Bhutan 360

Climbing Chomolhari in 1970

Gelay — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:02:33 +0000

“What’s your problem?’ Dorjee Lhatoo shouted in Tibetan, “We’ll all die if we carry on pushing towards the summit,” Lieutenant Chachu replied. The two men were a hundred feet below the summit of Mount Jhomolhari (Chomolhari – 24,000 ft) making their final assault to the summit. Chachu was an officer of the Royal Bhutan Army, [...]

2011 Festival Dates

Gelay — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 08:18:25 +0000

Once a year a Dzong or an important village may hold a religious festival called a Tsechu. Villagers from the nearby villagest come for several days of religious observances and socializing while contributing auspicious offerings to the monastery of the festival. The central activity is a fixed set of religious mask dances, or Cham, held [...]

Introduction to Bhutan

Gelay — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 08:18:20 +0000

Bhutan is a small landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas bordered by China in the North and India on the other 3 sides. It has a total land area of 38,394 square kilometers and measures approximately 150 kilometers North to South and 300 kilometers East to West. The landscape is characterized by rugged terrain and [...]

2010 Paro Tshechu Begins

Gelay — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:38:28 +0000

Under a warm spring sun, and dressed in their finest ghos and kiras, Parops, pilgrims, and an almost equal number of tourists, celebrated the first day of Paro Tsechu, witnessing sacred dances performed in the cobble-stoned courtyard of the Paro Rinpung Dzong. Sacred masked dances are performed during Tshechu festivals. Events inside Paro Rinpung Dzong [...]

Highways in Bhutan

Gelay — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:21:02 +0000

Bhutan, most tourist guidebooks say, is a country of short distances but long journeys. It’s another way of saying that traveling around Bhutan can take a comparatively longer time than elsewhere. The narrow roads with countless hairpin bends that snake up the hill and then wind down to the river do not allow for driving [...]

Year of the Tiger

Gelay — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:31:33 +0000

As we welcome the year of the Tiger, the new year is not about roaring celebration. It instead calls for more conservation actions. Among the 13 tiger range countries in the world, Bhutan, which is best known for its conservation policies, is launching postal stamps of tigers as a sign of commitment to the global [...]