The Phobjika Valley

I know I have been describing Bhutan as Shandri La since we arrived here 8 days ago. At the time we all thought that to be accurate, however I now know better for we have just returned from 3 days in the true Shangri La - an incredible magical valley hiiden high in the Himalaya, remote even by Bhutanese standards. Before I tell you any more about that magic valley I should fill you in on some of what we have been doing in the past few days.

We rode out of Thimpu up to the rowering Dochula Pass at 3150 m. It was steep uphill all the way and the road was crumbling into dust for much of the way. In spite of this it was quite an achievement when we finally rolled into the stupa that marks the summit. Here were thousands of brightly coloured prayer flags flapping in the breeze. We spent some time to soak up the atmosphere before remounting the bikes for the hair raising and bone shattering 40 km descent to Punakha. With large trucks apperaing round the bends without warning it certainly paid to keep your concentration or else your ride could quickly have degenerated into a catastrophe. Fortunately we all made it safely to the bottom - battered but in high spirits.

After a couple of days exploring the region around Punakha we climbed aboard the bus for the long slog up to the Lawala Pass (3300 metres). At the summit we were met by the sight of dozens of Yaks grazing in the rich pastures. These large beasts can only live at high altitudes and it was the first glimpse we had seen of them in Bhutan. This really made us feel like we were on the verge of another page in our unfolding adventure. It was then back on the bikes for the beautiful descent into the Phobijka Valley. This is world renowned for being the home to the Black Necked Crane. It did not take long for us to fall under the spel of this beautiful valley. In all my travels I doubt that I have ever seen a place just so spellbinding. It really was as if we had left time behind to venture into another world.

As we climbed up the steep drive to our hotel we were faced with a building that looked like a storybook magic castle. The inside was just as mesmerising and the views from the dining room windows were breathtaking. It took in a full 180 degrees panorama and the valley looked like a huge green and fertile basin surrounded by towering mountains all around. Dotted throughout were dozens of houses, each one looking like a highly decorated dolls house. I could have just sat and admired the view for hours since I knew that no amount of photos would ever do it justice. This was about as remote as we were ever going to be. Since there was only one narrow road into this place I suspect that most would not have worried if the road had been blocked and we had been forced to stay a few days longer.

To be continuedRead more