BHUTANSuper Appའབྲུག་ཡུལ་

Stories of Bhutan.

27 pieces on the kingdom, written to be read on their own. The dzong, the festivals, the food, the mountains, the crafts and the people who live between them.

LandKingdomCultureFoodTradeTravelCraftPeople
A highland valley under soft morning haze, terraced fields on the valley floor and a single road running out toward the horizon

Lead story

The monastery that hangs off a cliff

Paro Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest, is pinned to a rock face about 900 metres above the valley floor.

Read

A Bhutanese dzong at first light, its whitewashed walls crossed by a broad band of vermilion timber, a gilded finial above and mist lying in the valley below
Kingdom5 min read

Punakha Dzong, the fortress at two rivers

Bhutan's second oldest dzong, completed in 1637, held the seat of government for three centuries.

Punakha

Masked cham dancers in brocade robes and painted wooden masks performing on the flagstones of a dzong courtyard, villagers seated around them
Culture5 min read

Tsechu, the days the courtyard fills

A tsechu is a district festival of masked dances, held on the tenth day of a lunar month.

Paro, Thimphu, Punakha

Rooftops of a dense low-rise district at dusk, scattered lit windows fading into evening haze
Kingdom5 min read

Gross National Happiness, in plain words

Bhutan measures progress by more than money. The idea has a name, and since 2008 a place in law.

Thimphu

A whitewashed chorten and a cluster of prayer flags on a high pass, snow peaks beyond and low cloud pouring over the ridge
Land4 min read

The valley that turns off for the cranes

Every winter, black-necked cranes fly down from Tibet to roost in the Phobjikha valley.

Phobjikha

A freshly made bed in a quiet guesthouse room, white linen and a folded handwoven blanket in raking daylight
Food3 min read

Ema datshi, the dish that is mostly chili

Bhutan's national dish is chili and cheese, and it is eaten at almost every meal.

Nationwide

A Bhutanese archer in a gho drawing a tall bamboo bow on a village archery range, a slim wooden target standing far down the grass lane
Culture4 min read

Archery, the loudest sport in the country

Bhutan's national sport is played with bamboo bows, at distance, and with an enormous amount of shouting.

Nationwide

A line of five-colour prayer flags strung across a high ridge, the cloth frayed by the wind, a valley falling away below
Land3 min read

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.

Dochula

A whitewashed chorten and a cluster of prayer flags on a high pass, snow peaks beyond and low cloud pouring over the ridge
Land4 min read

The highest peak no one has climbed

Gangkhar Puensum is the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, and Bhutan intends to keep it that way.

Northern Bhutan

Whitewashed Bhutanese walls with dark timber windows and a gilded roof edge, a forested ridge fading into mist behind
Kingdom3 min read

The Buddha above Thimphu

A gilded Buddha more than 50 metres tall sits on a hill over the capital.

Thimphu

A market stall of produce laid out in shallow baskets, hands arranging the top row
Trade3 min read

At the weekend market in Thimphu

A long covered market beside the river sells red rice, dried chilies and the week's vegetables.

Thimphu

A highland valley under soft morning haze, terraced fields on the valley floor and a single road running out toward the horizon
Travel5 min read

The Snowman Trek, and the season it needs

Bhutan's best known long walk crosses high passes and only opens for a short window.

Northern Bhutan

A Bhutanese dzong at first light, its whitewashed walls crossed by a broad band of vermilion timber, a gilded finial above and mist lying in the valley below
Craft4 min read

How a dzong is built

Whitewash, timber and stone, a central tower, and no nails in the old work.

Nationwide

A line of five-colour prayer flags strung across a high ridge, the cloth frayed by the wind, a valley falling away below
Culture3 min read

Prayer flags, and what the wind does

A prayer printed on cloth is given to the wind, and the wind is expected to carry it onward.

Nationwide

A highland valley under soft morning haze, terraced fields on the valley floor and a single road running out toward the horizon
Travel4 min read

Bumthang, the valleys of the old temples

Central Bhutan holds the country's oldest religious sites, spread across four valleys.

Bumthang

A Bhutanese dzong at first light, its whitewashed walls crossed by a broad band of vermilion timber, a gilded finial above and mist lying in the valley below
Kingdom4 min read

Trongsa Dzong, built along a ridge

The largest dzong in Bhutan follows the spine of a ridge above the Mangde Chhu.

Trongsa

Rooftops of a dense low-rise district at dusk, scattered lit windows fading into evening haze
Kingdom5 min read

The Wangchuck dynasty

Bhutan's monarchy was founded in 1907 and still holds a central place in national life.

Nationwide

A person pausing on a hillside path at golden hour, a valley opening beyond them
Kingdom4 min read

The constitution, and the first election

Bhutan became a constitutional monarchy in 2008, at the initiative of its own king.

Thimphu

A whitewashed chorten and a cluster of prayer flags on a high pass, snow peaks beyond and low cloud pouring over the ridge
Land3 min read

The takin, an animal that looks invented

Bhutan's national animal is a goat-antelope with the bulk of a small buffalo.

Northern Bhutan

A whitewashed chorten and a cluster of prayer flags on a high pass, snow peaks beyond and low cloud pouring over the ridge
Land3 min read

The blue poppy

Bhutan's national flower grows high, flowers briefly, and is hard to find on purpose.

Northern Bhutan

A line of five-colour prayer flags strung across a high ridge, the cloth frayed by the wind, a valley falling away below
Culture3 min read

The raven crown

The raven is a protector figure in Bhutanese belief, and it sits on the king's crown.

Nationwide

Whitewashed Bhutanese walls with dark timber windows and a gilded roof edge, a forested ridge fading into mist behind
Culture4 min read

Dzongkha, the language of the dzongs

Bhutan's national language is written in the Tibetan script and spoken across the country.

Nationwide

Whitewashed Bhutanese walls with dark timber windows and a gilded roof edge, a forested ridge fading into mist behind
Culture3 min read

The country that prints its history on stamps

Bhutan is known among collectors for stamps that are records, miniatures and curiosities.

Thimphu

A city skyline across a broad river at blue hour, the water broken by small waves
People4 min read

Bhutanese in Australia

A growing Bhutanese community lives and works in Australia, and keeps its ties home.

Perth, Brisbane, Canberra

A maker's hands at work on a bench in raking daylight, tools laid out along the edge
Craft4 min read

The kira and the gho

Bhutan's national dress is woven by hand and worn every day, not only on occasion.

Nationwide

A freshly made bed in a quiet guesthouse room, white linen and a folded handwoven blanket in raking daylight
Food4 min read

In a Bhutanese kitchen

Chilies, cheese, red rice and dried meat: the everyday grammar of Bhutanese cooking.

Nationwide

A highland valley under soft morning haze, terraced fields on the valley floor and a single road running out toward the horizon
Land3 min read

The valley built around the crossing

Bhutanese towns grow where two rivers meet and a road can follow the water.

Punakha, Paro, Trongsa