Bhutan, The Forbidden Kingdom

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Bhutan, the forbidden kingdom. So it was called due to the difficulty not only of reaching said country, but also the visa requirements which are for the most part a logistic nightmare and in most cases prohibitively expensive. I was lucky enough to be able to go on behalf of Bensire Carpet Design Studio, they are producers and designers of handwoven carpets (In a time when most companies rely on machine made or tufted carpets Bensire has continued to keep the art of making carpets by hand alive. They were even given a prize by the then queen of Nepal due to their outstanding contribution to the carpet industry in Nepal!) with a very strong presence in Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries.

I went with them as part of the team that was in charge of creating content and documenting the process of making a carpet by hand and making promotional content for them.

The first obstacle to getting to Bhutan is actually getting there, Paro airport is known to be one of the most treacherous and difficult airports world wide. it’s located at a very high altitude and it’s surrounded by mountains all around so basically you have to fly low, dodging every mountain on the way in a rather James Bond worthy display of air maneuverability to finally dive right on to the very short landing strip.

Our guides were waiting there to receive us (Bhutan was at that moment, maybe even still, quite secluded from the outside world so anywhere we went, we did so with our tour guide).

Bhutan is truly beautiful, a mainly Buddhist country, hardly touched by the outside world, you can see examples of architecture, painting, art from centuries ago, something that has been unfortunately deteriorated in similar countries in Nepal.

One of my favourite sites, risking being too cliché about ti, was the tiger’s nest temple. Located atop of a mountain and requiring a very steep trek to the top (honestly it took me all day from like 6 am to 2 pm to reach the temple walking up hill). but once you get there, the view is truly breath taking. Here’s a picture for you to enjoy

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And thats what my camera at the time could capture! the whole view was much more than I could ever fit on a frame.

So that’s basically Bhutan, a jewel hidden behind mountains, really worth visiting although it may be a tad expensive compared to Nepal. If you want to know more don’t hesitate to ask =)

-Rizq