters leave little room for outdoor gatherings.

Religious sector of Wangi Dzong

The building at the far end houses the main assembly hall.  Note the rocks holding the wooden roof in place.

Wangdi Assembly Hall

If the wall paintings were a century old, they were remarkably preserved.

This wheel of life was much less colorful than some, but the detail was amazing.

As we were leaving the dzong we saw a group of young buys using part of a chorten as a swimming pool.

My guide Pelden was born in Nabji, and he lived here until going away to school. 

Several of his sisters still live in the area; one in the village.  Because I was a party of one, she graciously invited me to stay in her home.  Thus, I had an opportunity to glimpse what rural life in Bhutan is really like–sort of.  Being an honored guest in a home where no one speaks your language, the only chair is the one brought for you, and the kitchen is so smoky that it makes your eyes water, nose run, and lungs cough means there is little interaction between you and your hosts.

Pelden's sister's home

While most of the homes look multi-storied, only one level is used for living space.  The ground level is for storage, as is the open space between the first floor and roof.  If you’ve not read or heard about the Bhutanese’ favorite good-luck symbol, here it is.

For comparison purposes, here are two other homes in Nabji village.

Neighbor's home from my bedroom window

Neighbor's house

 To get to the living quarters, one climbed these steps.

Steps into Pelden's sister's home

On the main floor there was a kitchen, storage room, family sleeping room (no beds), guest bedroom with a set of twin beds, parlor/sitting room, and a room set aside for worship.  Pelden said the guest room was only used by guests; I never found out if the room they set aside as my sitting room was used regularly or not by the family, but there was a pile of sleeping mats in the corner.  Otherwise, it was empty.

Parlor? with door to the family's Buddhist shrine

 There were several cabinets used for storage in the guest bedroom.  One of them was beautifully painted.

The glass-fronted one to the right was filled with foodstuffs and other kitchen things.  The items on the right are all thermoses–one for tea and three for hot food.

The windows had no glass, just sliding wooden panels.

Every family had chickens that started to crow at 4:30 a.m.  (No sleeping in here!) and cows.  This one also had donkeys.

There was a haystack close at hand. 

The little tent housed the hole in the ground they erected for my use.  I asked where the family went and he said it was nearby.  Getting to this outhouse was not easy.  I had to negotiate the steep steps, climb through the fence or over the wall of the enclosure for the cows and donkeys, negotiate with the chickens, and avoid all of their droppings.

From my window I could see the “public baths”–a tap to which everyone came with a bar of soap, towel, and toothbrushes.  I believe most people had to haul their water from here, but some may have had a garden hose for piping some to their yards.

The one thing I was not prepared for both in Bhutan and Nepal was the lack of separation between people and farm animals.  There are no barns, no stables, no chicken coops.  It’s a free-for-all, so watch where you step and it’s a good idea to leave your shoes outside.  It’s no wonder the water needs to be boiled.

Model of Heidelberg Schloss

Perched on a bluff high above the Mangde Chhu, it commanded a defensible position along the major east-west trade route.   

Trongsa Dzong and Ta Dzong from the west

Looking Westward with Trongsa Dzong in foreground

A stream flows alongside the eastern perimeter of the dzong

The Chhoekhor Raptentse Dzong (the official name for this dzong) was the original seat of power in modern Bhutan, starting when the Trongsa penlop Jigme Namgyal (the first king’s father) established control of most of Bhutan.  The first and second kings ruled from here, and by tradition, the crown prince gets on-the-job training in governance by filling the post of Trongsa penlop (district administrator).

Chhoekhor Raptentse Dzong, Trongsa

Today's entrance to the dzong; historically one had to walk two hours up the mountain to the eastern gate

Inside the walls there’s a feeling of spaciousness with numerous buildings and large courtyards. 

Inside Trongsa Dzong

Lots of office space and 23 lhakhangs inside this dzong

The timber and stucco are reminiscent of half-timbering

 The watchtower for the dzong was built above it on the hillside.

Ta Dzong is situated above Trongsa Dzong

Ta Dzong from the west on a sunny day

Ta Dzong from Trongsa Dzong in the rain and fog

With support from the Austrian government, the tower is been converted into a splendid museum that is a steep climb up from the road.

The last flight of stairs up to Ta Dzong

Ta Dzong tower

Tomorrow I’ll be heading into the Black Mountains to begin the six-day trek along the Nabji Trail.  No more dzongs for a while!

We started our rounds of lhakhang at the Jampey (or Jampa) Lhakhang, which shares the claim for being the first temple constructed in Bhutan by King Songtsen Gampo of Tibet in 659 with the Kyichu Lhakhang in the Paro valley.  Gampo built 108 temples in Tibet and throughout the Himalayas on a single day to overcome a giant supine demoness by pinning her to the earth.  Jampa Lhakhang was placed on the demoness’s left knee.  Four temples were added in the latter half of the 19^th century.  The complex was partially restored in 1905, but that’s still more than a century ago, so this place feels old.

Just a short walk away was the new (2008) Zangtopelri Lhakhang.  It was built over a period of seven years with financial assistance from Her Majesty the Queen Mother Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck.  It was built in memory of her grandfather Gongzim Ugyen Dorji, her grand aunt Ane Thukten Wangmo and her parents Gongzim Sonam Tobgye Dorji and Mayum Choying Wangmo Dorji. 

Did you notice how much more painting there is on the new versus the old lhakhang?

Further up the road was the Kurjey Lhakhang, a much larger complex built on a site where Guru Rinpoche meditated and left the imprint of his body on a rock.  The temple over Guru Rinpoche’s imprint was built in 1652; the second temple was built in 1900 by Ugyen Wangchuck, the First King of Bhutan, while he was still the Penlop of Trongsa.  The third temple dates from 1900 and was sponsored by the then Queen Mother Ashi Kesang.

Across the river, we visited the Tamshing Goempa which was established in 1501 by Pema Lingpa.  It is the most important Nyingma gonpa in Bhutan.  Tamshing supports a body of over 80 monks. Mostly under the age of 15, these monks are either orphans or from very poor families who can’t afford to send their children to a state school.

We then visited Jakar Dzong, a much smaller dzong than the one’s I’d seen so far.  Originally built as a monastery in 1549, it was converted into a dzong in 1646.  It was badly damaged by the 1897 earthquake and rebuilt on a smaller scale in 1905.  Here the courtyards were very small compared to those at Thimphu and Punakha, giving this dzong a more intimate feel.

Chorten outside walls of Gangte Gompa

See the bird on the roof of the building on the right.    It’s a Red-Billed Chough, a very noisy member of the crow family that seems to prefer lots of company. 

Red-billed Chough

 Pema Lingpa, a famous saint of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism who was born near Bumtang in Bhutan, prophesied the construction of a gonpa  here while visiting the valley.  His grandson and first reincarnation Gangteng Tulku (Gyalse Pema Thinley or Rigdzin Pema Tinley (1564-1642)) started the monastery in 1613 by building a temple on the site.  The 2nd Gangteng Tulku completed the monastery later in the century.

Exterior of Gangtey Gonpa

Details of Exterior Painting

If you’re wondering how a 17th century wooden building looks so magnificent after 300 years, it’s because a seven-year reconstruction effort was just completed in 2008 with the aid of the Landmarks Foundation.  In fact, some work continues today.  For a video showing how the gonpa looked during renovations, check out this youtube video Gangte Gompa.

Woodcarvers at work

The carvings are very detailed

One enters the monastery through this porch-like structure.

Entrance porch to Gangte Gonpa

Detailed painting on entranceway

The walls of the porch are covered with paintings.

The three-story central tower contains several temples and prayer halls, but we could find no one to open them for us.

Temple Building at Gangte Gonpa

Carving on central tower

Details of painted carvings

The above woodworkers were in an open, covered pavilion on one side of the courtyard in front of the central tower.

Woodworkers' workroom

Opposite was an interesting enclosed building, and

Building facing central courtyard

there were, of course, some fabulous “gargoyles.” 

Roof ornament

I’m not sure where I saw this carving, but it doesn’t appear to be on the front of the central tower.

Skull carving

After leaving the monastery we visited the Black-Necked Crane Information Center, which had just a couple of pretty basic displays and two spotting scopes.  The crane is about 4-ft tall with a distinctive red crown patch.  It’s life span is 70 to 80 years.

A Black-Necked Crane

Since it was mid-afternoon, most of the live cranes had moved out of the valley to shadier, cooler locations, but with the scopes we found a pair of Northern Lapwings.

Northern Lapwing by Nigel Pye

The next morning as we were leaving the valley the light was just right to get some good pictures of a pair of cranes in a farmyard.

Black-Necked Cranes

Before closing this post, let me tell you about the hotel I stayed at in the valley–the Dewachan, although the fact this hotel has its own website should tell you something.  According to LP the hotel was built in conjunction with a US travel company.  It is a beautiful stone-and-wood building set on a hillside with fabulous views across the valley. 

Dewachen Hotel in the Phobjikha Valley

The rooms are huge with two beds, a large sitting area, and a nicely tiled shower.  The furnishings are stylish, like what you would find in a better-than-average lodge in the US.  There is a small wood stove and electricity for a few hours in the morning and evening. 

My messy room at the Dewachen

The dining room was on the second floor with bay windows looking out over the valley.  The first floor probably was used as a bar when there were more people at the hotel, although with just sixteen rooms I doubt that it ever feels crowded.

The Dewachen at dawn from my room