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Dochula
Dochula, the pass of a hundred and eight chortens
On the road from Thimphu to Punakha, a ridge of white stupas looks out at the Himalaya.
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Dochula Pass sits at about 3,100 metres on the road between Thimphu and Punakha. On a clear day the eastern Himalaya fills the horizon, including Gangkhar Puensum, the country's highest peak.
A hundred and eight stone towers, and then the mountains.
The ridge carries 108 chortens, raised in 2005 to honour Bhutanese soldiers killed in a campaign against insurgents in the south. A hundred and eight is a meaningful number in Buddhist practice.
Prayer flags run across the ridge in five colours, and the wind does the rest.
