Phobjikha valley is a glacial valley located at an attitude of 3000 m. It’s a bowl-shaped valley against the backdrop of the Black Mountains in Wangdue Phodrang district, Bhutan.
This valley is known for the Black headed cranes. During winter the people of Phobjikha Valley await for the return of Black-necked Cranes, they migrate from their breeding grounds in the Tibetan Plateau to this remote valley surrounded by Himalayan peaks.
The drive from Punakha to Phobjikha is very picturesque. One needs to cross dense forest, villages and also a high altitude pass called the Lavala pass. We could see lot of snow on Lavala and view of the majestic Himalayas were breath taking.
Since it was little off-beat could get the feel of real Bhutanese life and the food was authentic too. In Nobding we did some bird watching and saw lot of resident birds.
A must visit place in Phobjikha is the Gangtey monastery. Established in 1613, we were informed by the locals that the Black-necked Cranes circle this monastery three times before they first land here and repeat the same before leaving the valley. These birds are considered as the holy symbol of peace and prosperity. People believe they are the messengers of their ancestors. Black-necked Crane festival happens on 11th November every year in Phobjikha.
Parked our vehicle near the Gangtey monastery and started to walk around the valley. We knew it is going to be a long walk but one to remember. Descended through a forest patch to reach the valley then took a stroll in the village. Stopped by a tiny grocery shop, could see locals singing Bhutanese song in a small karaoke setup. Crossed a river and as we moved further the place started to look more and more beautiful now.
The view of mountains, valley and river with bit of snow capped peaks it seemed a paradise. The valley boasts two beautiful rivers, Nakay Chhu and Gay Chhu. No wonder why they call it Switzerland of Bhutan.
We went to the crane center and got some info from the exhibits. There is also a rescued crane “Karma”. Then had lunch in a restaurant facing the valley ahead of the Crane center. Got to see the black naped cranes close up from the restaurant. Spent nearly an hour just observing them.
Again we started our walk to the other side of the valley. Finally after a well spent day exploring the valley, we reached the Gangtey monastery and spent some time there talking to the monks and experiencing the quietness of the place.
We stayed in a local farmer’s house. We were given with one room in their house and the living room had “Bhuhadi”. It functions with boiling of wood, the heat generated keeps the entire room warm. It was such a luxury to have, in these kind of weather. The temperature drops down to -7 or -8 at night during winter.
We had butter tea(suja) along with some puffed rice. Then they served us some Arrack it’s a local drink made in-house. For the dinner we had dried spinach soup, Kewa datsi, Shakam(dried beef) paa and red rice along with ezay. It was one of the best home cooked dinner we had in Bhutan. After having some experience sharing time with the host family, we went back to sleep early as it’s very cold to move around.
Next morning when we woke up could see snow covering the farm land. Although it didn’t snow that heavy but still the color of the landscape got completely changed to white. It was just a treat to the eyes and we went out to experience the snow covered paths.
Started with our morning birding session, since it was cold couldn’t find much of bird activity but once the sun came out, we were able to see quite a lot of birds.
This place was definitely an experience. Beautiful landscapes, lot of unqiue bird species, the culture and lovely people, whatmore one could expect than this while traveling.
Awesome pictures and information. Will be very useful for our trip to Bhutan