Bhutan – Day 4: From Wangdue Phodrang to Jakar

Today was a major travel day: we had to make the seven-hour journey from Wangdue Phodrang to the city of Jakar in Bumthang District, the historic heart of Bhutan. Winding our way up and down the major artery that connects Thimphu to the central regions, we covered the 2000 metres of altitude that separate subtropical forests from the snowline. The change in flora was remarkable. In the lowlands, we spotted banana and papaya trees, whereas higher up, the lush green landscape gave way to forests of pines and rhododendrons. These grow to enormous heights in Bhutan, rivalling even the moss-festooned magnolia trees that often find themselves sprinkled in between.

Despite our assiduous turning of prayer wheels for the past several days, it appears that our luck for good weather has run out. Though occasionally scenic, the mist and clouds often proved impenetrable obstacles to our observation of the landscape. Indeed, when we reached the pass Pele-la at the height of 3420 metres, we could barely see the chorten standing right at the roundabout, and the whirling snowflakes soon chased us away. It was unbelievable that even at such a height, there were still street vendors – albeit bundled up and sat around their rusty braziers.

As on any proper road trip, we moved little and snacked a lot. At Pele-la, we bought dried yak cheese cubes, which usually hang in garlands from the beams of roadside shacks. This snack is known for being tough to the point of inedibility, but ours were still quite manageable, even if culinarily unremarkable: yak cheese cubes taste more of the fire above which they are dried than of cheese. Later on, we also acquired some spicy vegetable slices and fried dough knots, both of which we found quite tasty but very oily. Less oily but equally unhealthy were the Malaysian ghost pepper crisps we acquired at a market near Trongsa; the soy sauce used to flavour them gave the crisps a disquieting blackness.

We passed a few scenic sights on our journey without making very long stops. Leaving Punakha, we drove by Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, which towers majestically above the river, and which can be accessed by an equally picturesque bridge. Then, after descending from the Pele-la Pass, we made a short stop by a beautiful white stupa decorated with the Buddha’s all-seeing eyes.

The major sight of the day, however, was the Trongsa Dzong, the longest Dzong in Bhutan. Impressive from both inside and outside, Trongsa Dzong has several towers, multiple courtyards, and around a dozen temples. As it lies on a vital route connecting Western and Central Bhutan, the Trongsa Dzong played a vital role in Bhutanese history. It was from Trongsa that the first Wangchuk King conquered the rest of Bhutan, including the holdout valleys of Thimphu and Paro.

The wood carvings and paintings at Trongsa are remarkable. They include a beautiful depiction of Padmasambhava’s heavenly palace and a very detailed bhavachakra. Our guide described the iconography of the latter: the innermost white circle is inscribed with a simple prayer, while the circle around it depicts three animals: a hog, a snake, and a bird, each representing the most serious of sins (greed, anger, and pride, respectively). Moving outward, the next circle depicts the six ways one might be reincarnated: in hell, among the insatiable spirits, as an animal, as a human, as a demi-god, or in paradise. Finally, the outermost circle depicts the twelve phases of human life that bind us to Samsara, the cycle of rebirth. The entire wheel is held by Yamaraja, the fearsome God of Death, who is traditionally depicted with three eyes and a tiara of skulls.

For the first time in Bhutan, we also visited a shrine dedicated to Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. I learned that the tell-tale visual sign of this Buddha is that he tends to be depicted sitting with his feet hanging down rather than cross-legged. The temple seemed truly ancient. Unlike many others, its wooden statues were worn down with age, and its many-coloured flags had turned quite drab.

Despite our being waylaid by a herd of yaks on our way from another mountain pass (likely Yotongla Pass, which stands at the height of 3450 metres), we made it to our destination just in time for dinner. Our meals have luckily been mostly vegetarian – and very interesting. Reminding me of my days in Xishuangbanna, we have been served ferns quite a few times. Other plates tend to comprise seasonal vegetables like squash, chilli peppers, and various kinds of mushrooms.