Bhutan 2014: Tseto Gompa and Sangchokor Buddhist Institute

Our original itinerary called for walks near Cheli La, a 3810 meter or 12500 foot pass into the neighboring district of Ha. Tshering suggested a local alternative, pointing out that the clouds were too low to see anything up at Cheli La. Joan and I were to learn that Tshering was resourceful, knew Bhutan very well, and could summon alternatives for any day's activity.

When we first awoke we could see the high Himalayas above the rising mists of the morning. In May this is much less common than during the winter tourist season.

The birds were active, one of the reasons why we chose a May trip. Here is a russet sparrow, a bird we would soon come to dismiss as common.

The main building of the Zhiwa Ling caught the morning light.

This morning we're hiking to the Tseto Gompa, a nearby small local monastery. I'll outline the hike for you using this photo taken from across the Paro Valley later the same day. (Click on the photo to enlarge.)

A ridge comes down from the high mountains and splits into multiple arms; some see a resemblence to the phurba, a multi-bladed knife that symbolizes cutting through ignorance and obstructions. Kaka drove us to the left green dot, where we disembarked from the van and began climbing the ridge. Tseto Gompa is just below the right green dot.

At our dropoff a new building is being finished. It will be a religious structure, but I'm not sure which type. It illustrates a trend in newer buildings here, having a flat concrete pad with a perimeter channel that will catch water from the roof's drip line. The older farmhouses and temples don't have this feature.

We immediately begin climbing. Below these prayer flags, through the trees on the right, you can make out the roof of the above building.

Most of the altitude on this hike is gained at the beginning. We were passed by a couple of young monks and then the lama of the monastery, who offered Joan his parasol.

As we climbed higher we encountered blooming rhododendron. Here Tshering stands in front of a tall one.

A closeup of the fabulous blossoms.

The next photo is of pieris formosa. Two related species are known in the United States as climbing fetterbush and mountain fetterbush.

This nearby tree, covered in ferns and lichens, also caught our eye.

The Tseto Gompa drew closer as we hiked along the ridgelines.

A closeup of the chortens on the grounds of the gompa. Each chorten contains one or more objects of religious significance, such as relics, prayers, sacred texts, or offerings. An architectural note: any building or structure with the red band around it is religious in nature, not secular.

We were received with great hospitality by the lama. The monks brought out milk tea and semi-sweet "biscuits" poking up out of a substantial bowl of crunchy puffed rice. (The biscuits are large crackers somewhat thicker than customary in the U.S.) Then apple juice was offered. I have one photo, of a corner of the "reception room." The wooden basins and the TV set illustrate the dual nature of life in Bhutan: one foot in the modern, and one foot in the traditional. Just outside the photo are some calendars. Even the auto shop calendar shows religious images.

Tshering was our interpreter, of course. At one point he asked the lama to guess my age and Joan's. The lama guessed low by twenty years, which Tshering explained was due to the "soft life" of Westerners. He elaborated that simply not working all day in the fields qualifies as a soft life.

One of Tshering's many projects is assisting the restoration of the gompa, which was damaged in the magnitude 6.9 Sikkim earthquake of September 18, 2011. This not only includes writing grand proposals, raising funds, coordinating with NGOs, and the like, but deciding what should be done with the sacred art. Given the Buddhist teachings on impermanence, the Himalayan cultures often prefer to create new paintings, tapestries, etc. as opposed to the Western ideal of carefully repairing and restoring the originals. Also the rammed earth walls of the gompa now show serious cracking. In this panoramic photo of the courtyard, you can see a major vertical crack near the center, and others at right. Click to enlarge. You also see Tshering, the lama, and one of the young monks in this picture.

Photos are not allowed in the temple portion of any monastery, nunnery, or dzong.

The views from the hillside outside the gompa were sweeping. Here, we look across to the switchback road up to the Sangchokor Buddhist Institute, which we will visit in the afternoon.

Directly across the valley is the famous Tiger's Nest, or Taktsang. Joan and I had a couldn't-be-better experience hiking there on New Year's Day, 2010, and decided not to repeat the hike this time. Viewing Taktsang from this direction, we appreciated for the first time how many other buildings are perched in its neighborhood. The complex barely right and below of center is the Tiger's Nest (click to enlarge).

There is also a long view down the Paro Valley.

A kitten followed us as we left the monastery. We attempted to discourage it during our steep descent, but it would not be thwarted.

What to do? Call the lama on his cellphone! He dispatched two of his young monks to fetch the wayward kitty.

Tshering asked for a photo pose.

We finished our descent to the farm road, where Kaka picked us up, and we returned to the Zhiwa Ling for a late lunch.

Then Kaka drove us up to Sangchokor. The road was full of switchbacks and narrow, but Joan and I knew that if you are squeamish about such roads, you will miss most of what Bhutan has to offer. We were reassured by Kaka's clear skill at driving.

The chorten next to the parking area at the Institute was built on a chunk of land that was not excavated when the area was graded into flatness. It was a Sunday, so not much was going on.

This is the main building of the Institute.

It was here that we learned about the gonkhang, a room adjacent to the inner temple that is the inner sanctum of protective deities. The door is usually painted black, with fierce figures and visages, and locked. One of the very few restrictions on women in Bhutan is that they cannot enter the gonkhang, not even the Queen or Queen Mother.

This picture from the Institute includes downtown Paro, the Paro Dzong, the Paro Chhu (river) before the summer rains fill it, and the airport.

Some fresh produce is available in May, and these first two days in Paro began our food adventures. We enjoyed fiddle head ferns, which taste similar to asparagus. Fruits, especially bananas, are of varieties and freshness unseen in the U.S., and the difference is stunning. The potatoes are better, and even the small young okra, called ladyfingers, are tasty and usually without the sliminess associated with that veggie. Food prep is straightforward in execution but the results are excellent.

Tomorrow will be a driving day as we move on to Punakha.