Thimphu 5

There was another short hike scheduled for us. Our destination was the Chorten on the hill to the left. Before we could reach our starting point we had to negotiate yet more road works. A lot of the heavy construction is done by Indian women

It had turned into a lovely afternoon and at the beginning of the trail Barbara and Raine staged a revolt. They just wanted to sit under a tree and enjoy the sunshine. They assured Bhim that I would go with him

We crossed a suspension bridge and walked through beautiful terraced rice fields before we began the moderate climb up through the pine trees to the Khamsum Yuelley Namgyei Chorten. It took about an hour

Khamsum Yuelley Namgyey
Built at the behest of the Queen Mother who dedicated it to the "well being of the kingdom and the benefit of all sentient beings". We had to forgo the best view of Punakha from the top of the Khamsum because the caretaker was at lunch

The only one of its kind in the world. Artisans worked for nine years to complete the Khamsum. They used scriptures rather than engineering drawings during construction

Druk Pungthang Dechhen Phodrang

Punakha Dzong (Palace of Great Happiness) lies at the confluence of the Mo Chhu and the Oho Chhu in one of Bhutans most temperate valleys. Crops grow year round, many Bhutanese winter here and it was the official winter capital until 1955

The history of Punakha Dzong is a catalogue of disaster and damage from many fires, floods and earthquakes. A 12 year renovation following the floods of 1994 beautifully restored the Dzong

The magnificently restored Kuenrey (assembly hall)

Farewell to Thimphu and Norzin Lam the less than bustling Clock Tower Square

We returned over the same road we came in on If possible it was even worse. Coming from Paro we used the original road, bad as it was, going the other way we were often on a completely unmade, stone strewn, future road.

Back in Paro we would have almost 2 more days before flying to Kathmandu