Bhutan, the hidden Himalaya paradise

In 1971 HM Kesang Choden Wangchuck,the Queen of King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, built a Guru Temple next to the old Jowo Temple which was consecrated by HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Ever since then the annual rites of great accomplishment for the deities Vajrasattva, Palchen Heruka, and Vajrakilaya have been held in this temple for the well being of the country under the patronage of HM Kesang Choden Wangchuck.

... happy to get captures. I sent them a print copy to Paro and I got an answer to Bangkok. Every time when I visited Bhutan, my first visit was to this amazing place which is located outside Paro just a few kilometers.

Kyichu Lhakhang or Kyerchu Temple is a Buddhist temple in Paro District on the way to Taksang and Drukgyel. It is one of the oldest monasteries in the country built in the 7th century.

The beauty of Paro valley is embellished by cluster of quaint Farm Houses. Bhutanese Farm Houses are very colorful, decorative and traditionally built without the use of single nail. All houses follow the same architectural pattern. A visit to Farm House is very interesting and offers a good glimpse into the lifestyle of a farmer.

"Wind is the natural element of the horse. As it gallops across the plain the wind arises to meet it, its long tail and mane flowing freely as it speeds through the stillness of the air, creating wind. Both the wind and the horse are natural vehicles of movement, the horse carrying material form and the wind ethereal form. Prayers are carried on the wind, and in Tibet the prayer flag is known as the Windhorse, Lung Ta, in Tibetan."

Most tourists and other visitors stop at this viewing point to enjoy the vista to the Tiger's Nest Monastery. For most foreigners the finish point but we kept on climbing to the monastery.

It is Bhutan's most photographed and most sacred place. This Buddhist monastery clings dramatically to a cliff 3,000 feet above a valley floor, and is often shrouded in mist. We could join locals in hanging Buddhist prayer flags.

One of the most sacrednyes in the Buddhist world, Taktshang was established in the eighth century by Guru Rinpoche. The guru in the wrathful form of Guru Dorji Droley subdued the evil spirits and then meditated in the Pelphug in Taktshang. Other saints who meditated in the cave include Milarepa, Phadampa Sangye, Machi Labdoenma, Thangthong Gyalpo and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The main monastery around the Pelphug in Taktshang was constructed in 1692 by the great fourth Desi, Tenzin Rabgye. Between 1961 and 1965 it was renovated by Je Sheldrup Yoezer. The latest additions were made in 1982. The Taktshang monastery was severely damaged by fire on April 19, 1998, but the Dubkhang, the most sacred sanctum of the monastery, was found to be safe. Restoration work on the lhakhang began two years later after the fire because of the lona and the danger of loosened rocks from the cliffs overhead. Dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava, this incredible monastery clings to the edge of a sheer rock cliff that plunges 900 meters into the valley below. The history states that Guru Padmasambhava, the tantrum mystic who brought Buddhism to Bhutan, had taken the wrathful form of Guru Dorje Droloe to subdue the evil and demon that were obstructing the spread of Buddhism in the Himalayas. A fire destroyed a value part of the monastery in April1998. It was in restruction when we visited the Tiger's Nest at that time. Look at the photo I captured four years before:

On the way back from the Tiger's Nest Monastery we were passing a farmer house which was in construction an nearly completed. The material for construction come from the nearby area around.

The sacrificial offering with butter lamps is a similar meaning like the donation of candles in the christian church.

At the Paro Festival, a large and beautifully appliquéd Thanka scroll known as a Tongdrol is exhibited for a few hours, at day break of the final day of the festival, enabling the people to obtain its blessing, as this holy scroll confers liberation by the mere sight of it (Tongdrol in Bhutanese).

This Thanka, the Thongdrol, is the second largest Thanka on the world, (the largest is in Lahsa/Tibet and is enrolled in Aug. every year at the Sera monasterry Lhasa). The people enroll it during nighttime only due a very high sensibility that the sunlight will destroy the nice color. Visitors at the Tshechu Paro have to get up very early at nighttime to see the Thanka, which is enrolled once a year.