Aether Bhutan Tours and Travel
Thimphu, Bhutan | +975 77391059 | sonamnamdrel000@gmail.com
Aether Bhutan Tours and Travel
Twelve days to Bumthang for the strangest festival in Bhutan
Jambay Lhakhang Drup is held at one of the oldest temples in the kingdom, said to have been founded in the seventh century as one of 108 built in a single day. It is smaller than the great western tshechus, considerably older in feel, and it contains two things you will not see anywhere else.
The first is the mewang — a fire ceremony in which villagers run beneath a burning gate to purify themselves for the year. The second is the tercham, the naked dance, performed around midnight by firelight and traditionally not photographed. Both are attended almost entirely by Bhutanese.
Getting to Bumthang takes three days of driving each way, which is why we build twelve days around it rather than eight. The route east through Trongsa is one of the great drives, and the return gives you Phobjikha when the cranes have just arrived.
Met at arrivals and a gentle first afternoon in the valley — Rinpung Dzong and the bridge below it, then an early night.
A short drive to the capital. The Buddha Dordenma above the valley, and the National Institute for Zorig Chusum where the thirteen traditional arts are still taught.
Over the Dochula pass and down into the warm valley. Punakha Dzong in the afternoon, when the light comes up the river.
Climbing into the glacial bowl where the cranes winter. Gangtey Goenpa sits at the head of the valley; the floor walk in the afternoon is flat, open and completely quiet.
Over the Pele La into central Bhutan. Trongsa Dzong appears long before you reach it, strung along a ridge above a gorge. The Tower of Trongsa museum above it is the best-curated in the country.
Over the Yotong La into the Chokhor valley. An easy afternoon to settle in — Jakar Dzong, and a first walk through the village.
Daytime cham dances in the temple courtyard, then back after dark for the mewang. A gate of dried grass is lit and villagers run beneath the flames. It is loud, smoky and completely unstaged.
A slow morning after a late night. In the evening we return for the tercham, danced around midnight by firelight. Photography is not permitted, which is part of why it stays what it is.
The valley proper, without a festival crowd. Kurjey Lhakhang, built around the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated, and Tamshing with its 500-year-old murals. Buckwheat noodles and a brewery in the afternoon if you like.
A long westward drive back over both passes, broken at Trongsa for lunch. The country runs backwards past the window and looks different in the other direction.
Back over the Dochula. Afternoon in Paro, and the option of a hot stone bath before dinner.
Breakfast and the short drive to the airport.
No obligation, and no sales sequence afterwards.
Every one of these is a starting point, not a fixed package.
Paro Tshechu, and the Guru Thongdrel unfurled before sunrise.
The Druk Path — five days over the ridge between Paro and Thimphu.
The full traverse, Paro to Trashi Yangtse, with the Thrumshingla crossing.
Jambay Lhakhang Drup falls in late October or November depending on the lunar year. Send us your rough dates and we will tell you whether they line up.
