Bumthang
The spiritual heartland: four sacred valleys of ancient temples, buckwheat fields and apple orchards.
Bumthang is the spiritual heartland — four broad valleys (Chokhor, Tang, Ura and Chhume) of buckwheat fields, apple orchards and dark pine, holding some of the oldest and most revered temples in the kingdom. It lies far enough east that most people fly in from Paro or break the long drive over several days.
The temples come thick here. Jambay Lhakhang is said to be one of 108 raised in a single day in the seventh century to pin down a demoness spread across the Himalaya; Kurjey Lhakhang enshrines the rock where Guru Rinpoche left the imprint of his body; and Tamshing keeps murals five centuries old. Above the valley, Jakar Dzong — the castle of the white bird — watches over Chokhor.
In the Tang valley lies Mebar Tsho, the Burning Lake, where the treasure-finder Pema Lingpa is said to have dived holding a butter lamp and surfaced with it still alight and a chest of sacred texts in his arms. Bumthang is farm country too: buckwheat pancakes and noodles, valley honey, cheese, and a well-known apple brandy all come from here.
Autumn is the season of the great Bumthang festivals, including the Jambay Lhakhang Drup with its midnight fire dance; the valleys are lovely, too, in the buckwheat-flowering months. Nights are cold at this altitude, so pack for it.
Plan a journey through Bumthang
Tell us your dates and your pace, and we’ll shape a route through this valley and the ones around it — usually within two days.