Category: Bhutan

Hot stone baths are the traditional way to de-stress in Bhutan so, after hiking all the way up to the Tiger’s Nest, of course I had to try one. You order your evening bath first thing in the morning because it takes seven or eight hours to heat the stones, so you can’t wait and… Continue reading Hot stone baths and an obsession with archery

There is great excitement in the Phobjikha Valley in central Bhutan when the black-necked cranes arrive for the winter. They swoop in from the Tibetan Plateau and settle in the wetlands of this huge U-shaped valley, where a conservation area has been set up to protect them. The Phobjikha Valley is also the site of… Continue reading The Festival of the Black-Necked Crane

Now, I can walk a fair distance at home, on flat terrain in Bedfordshire which is eighty-five metres above sea level. Walking in Bhutan, in the Himalayas, over three thousand metres above sea level, is a totally different challenge. For a start it’s much steeper than anywhere I’ve been before, and the altitude makes it… Continue reading A hike to the top of the world

I’ve never been to a country before which is so photogenic that you want to stop and take pictures of literally every single thing you see, starting from the moment you arrive. The photo above is Punakha Dzong, said to be the most beautiful building in Bhutan … a bold claim when the bar is… Continue reading Bhutan … the most photogenic country in the world?