A Tourist Haven in Tiny Bhutan

THIMPHU, Bhutan — To locals it is known as the Taktshang Monastery. In English, it's called the Tiger's Nest — a temple that clings to a cliff face in the Himalayan foothills.

Undulating forests, dotted with colorful prayer flags, surround the temple. In a prayer room behind me, a monk chanted Buddhist sutras near a cave where locals believe a man turned himself into a tiger.

I was at the end of a 10-day trip to Bhutan. This combination of stunning physical beauty and mind-boggling spirituality perfectly summed up the country, the last Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas and one of the world's most unique nations.

Roughly the size of Switzerland, Bhutan only began to allow foreign tourists in 1974, and its king has continued to limit tourism to slow the homogenizing influence of global culture. Last year, only 17,000 foreign tourists visited the country.

That exclusivity piqued my interest. But I wanted to go for other reasons, too. For much of the last decade I have lived in China. In a visit to Bhutan, I could see Theravada Buddhism practiced in a nation that values the tradition.

One of two major schools of Buddhism, Theravada teachings spread to Bhutan from Tibet in the 7th century. But because communist-ruled China destroyed many temples after occupying Tibet in 1950 and continues to suppress the religion, Bhutan protects many of the religion's oldest shrines and most intact traditions.

Bhutan's forests also attracted me. More than two-thirds of Bhutan is wilderness and home to an astonishing array of birds and animals including black-necked cranes, red pandas, snow leopards and takin — a large, clumsy looking beast that wildlife biologist George Schaller once called a "bee-stung moose," presumably for their clown-like bulbous noses.

But because Bhutan's government regulates tourism by charging visitors at least $200 a day (a fee that includes lodging, meals, transportation and a guide), I had not made the trip.

When Ken Jones, a friend and former teacher, invited me to join him on a tour organized by Smithsonian Journeys, I quickly agreed.

In mid-October our group of 12 travelers — including a tour leader and Elizabeth Napper, an expert in Buddhism who offered lectures as we traveled — arrived in Paro, the only city in Bhutan with an airport.

As we drove into the valley, I knew I would like Bhutan. Prayer flags fluttered from mountainsides, farmers harvested and threshed rice by hand in picture-perfect fields and children played in front of large farmhouses decorated with Buddhist motifs.

At our first stop, the Kyichu Temple, we began our crash course in Buddhism. Built on the orders of a Tibetan king in 659 A.D. to trap a demon tormenting the Himalayan region, the small monastery is the oldest in Bhutan.

Napper and our local guide, Kinley Gyelshen, pointed out paintings meant to protect the shrine and instruct Buddhist believers. One showed an elephant, monkey, rabbit and bird working together to pick fruit from a tree — a fable illustrating the importance of cooperation.

The variety of artwork was impressive. Colorful paintings covered the walls, carefully crafted sculptures sat on hand-carved tables and monks had left artistic offerings made from yak butter and barley flour.

The intricacy of the works reminded me of Europe's finest cathedrals, and when Napper titled a lecture that evening, "Bhutan: The Last Jewel of the Himalayas," I nodded in agreement.

Partly because Bhutan's government has only begun to let television and movies into the country (television was made available in 1999), Bhutan "preserves a wonderful slice of the world that doesn't exist anymore," Napper said.

But as modernity creeps in, preserving Bhutan's culture may be difficult. As we traveled east for 170 miles, the juxtaposition of tradition and change was obvious.

Our first stop after Paro was Thimphu, the nation's capital and largest city (population: 85,000). Between visits to a good folk-history museum and a shrine memorializing a recent king, we roamed the city, stopping at newly opened Internet cafes and shops selling handmade textiles and art.

From Thimphu, we continued on one of Bhutan's major throughways — an often one-lane road that traced pristine rivers and cut through forests, where we spotted wild monkeys and longhaired yaks between wide-canopied trees.

Many of our stops were at religious sites. In Punakha, a town northeast of Thimphu, we visited a fortress that houses both government offices and state-supported monks.

From the outside, the building's high red-and-white walls were beautiful, but its most breathtaking space was hidden at its center. Bhutan's fourth king had recently abdicated the throne in favor of his son and the inner room will be used for the new king's coronation next year.

The soccer field-sized space was so ornate that I could have spent days examining its many paintings and sculptures. The artworks tell a story about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Indian prince believed to have found enlightenment in India in 500 B.C., his disciples and their teachings. A statue of him — the Buddha — at the front of the hall was as tall as a house and several tourists sat on the floor staring at it in rapt attention.

Nothing else on the trip compared with the room's grandeur, but other sites matched its religious significance. In Chankar, a small town at the eastern end of our road trip, we visited a temple festival, one of dozens of Buddhist holidays held in Bhutan each year.

Buddhists believe that they earn merit by attending religious festivals. Hundreds of locals (as well as at least 100 tourists) gathered to watch a series of dances thought to help viewers improve their karma, a step toward the ultimate goal of enlightenment.

After the dances ended, we made our way to a field where monks set a giant gate of pine boughs on fire and locals ran through — enduring showers of falling embers to accumulate even more merit.

I spent the next afternoon wandering through Chankar talking with residents. (Americans are traveling to Bhutan in growing numbers because most urban Bhutanese speak English.)

Bhutan will hold national elections next year — part of the king's decade-long plan to build democracy — and I talked with Pema Choden, a 22-year-old shopkeeper who told me Metallica was her favorite band.

Like many young Bhutanese, she longed for greater freedom and opportunity — a chance to travel and experience foreign cultures — and I realized that as Bhutan opens, many of its traditions will fade.

It is a nation where prayer flags outnumber televisions and locals consider dogs one step below humans in the quest for enlightenment. (As a result, thousands of stray dogs wander Bhutan's cities and visitors should travel with ear plugs to shut out the barking at night.)

Back in Paro at the end of our trip, I was thinking of Bhutan's uniqueness as I hiked through pine forests to the Taktshang Monastery — the Tiger's Nest.

Built on a sheer cliff in 1648, the temple is Bhutan's most iconic structure, a telescoping series of buildings with golden pagoda-like roofs.

After climbing for two hours, we entered the temple and visited a cave where locals believe an 8th century monk meditated until he took the shape of a tiger.

Kinley, our local guide, told us other tales: To build the temple, a monk had thrown a lock of his hair onto the ground and cliffs had risen 3,000 feet off the valley floor.

Another story: a statue in one of the monastery's main halls had once spoken.

The accounts were unbelievable. But perched above a sweeping view of forests and mountains, listening to a monk quietly chanting Buddhist sutras, I momentarily felt that in Bhutan they could be true.

IF YOU GO

Getting To Bhutan

All tourists to Bhutan must arrange visas and itineraries through a government-approved agency. For groups of three or more people, most companies charge $200 a day, per person, including meals, lodging, transportation and a guide. Couples and independent travelers are charged more.

Smithsonian Journeys (www.smithsonianjourneys.org) occasionally offers trips to Bhutan. Next fall they will run a 16-day trip to Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal. Starting and ending in Bangkok, the trip costs $6,345, excluding airfare.

To save money, tourists can book directly with Bhutanese travel agencies. The Smithsonian used Gangri Tours and Trekking Company (www.gangri.com; gangri@druknet.bt; +975 2-323-556). Another reliable company is Aesthetic Bhutan Tours (www.aestheticbhutan.com; aesthiticbhutan@yahoo.com; +975 176-00373).

Bhutan-based travel agents can arrange flights to Bhutan from Thailand, Nepal and India.

In Bhutan

Most hotels in Bhutan are simple, but clean and comfortable. Lodging is included in the flat daily rate visitors pay (which also includes meals, transportation and a guide), so it is worth requesting better hotels. Hotel descriptions can be found in guidebooks including Lonely Planet. In Thimphu, the Druk Hotel (www.drukhotels.com/thimphu.htm) is one of the best and is centrally situated. For additional cost, visitors can book directly through luxury hotels. The most expensive chain is Amankora resorts (www.amanresorts.com; amankora@amanresorts.com; +975 2-331-333) run by Aman, a Singapore-based company. Rooms at their 16-suite lodge in Thimphu are advertised at $1,000 a night, though discounts may be available.