Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [151]
The book Bhutanese Tales of the Yeti by Kunzang Choden is a wonderful collection of tales told by village people in Bhutan who have seen, or have met people who have seen, a migoi.
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The monastery has a good new guesthouse ( 04-561145; s/d Nu 600/800) just up the hill that is occasionally booked by tourists and particularly Buddhist groups. The modern concrete bungalows smell like a hospital but have private bathrooms and offer great views over the goemba.
Rangjung to Phongme
17km / 1 hour
The road continues east, climbing through large rice terraces and fields of corn to Radi (1570m).
For an unusual outing, hike downhill for about 30 minutes from the Yeshi Lhundup shop, at a hairpin loop just before Radi (kilometre marker 23), to the small village of Tzangkhar. Most of the women here are weavers who specialise in fabrics made from bura (raw silk), and it’s fun to walk from house to house to see the results. Enough cloth to make a gho or kira costs about Nu 30,000 for a flower design and about Nu 10,000 for a plainer pattern. It’s a stiff uphill climb back to the road, gaining 130m.
Beyond Radi the road climbs past terraced hillsides and above the large modern Thakcho Kunzang Choeden Anim Goemba. A few kilometres later, past Khardung village, is the collection of shops that is Phongme (1840m).
On the hill above the village is the 150-year-old Phongme Lhakhang. The central statue is of Chenresig with 1000 arms and 11 heads. A rolled-up thondrol (building-sized thangka) hangs from the rafters and cham masks are stored in boxes at the foot of the statues.
Sakten Wildlife Sanctuary
From Phongme a trail leads east to the remote minority villages of Merak and Sakten, which are inhabited by seminomadic tribesmen called Brokpa. Tourists were permitted to make this three-day trek in the past, but since 1995 the route has been closed to foreigners out of concern for the unique culture of the people living there. Tall Brokpa men often come into Phongme, Khaling and Trashigang to trade. You can recognise them by their sheepskin and yak-hair clothing and unusual yak-felt hats called shamo, which have hanging spider-like legs that act as rainspouts.
Katie Hickman gives a good description of her visit to the region on horseback in her travelogue Dreams of the Peaceful Dragon (Click here).
Apart from the Brokpas, the sanctuary’s most famous resident is the migoi, or yeti, for whom the park was allegedly established in 2002. The sanctuary office is 1km east of Phongme, at the end of the motorable road.
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TRASHI YANGTSE DZONGKHAG
Previously a drungkhag (subdistrict) of Trashigang, Trashi Yangtse became a fully fledged dzongkhag in 1993. It borders the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and there is some cross-border trade. The old trade route between east and west Bhutan used to go through Trashi Yangtse, over the mountains to Lhuentse and then over Rodang La (4200m) to Bumthang. This difficult route fell into disuse when the road from Trashigang to Bumthang via Mongar was completed. The district lies at the headwaters of the Kulong Chhu, and was earlier known as Kulong.
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TRASHIGANG TO TRASHI YANGTSE (53KM)
The drive from Trashigang to Trashi Yangtse takes about 1¾ hours’ driving time, but you should budget extra time to visit Gom Kora on the way. There’s lots to see en route and it’s a great day trip from Trashigang. Even if you don’t have time to drive all the way to Chorten Kora, do make the effort to make the short trip to Gom Kora.
To get from Trashigang to Chazam (9km, 15 minutes), follow the switchbacks down to the bridge at Chazam. Just past Chazam, an unpaved side road leads steeply uphill to Gangthung and Yangnyer. The complex that is visible a short distance up this road is a jail.