In and Around Paro, Bhutan

Paro Airport - Famously Scary

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The airport terminal Photo, Bhutan, Asia

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Paro Airport is the only airport in the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and is renowned as one of the world's most scary airports for landings. Only eight pilots worldwide are qualified to land at Paro but I'm really pleased that I didn't know that before I went there. It's a condition of getting your visa to visit Bhutan that all travellers - with the exception of those from India - have to either enter or leave the country by air. Most will probably do both as the road journey to the border is so awful and so time consuming that it really can't be recommended.We flew to Paro in mid-October on a clear, warm, sunny day so our experience really wasn't very worrying at all. However, the ai...Read More

Paro Airport is the only airport in the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and is renowned as one of the world's most scary airports for landings. Only eight pilots worldwide are qualified to land at Paro but I'm really pleased that I didn't know that before I went there. It's a condition of getting your visa to visit Bhutan that all travellers - with the exception of those from India - have to either enter or leave the country by air. Most will probably do both as the road journey to the border is so awful and so time consuming that it really can't be recommended.

We flew to Paro in mid-October on a clear, warm, sunny day so our experience really wasn't very worrying at all. However, the airport uses a system known as Visible Sight Rules which means that no plane can be permitted to land if the pilot can't see the runway - or take off if the pilot can't see the mountains. It seems obvious but many airports happily let pilots land in heavy fog or storms using automatic pilot settings but that's not allowed in Paro.

Our flight from Delhi was scheduled to stop in Kathmandu along the way so we were really surprised when, several hours before we were due to land, the pilot told us we were approaching Paro. The journey had been a pretty one and we had been lucky enough to get seats on the left side of the plane and to see four of the world's highest mountains from our window. Coming into Paro, the plane makes several steep 'banking' moves to shuffle through the mountain peaks. The approach to the runway follows a river and squeezes between high mountains covered in green trees with a few scattered houses.

Our landing was smooth and uneventful and as we taxied along the runway we started to notice the airport buildings were far from normal. Not only is the airport tiny, but every building - with the exception of the aircraft hangar - is built in traditional Bhutanese style with lots of carved and painted woodwork. Even the air-traffic control tower looks like it was built by Disney.

The plane came to a halt close to the arrivals hall and we left by steps at the front and rear of the plane. The plane stood photogenic against a background of green mountains with its bold Bhutanese flag on the tail fin. Only one airline - the national carrier, Druk Air - uses the airport and only a tiny number of flights come in each day so there's no need to worry about not getting a good place for the plane to park or having to wait a long time.

We walked to the arrivals hall, trying not to giggle at the local men in their traditional dress of the Gho - a knee length coat with more than a passing resemblance to a tightly belted dressing gown. These are worn with knee-high socks and well polished shoes. Entering the arrivals, we popped to the toilets and were impressed at their cleanliness, then joined the queue for immigration. An official asked if we were tourists (pretty obviously I'm sure) and then sent us the a desk marked for aircrew - they had all already passed through the hall. Whilst we waited in line, a lady took the copies of our visa confirmations which our tour organisers had emailed beforehand, and she disappeared off to find the visas. In just a few minutes, they immigration official had found our visas, stamped our landing cards and waved us through to baggage reclaim.

Paro has just the one luggage belt and needs no more because it has so few flights. With the plane standing so near, our bags were already on the belt before we got there and we were soon out the door to receive a traditional welcome of a white silk scarf and then whisked away by our guide and driver.

The airport is only a few minutes drive from the town of Paro and can be seen from most high points in the town. If you are leaving from Paro rather than arriving there, don't go to the airport too early - there's very little to do and you could probably stay in the town and wait until you see your plane land before you set off. Also be sure to check your flight departure times - Druk appear to fly when they feel like it and frequently change flight times without warning.
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Introduction to Paro - the newest old town around

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Walking around the Bhutanese town of Paro, it's easy to be confused. Firstly it seems hard to believe that this rather tiny place is actually the second biggest town or city in the country and secondly, you can get confused about which century you've found yourself living in. The first impression I had was one of wandering through an almost medieval town where all the buildings looked SO old yet so well preserved. Then I started to wonder at how tidy and well laid out it seemed to be. Surely something so seemingly old would have degenerated into a rather more chaotic place by now? The mystery was soon solved; despite looking like it's been there since time immemorial, most of current-day Paro town dat...Read More

Walking around the Bhutanese town of Paro, it's easy to be confused. Firstly it seems hard to believe that this rather tiny place is actually the second biggest town or city in the country and secondly, you can get confused about which century you've found yourself living in. The first impression I had was one of wandering through an almost medieval town where all the buildings looked SO old yet so well preserved. Then I started to wonder at how tidy and well laid out it seemed to be. Surely something so seemingly old would have degenerated into a rather more chaotic place by now? The mystery was soon solved; despite looking like it's been there since time immemorial, most of current-day Paro town dates back only to the 1960s. Stretching neatly for about 4 or 5 blocks in one direction and one mile in length, most of what you see today is really very new. However, at a time when my home country was building massive concrete monstrosities like Corby, Peterborough and Milton Keynes, the Bhutanese were constructing neat buildings made with traditional craftsmanship and to traditional designs. Perhaps the give away when seen from above - and you will almost certainly see it from above when visiting the Dzong and the National Museum - is just how tidy the grid pattern is and how uniform the pattern of green corrugated metal roofs appears.

The roads are wide and untroubled by much in the way of traffic. There's a single fuel filling station and even a roundabout - maybe two. And of course they drive the British and Indian way - i.e. on the left side of the road. There's plenty of space for parking and open spaces where children play out or locals gather to chat and pass a warm afternoon. There are scores of shops although all seem to be tiny and to be selling pretty much the same things - or rather two sets of things. Small grocery stores for the locals and vastly overpriced trinkets for tourists. If you find yourself weakening and your hand starts to twitch towards your credit card, ask yourself first "Is this really local?" and secondly "Is this worth the ridiculous price?" - try if you can, not to get carried away. We are not strangers to the region and so we knew that most of what we saw in the shops of Paro and Thimphu could be bought for a song when we got to India after our Bhutan trip was over. If you go only to Bhutan and will never have a chance to buy over-priced Nepali or Tibetan goods ever again, then go ahead and buy. But you will kick yourself when you get over the border when you find you've been taken for a mug.

The houses and shops are heavily decorated in traditional carved and painted wood. The windows are tiny - presumably to keep the warmth in during winter and many windows have metal bars across them. From what I could figure these were nothing to do with protection or keeping out thieves - the bars appeared to be for hanging threads loaded with fiery red chillies up to dry. My first thoughts were that the chillies were to ward off evil - you often see holy Basil, chillies and limes hanging up in Asian countries. Not so with Bhutan. They are drying chillies for the national dish, Ema Datse - literally chillies and cheese. This scary concoction uses chillies as a vegetable rather than a spice and will take your head off.

What else is there to see in the actual town of Paro? To be honest, not really very much. The museum and dzong are just outside the town and the town itself is more of a functional centre for the locals. Aside from the souvenir shops there's a mildly interesting weaving centre where you can watch local ladies weaving fabrics for the traditional local dress, the kira. A kira made on the traditional looms retails for about £1000 (at the time of our visit, that was about $1750) - it's a lot of money for a bedspread or table cloth! There are restaurants and bars but you'll be taken where your guide wants you to go and there's not a lot of opportunity to go 'off piste'. If you've arrived in Paro at the start of your holiday you'll probably change money in Paro's bank.

Whilst the town itself isn't very exciting, the attractions in the Paro area are excellent and most are reviewed in my journal so I'll not go into detail. The world-class Taksthang Monastery, better known as the Tiger's Nest, is outstanding and the Paro Dzong is a great introduction to the dzong concept. Two local temples at Kyichu and Dungtse are also very interesting and my favourite visit was to the serene and secluded Drukyel Dzong, ruined several decades ago and standing in the shadow of Mount Jumolhari. Read Less

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An Afternoon out with the Boys - Bhutan Style

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The ancient art of "bows-and-arrows" is the National Sport of Bhutan and is the most common way for young men-folk to pass a Sunday afternoon. I did wonder if archery had grown from a history of hunting small furry critters for food but I was wrong. Archery is not about food, it's about war - shooting at invading Tibetan armies or fighting with your neighbours. In a country with mountainous terrain many of the usual forms or warfare have limited use and so archery remained an effective form of warfare long after the rest of the world had moved on to guns and missiles.On any Sunday afternoon when any self-respecting young man in Europe or North America would be out playing soccer with his f...Read More

The ancient art of "bows-and-arrows" is the National Sport of Bhutan and is the most common way for young men-folk to pass a Sunday afternoon. I did wonder if archery had grown from a history of hunting small furry critters for food but I was wrong. Archery is not about food, it's about war - shooting at invading Tibetan armies or fighting with your neighbours. In a country with mountainous terrain many of the usual forms or warfare have limited use and so archery remained an effective form of warfare long after the rest of the world had moved on to guns and missiles.

On any Sunday afternoon when any self-respecting young man in Europe or North America would be out playing soccer with his friends or drinking in the bar, his Bhutanese counterpart can be found in his traditional dress (plus expensive trainers) with his ultra-technical bow firing arrows at a target no bigger than a football 150 meters away. Forget your normal 'big ringed target' with pretty colours about 50 m away - this is hard-core archery. I struggled to even see the target, it was so far away. And the only way you can tell if the archer has hit it, is that all his pals on his team start dancing and singing and jeering at the other team.

When we arrived at Paro airport our guide and driver picked us up to take us to our hotel and our first step was the town archery grounds. Each town or village will have an archery ground and Paro's is pretty typical. There are targets at either end of the 150m court. Each is painted on a wooden board. Taking it in turns, half of the archers fire from one end until all the arrows have been shot, and then the other half fire back from the far end. In between they stroll off for beers in the bar and posing for all the tourists who generally have little idea what's going on. The success and experience of the archer is reflected in the number of scarves hanging from the belt around his gho, the traditional national dress which must be worn for the occasion.

As a spectator sport the archery itself is secondary to the preening and strutting of the archers. Watching someone shoot at a target you can't actually see gets dull quite quickly whilst watching the lads hooting and hollering in delight or derision holds the attention for a lot longer.
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Rinchen Ling Lodge/Rinchenling Lodge

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Hotel | "A Country Lodge near Bhutan's Second City"

Rinchen Ling Lodge/Rinchenling Lodge Photo, Bhutan, Asia

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The Rinchen Ling Lodge was the first of three hotels we used during our trip to Bhutan and was both the most basic and the most friendly of the three. The Lodge is about 4 or 5 km outside Paro town and at first I was a bit disappointed that we wouldn't be staying more centrally. There wasn't anything around the hotel and it was a bit isolated but the setting was beautiful, nestled amongst fields in the shadow of tree-covered mountains.The hotel sits between Paro and some of the key attractions including the abandoned Drukgyel Dzong, the temple of Kyichu and the famous Tiger's Nest.On arrival our bags were taken to our room by a couple of the staff. We were staying i...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on January 18, 2009

Rinchen Ling Lodge/Rinchenling Lodge
Shaba
Paro, Bhutan

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National Museum of Bhutan

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Attraction | "A Little Bit of Everything from Bhutan"

National Museum of Bhutan Photo, Bhutan, Asia

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Bhutan's National Museum is located not in the capital city of Thimphu, but in the second city of Paro. It's housed in a round building which started life as the watchtower for Paro Dzong, the fortress-monastery that sits below it on the hillside on the outskirts of Paro. It was built in 1641 and converted into the National Museum in 1968. Normally the museum would be visited on the same day as the Dzong, but our first day in town was a Monday and the museum is closed that day. Consequently our visit was taken after climbing to see the Tiger's Nest monastery and before leaving for Thimphu.Sitting in the car on the way to the museum I was feeling a bit nervous. My legs were aching from the ...Read More

Bhutan's National Museum is located not in the capital city of Thimphu, but in the second city of Paro. It's housed in a round building which started life as the watchtower for Paro Dzong, the fortress-monastery that sits below it on the hillside on the outskirts of Paro. It was built in 1641 and converted into the National Museum in 1968. Normally the museum would be visited on the same day as the Dzong, but our first day in town was a Monday and the museum is closed that day. Consequently our visit was taken after climbing to see the Tiger's Nest monastery and before leaving for Thimphu.

Sitting in the car on the way to the museum I was feeling a bit nervous. My legs were aching from the ascent we'd just done and I didn't fancy the walk up the hillside to the Museum. Luckily I need not have worried because there's a road that goes all the way to the Museum entrance and my poor limbs were saved another climb.

It was mid afternoon when we arrived at the museum. Our guide bought the tickets and we headed in to the museum complex, passing some builders working on the place. The main museum building is a striking place - mostly painted white but with a broad brown-red stripe near the top which is characteristic of the Bhutanese style. The entrance is up a flight of steps and across a narrow bridge and once you are inside there are clear signposts to guide you round the building. This is pretty useful as it's not always obvious where you should go next. The building has 6 floors and more than a dozen separate galleries each showing items under a different theme.

Working downwards from the top, the sixth floor has a display of stamps (philately is a major income generator for Bhutan) and black and white photos of all the dzongs in the country. This enables you to get a sense of how the architects have each interpreted the basic dzong concept in subtly different ways. Keep in mind that all dzongs are built without architectural plans and without the use of nails! (And just in case you are wondering, I also find that pretty hard to believe). There are also Buddhist paintings on display on this floor.

On the fifth floor you'll find items from the 11th to 15th centuries including paintings, bronzes and carvings. The Fourth floor is for prehistoric and early historic items and also has a gallery with clothing and some armour. The third floor has daily household items such as food storage and preparation equipment and illustrates how the clothing has changed and evolved during the country's history. This section was particularly useful as it helped to make sense of a lot of items we saw during the rest of our trip. The second floor has objects associated with Buddhism as well as natural history artefacts, the first floor has cane woven items and agricultural tools and the ground floor has a varied bunch of old urns and armour.

I can't recall which floor we were on when we found a special temporary exhibition on the royal family. Our visit was just a couple of weeks before the coronation of the Fifth King was due to take place and this photographic exhibition contained photographs covering the 100 years of Bhutanese monarchy. It's relatively rare for a monarchy to be entirely covered by the age of the camera and I found this really interesting. Some faces were becoming familiar very quickly. The Third King had a wife of stunning beauty who almost glows in every photo.

I'm exceptionally interested in the history of the Indian Independence movement and especially the role of the Nehru-Gandhi family in post independence India. For me it was fascinating to see the photographs of the Bhutanese royal family with the old British Viceroys and movers and shakers from the days of the Raj as well as multiple photos of the family with Jawaharlal Nehru, Mrs Gandhi, her sons and their wives. It was also interesting to see the Bhutanese royals with the late Benazir Bhutto and her father. All the big names of the Indian and Pakistani politics of the 20th century had a place in the exhibition. It was also great to see how 'human' the royal family seemed to be, playing football, meeting their people dressed in exactly the same clothes as everyone else.

When you leave the museum, don't rush straight back to your car because there's lots to see from the vantage point up on the hill. Look to one side and the Paro airport is laid out beneath you. We watched the entire fleet of aircraft (both of them!) being put to bed for the night. To the other side you can see the whole of Paro town neatly laid out beside the river in a tidy grid pattern. It's hard to believe that the town which feels almost medieval when you walk through it, is barely 20 years old.

The National Museum is a very manageable size and offers a little bit of lots of different things. Unless you are fascinated by Buddhist art, you might want to pick up pace as you pass wall after wall of thankas, certainly our guide wanted to tell us a lot more than I had the patience to take in. The things you see here will also help you to understand many of the things you'll see later in other museums, in monasteries and dzongs.

The price - and it's pretty irrelevant since it will undoubtedly be included in your tour cost - is about £2/$3 for international visitors, and a lot cheaper for locals. Additional facilities are a bit sparce - there's a small but not very exciting shop, some toilets nearby but they're definitely missing out on the 'tea shop tourism' (overpriced coffee and cake) that many European and American museums indulge in.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 18, 2009

National Museum of Bhutan
Behind the Paro Dzong
Paro District, Bhutan
+975 (8) 271257

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