Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [142]
Eastern Bhutanese love their home-brewed arra (rice wine) and locally grown green chillies. Because of the slash-and-burn system of shifting cultivation called tseri, the forest cover at lower elevations is less extensive than in other parts of Bhutan. The lower altitudes mean that spring and summer here are hot, humid and sweaty.
The general quality of hotels, food and service in eastern Bhutan is lower than it is in Thimphu and Paro. Don’t venture into this part of the kingdom unless you have a sense of humour and are able to take a possible lack of hot water and Western toilets in your stride.
It’s a looong drive out to the far east. The good news for tourists is that the border crossing at Samdrup Jongkhar is once again open to foreigners (though for exit only), so you can avoid the winding three-day drive back to Thimphu, with Guwahati and direct flights to Bangkok just a two-hour drive away.
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HIGHLIGHTS
Visit Trashigang, one of the most attractive and lively towns in Bhutan
Fasten your seatbelt for the dramatic cliff-hugging road over the 3750m Thrumshing La
Take the picturesque drive up to Lhuentse Dzong in the remote and ancient region of Kurtoe
Watch some of Bhutan’s finest cloth being woven at the remote and traditional weaving village of Khoma
Check your sin levels at the picturesque pilgrimage spot of Gom Kora
Walk around the impressive Chorten Kora and watch handicrafts made at the National Institute for Zorig Chusum in remote Trashi Yangtse
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Geography
Eastern Bhutan is separated from the rest of the country by a large and extremely steep chain of hills that runs from the Tibetan border almost to the Indian border. The road from Bumthang crosses these hills over the Thrumshing La (3750m). Other than trails, this one road is the region’s only link to the rest of the country.
The Manas river system, Bhutan’s largest river and a major tributary of the Brahmaputra, drains most of eastern Bhutan. The Kuri Chhu (with its headwaters in Tibet), the Drangme Chhu (with part of its source in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh), and the Kulong Chhu (which drains the Trashi Yangtse valley) all flow into the Manas. Just before it exits Bhutan, the Manas is joined by the Mangde Chhu, which drains Trongsa and most of central Bhutan.
History
In ancient times eastern Bhutan was ruled by a collection of separate petty kingdoms and an important trade route between India and Tibet. Goods flowed via Bhutan through what is now Singye Dzong in the Lhuentse district to the Tibetan town of Lhodrak.
The most important figure in this region’s history was Chhogyel Mingyur Tenpa. When he was penlop (governor) of Trongsa he led his armies to eastern Bhutan to quell revolts in Bumthang, Lhuentse, Trashigang, Mongar and Zhemgang. His efforts were responsible for bringing eastern Bhutan under the rule of the desi (secular ruler of Bhutan) and went a long way towards the ultimate unification of the country. Mingyur Tenpa built the dzong at Trongsa and was responsible for the construction of most of the dzongs in eastern, as well as central, Bhutan. In 1668 he was enthroned as the third desi and ruled until 1680.
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MONGAR DZONGKHAG
The Mongar district is the northern portion of the ancient region of Khyeng. Shongar Dzong, Mongar’s original dzong, is in ruins, and the new dzong in Mongar town is not as architecturally spectacular as others in the region. Drametse Goemba, in the eastern part of the district, is an important Nyingma monastery, perched high above the valley.
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JAKAR TO MONGAR (193KM)
It takes about seven hours to travel between Jakar and Mongar, crossing two passes and passing numerous sheer drops on what is one of the most spectacular drives in the country, descending 3200m in a distance of 84km. During winter the Thrumshing La is