Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [115]
From the turn-off, it’s 3km through forests to the top of Pele La (3420m), which is marked by a chorten and an array of prayer flags. On a clear day (which is rare in these parts) there is a view of Jhomolhari (7314m), Jichu Drakye (6989m) and Kang Bum (6526m) from a viewpoint 500m down the old road between Nobding and the Pele La. There are no mountain views from the pass itself. The Pele La marks the western border of the Singye Wangchuck (formerly the Black Mountains) National Park and the gateway to central Bhutan.
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PHOBJIKHA VALLEY
02 / elev 2900m
Phobjikha is a bowl-shaped glacial valley on the western slopes of the Black Mountains, bordering the Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park. Because of the large flock of black-necked cranes that winters here, it is one of the most important wildlife preserves in the country. In addition to the cranes there are also muntjacs (barking deer), wild boars, sambars, Himalayan black bears, leopards and red foxes in the surrounding hills. The Nakey Chhu drains the marshy valley, eventually flowing into the lower reaches of the Punak Tsang Chhu.
Some people refer to this entire region as Gangte (or Gangtey), after the goemba that sits on a ridge above the valley. The three-day Gangte trek takes off from this valley (Click here).
The road from Gangte Goemba winds down to the valley floor and passes extensive russet-coloured fields of potatoes that contrast with the rich green of the valley. Gangte potatoes are the region’s primary cash crop and one of Bhutan’s important exports to India.
The valley is snowbound during the height of winter and many of the valley’s 4500 residents, including the monks, shift to winter residences in Wangdue Phodrang during December and January, just as the cranes move in to take their place. The local residents, known as Gangteps, speak a dialect called Henke. Pockets of the Bon religion reputedly exist in the Taphu Valley.
Sights
GANGTE GOEMBA
Gangte Goemba enjoys the valley’s prime chunk of real estate, on a hill overlooking the green expanse of the entire Phobjikha valley. The extensive complex consists of the central goemba and outlying monks’ quarters, meditation centres, schools and a small guesthouse.
During a visit to the Phobjikha valley, the 15th-century treasure-finder Pema Lingpa prophesied that a goemba named gang-teng (hill top) would be built on this site and that his teachings would spread from here. A Nyingma temple was founded here in 1613 by Gyalse Pema Thinley, the grandson and reincarnation of Pema Lingpa, and the goemba was built by Tenzing Legpai Dhendup, the second reincarnation. The current abbot, Kunzang Pema Namgyal, is the ninth trulku of the mind of Pema Lingpa (Click here). The monastery is looked after by 100 or so lay monks, known as gomchen.
The tshokhang (prayer hall) is built in the Tibetan style with eight great pillars, and is one of the largest in Bhutan. Much of the interior and exterior woodwork of the 450-year-old goemba has been replaced over the last couple of years due to a beetle infestation and a major renovation project is still under way, with all the wood carved on site. A three-day tsechu is held here from the 5th to 10th day of the eighth lunar month (October).
A nearby shedra offers a nine-year course in Buddhist studies. The long white building on the hill to the north of the goemba is Kuenzang Chholing, a drubdey (retreat and meditation centre for monks) that was started in 1990 by the Je Khenpo. The normal period of meditation is three years, three months and three (sometimes seven) days, during which time the monks remain inside and eat food that is passed in to them by another monk.
THE VALLEY
The beautiful glacial valley bowl below the goemba is peppered with villages, hiking trails, potato fields,