Day 3 : BHUTAN: PUNAKHA

 

After Breakfast, we left for the Punakha Town. Punakha is the old capital city.There are many fruits grown here.

                              

Our first stop was at Dochula Pass.Its 108 Chortens are located at an elevation of 3988m. Chorten is a Buddhist Monument which represents the Body, Mind, Dharma, Speech of Buddha. These Chortens were built to remember the Bhutanese soldiers who were killed in the 2003 battle with the Assamese Insurgents from India. We spent more than an hour here and at the nearby locations, cafe.

We then visited the Fertility Temple Chimi Lhakhang on top of a small hillock. The entrance ticket for the Temple costs around 1000 INR per person. This place is dedicated to the Divine Madman of Bhutan Lama Drukpa Kuenley. t is believed that visting this temple and performing a specific ritual in the temple by the woman, will bless the woman to conceive. They have recorded many albums with photographs of people who are testimony to this place. Different decorations, fruits, other offerings are offered to the God here. Phallus symbol is considered to remove negative energies due to jealousy and other negative emotions. This is painted on the walls of Houses for the same reason. There were many prayer wheels around the temple. We turned all of them for good luck and for our prayers to come true.

                                   

We had lunch at Chicken Dinner. This was the best lunch I had in Bhutan. The momos were super tasty, hot chocolate was super thick and tasty. Overall tasty food at an affordable price.

                                   

Later we left for the Punakha Dzong, i.e. Fortress. This is also called the Palace of Great Happiness. This Dzong is the most picturesque of all Bhutan ancient fortresses. This is a vast area, with courtyards, Monastery, assembly and temples. Preserved Mummified remains of Guru Rimpoche is kept here in one of the Chambers. Only King, caretaker, chief can visit there. New King takes charge after visiting this chamber and getting a blessed scarf. 

                               

We visited 1 of the temples where live prayer was going on. We got the opportunity to sit with the monks and pray. This fortress is built in the confluence of Pho chu and Mo chu rivers. This fortress is used partially for administration purposes and hence certain areas are restricted for entry. Entrance ticket costs 500 INR.

                             

The first fortress was built by Guru Rimpoche on a stone. A Demon was killed, converted to stone and the fortress was built on it. Punakha Dzong is the second fortress that was built.

We visited the Suspension bridge. This bridge connects the old administrative side of the Punakha Dzong to the Punakha town. We had a thrilling experience walking on the Suspension Bridge with the strong winds, shaking bridge, fast flowing River under the Bridge.

                                               

After few clicks, we left for River Rafting. We had the option to raft on the Male River or the Female River. Since Male River was told to be rougher, we opted to go with the Female River. Mo Chhu river rafting is 10 Km comprising of 10 rapids. Approximate rafting time is 1 hour for female river and 1.5 hours for male river. 1 Raft can accommodate 6 persons and 1 guide. 1 raft costs 10,000 INR for female river and 18000 for male river. This value should be divided among the rafters.This is per raft cost and not per person cost.

We had a wonderful time rafting.Since we were only 5 persons who opted for rafting, we paid 2000 INR each. Our tour Guide acccompanied us along with the Raft guide. This rafting was one of the most wonderful experiences of the Bhutan trip. The thrill of rafting on the rough river, the chill water splashing at few places, the fast-flowing river carrying you forward, also getting all the efforts to drive past fellow rafts were simply unforgettable.

After rafting, we got a small tent ready by our driver for us to change our wet clothes. From here we left to the Farmers Market nearby for a cafe stop. We had coffee with beautiful views at GARUDA CAFE located on the riverside.

We were driven to our hotel in Thimphu where we had dinner.