Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [127]
Yotong La to Zungney
24km / 1 hour
The descent from the pass is through firs, then blue pines and bamboo. The road enters the upper part of the Chhume valley, marked by the small roadside Chuchi Lhakhang at Gaytsa. On a hill 10 minutes’ walk to the north of Gaytsa is the Nyingma school Buli Lhakhang, built by Tukse Chhoying, the son of Dorji Lingpa (1346–1405) and recently renovated with assistance from the American Himalayan Foundation (see www.ahf-bhutan.com for details). On the ground floor is the Jowo Lhakhang, with some impressive 12-sided pillars, or kachens, and on the upper floor is the Sangay (or Sangey) Lhakhang, named after images of the past, present and future Buddhas. The mural by the window depicts Dorji Lingpa. Look above the stairs to the upper story for a slate carving of the local protective deity. A few black-necked cranes winter in the fields to the northeast of the village.
The red roofs of Tharpaling Goemba are visible above the trees on a cliff to the northeast. Nyingma (Dzogchen) philosopher and saint Longchen Rabjampa (1308–63) founded Tharpaling in the 14th century as part of eight lings (outlying temples) and lived here for many years, fathering two children. It has several temples, and houses about 100 monks. It’s possible to visit the goemba by driving 10km up a rough road just past the turn to Buli Lhakhang or by trekking over the hill from Jakar (Click here). After heavy rain the road turns to the consistency of butter tea but it’s currently being upgraded. Above Tharpaling, at about 3800m, is the large white hermitage of Choedrak Goemba, which consists of two ancient chapels separated by a chorten and a sacred spring. The Thukje Lhakhang to the right has a central 1000-armed statue of Chenresig, whose offerings include Glenfiddich whisky and Coke. The Lorepa Lhakhang contains a stone footprint of Guru Rinpoche and the stone skull of a dakini (khandroma, or female celestial being)! Further uphill is the Zhambhala Lhakhang, named after the popular God of Wealth. Pilgrims ask for boons here at a set of circular grooves in the rock behind the lhakhang, which contains the surprisingly grand funeral chorten of Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche. Pema Lingpa revealed several terma (sacred texts and artefacts) near these monasteries.
From Gaytsa the road follows the Gaytsa Chhu gently down the valley for 2km to Domkhar. A dirt road branches south for about 900m to Domkhar Trashi Chholing Dzong, the summer palace of the second king. It was completed in 1937 and is a replica of Kuenga Rabten (Click here). It served for years as the residence of the grand queen mother, and now serves as a guesthouse for the crown prince, and so is closed to visitors. The monastic school to the south was built in 1968 by the previous reincarnation of the Karmapa, the head of the Karmapa lineage, but it is not currently in use.
Beyond Domkhar village, past Hurjee, is the settlement of Chhume, with two large schools alongside more than 500m of straight road, perhaps the longest stretch of its kind in the hills of Bhutan. Speed bumps have been strategically placed to ensure that your driver does not take advantage of this to make up time!
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YATHRA
Hand-spun, hand-woven wool strips with patterns specific to the Bumthang region are called yathras. They mostly have geometric designs, sometimes with a border. Three strips may be joined to produce a blanket or bed-cover called a charkep. In earlier days yathras were often used as shawls or raincoats to protect against the winter cold of Bumthang. Yathras were once made from wool from Tibet; nowadays some of the wool is imported from New Zealand and some wool is