Bhutan

To get the morning started on an auspicious note, we light up the temple at the top of the pass at 7 am, on reaching Chele La top in Bhutan.

At 13700 ft above sea level, Chelela pass is the highest motorable pass in Bhutan and connects the Paro and Haa districts of Bhutan.

hills

The landing at Paro Airport in Bhutan is amongst the most difficult in the world. It involves a steep descent into Paro valley which is surrounded by high hills.

A young mother in Bhutan speaks on her mobile phone even as she has her young son tied to the back, papoose-style, as she moves about her shop, washing some dishes and clearing up, at the ABC Market in Thimphu.

hills

As seen from near the new High Court in Bumthang's valley of Chamkhar, this fortified dzong sits on a lovely hillock above the green valley in central Bhutan.

As is done in trans-Himalayan regions and border areas of India, India and Bhutan both tend to use Chinese made low-cost generators as tractor and low-cost vehicle engines in a practice that is known locally in India as jugaad or 'makeshift…

hills

Rupin Dang meets these two enterprising young Bhutanese women who drive up in a Mahindra Bolero pick-up truck each morning and set up a tea and coffee shop at the top of the Chele La pass which divides the Paro and Haa valley.

music

The Idea of folk music is to provide an opportunity for visitors to experience all aspects of traditional and contemporary Bhutanese music.

crafts

Bhutan is renowned for its silk-on-silk textiles that carry sophisticated, embroidery-like patterns. Working on backstrap looms, weavers use a pick-up technique to create designs which are worn by both men and women in daily life.

highway

A huge rockfall took place, thanks to the expansion of the east-west highway in Bhutan. This stretch leads into Bumthang, and rocks fell and covered the road one monsoon afternoon.

snow · hills

Near the Chelela pass above the city of Paro in Bhutan, Rupin Dang finds a Primula calderiana flower that has just bloomed right after the snow melt.

temple · festival

The festival takes place at Kurjey Temple, located at Kurjey in the Chokhor valley in Bumthang district. It is a 15 minute drive from Chamkhar town to arrive at the temple grounds.

The golden langur, a charismatic primate species conspicuous by its lustrous creamy-golden fur and found only in few forest patches of India and Bhutan.

birds · wildlife

Indian birders look for birds through their long lenses at Chele La Pass in Bhutan. Bhutan is a paradise for bird lovers and ornithologists. Over 670 species of birds have been recorded and many more are yet to be discovered.

festival · dance

A colourful mask dance performance b Bhutanese at the annual Druk Wangyel Festival 2014 in Bhutan.

Misty meadows and forest-grassland interfaces - this is eastern Bhutan at its best. A land of simple folk and mysterious plants and a land of the monsoon rains.

ceremony

The Monk Body of Bhutan is known for taking the responsibility for establishing social harmony and happiness throughout the nation.

Echoing India's stand, its neighbours Bhutan and Maldives Friday called for a "strong" agreement that is geared towards the needs of developing countries to adapt to climate change as well as pumps in funds in the global climate kitty.

dance

Dance of the Judgement of the Dead (Raksha Mangcham) This is based on the Bardo thoedrol (book of the Dead), a text hidden by Guru rinpoche and rediscovered later by Karma Lingpa (14th century).

festival · temple

During the Tsechu festival Bhutanese people offer obeisance in front of the Thongdrel seeking blessings. A Thongdrel (alt. throngdrel) is a large tapestry unveiled during tsechus (religious festivals) in Bhutan.

The name of the cat is Mama as kept by the provider of the family. Mother cat gave birth to two kittens on the 13th March 2018 in Gelephu, Bhutan.

wildlife · birds

The Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and winters mainly in remote parts of India and Bhutan.

Sitting in a verdant valley, Chendebji Chorten was built in the 18th century by the Buddhist Lama Ngesup Tshering Wangchuk to ward off evil spirits and demons.