Bhutan — a country of the happiest people in the world

Two minutes of landing became one of my brightest impressions of this trip — our plane made a circle above two closely standing hills, and then took a course to land, squeezing itself into a scary air corridor, so narrow, that it looked like the wings touched the pine trees on the mountainsides. When the plane was finally running along one of the shortest runways ever, I started breathing again. So began my adventure.

My guide, Tara, was waiting for me at the airport building entrance that rather looked like an ancient monastery and was adding colors to the astounding view of shaggy mountains, surrounding us. Tara, 30-years-old, was wearing Bhutan national dress, a kimono-style robe with white cuffs and collar. He told me that, given the specific location of the airport, only specially trained Bhutanese staff were allowed to pilot aircrafts there. «Even if the tourists come by their private jets, they are piloted by our people.»

At the entrance, there was a board, reading: «Welcome to the land of GNH (Gross National Happiness)». This concept was introduced by the fourth king of Bhutan, and it became the main indicator to assess the government’s work. There are four indices to calculate it: effectiveness of administration, economic development, natural resources conservation and maintenance of national culture.

Gangtey valley, my first destination, is a beautiful landscape that you normally see on postcards. My Amankora hotel was comfortably nested on one of the hills, hiding in the pine trees. Huddling up in the frosty early morning air, I went to the hotel terrace to enjoy the valley view. On the opposite hill, I saw those typical Tibetan colored flags, fluttering in the wind, that people hang, praying for prosperity and luck. Just beside them there were different flags, white and long, attached to high vertical poles. «People hang them for the souls of the dead, to let them find the way to their next, auspicious, reincarnation,» said Phuntsho, the lodge host. «These flags carry mantras to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. There is a belief that, being put to the open area, those mantras will reach the sky, and the soul will receive the help.»

To begin our first hike, we had to drive a little bit higher in the mountains. As we were passing by a village, in some yards I noticed people sitting around fires. «Are they smoking a pipe of peace?» I joked. «Smoking and selling of cigarettes are forbidden in Bhutan, » said Tara. When you see rare people who smoke, be sure that the cigarettes come from abroad, and normally people have to show the sales check to prove it.»

There is another good reason for the Bhutanese not to smoke. It is «Tour of the Dragon», an international cycle racing. Being the world’s hardest one day mountain bike race, it challenges the participants to cover the distance of 268km during 16 hours maximum, across 4 high mountain passes ranging from 1200 to 3340 meters.

Our hike brought us to an open plateau. It became harder to breathe during the walk — we crossed the point of 3200 meters of altitude. I lay down on the sun-dried grass to recover my breath, and my ear caught a rich deep droning. The sound was similar to Tibetan singing bowls. At the same time, it felt as if Mother Nature was talking, and this voice was finding a response somewhere inside you. My guide forestalled my question: «It’s the voice of the Earth. You can’t hear it in cities.»

That evening, enjoying the traditional ginger-cloves-cinnamon infusion — indispensable in high altitude,- I thought that all those measures, taken for the sake of the national health, could be proudly included as a fifth index for the calculation of the country’s GNH.

My last few days of the trip I spent in Paro valley, and the must-do of the place is one of the most challenging hikes to the famous monastery The Tiger’s Nest. Hanging on a cliff, 900 meters above the valley floor, just a few steps from a beautiful waterfall, it represents a hideout for Buddhist monks.

As the legend has it, in the VIII century guru Padmasambhava (or Guru Rimpoche, as they call him in Buddhism), had to fight a demon that was terrorising the locals. So he turned his wife into a tigress, climbed the mountain astride her, and killed the demon. Then he spent several years in meditation in a cave. A few centuries after people built a monastery around this cave, and named it The Tiger’s Nest.

It takes two hours of hiking to reach the monastery. The number of pilgrims was astonishing. What was even more surprising, was the absence of any sources of food — the monks usually go down to the valley once a month to stock up on food. «And they take the pure water from the waterfall,» said Tara.

Almost atop of the cliff, reflecting the sun-rays with its golden roof, the monastery radiated its splendour. Aside, the waterfall looked more like a gate-keeper, the last barrier to cover before reaching this almost heavenly abode. To finish the view, there was a huge rainbow, reaching down the valley with one of its shimmering legs.

Remembering the monastery’s legend, I hastened to the famous Padmasambhava cave. The daylight and oil lamps were the only illumination. You can only enter barefoot — to avoid bringing in the mundane dirt. In the middle, a splendid golden statue was sitting on an altar. «This is the Twice Spoken Statue of Guru Rinpoche,» said one of the monks, treating me with sweets from the offerings.

The story says that this statue was made in the XVII century to be put in a monastery in the valley. Then the statue spoke to one of the monks, saying that its place was in the mountain. The monks decided to lift it to the Tiger’s Nest and to build a monastery there.

The path up the mountain was very narrow back then, and at some point the monks could not move further with their precious load. And then the statue spoke the second time: «Just leave me here.» The next morning the statue was discovered in the monastery, where it is kept till now.

It happened a long time ago. But there is one modern fact. In 1998, there was a big fire in the monastery. Everything burnt down to ashes. The next day the king went to take a look at the ruins, and discovered the statue intact and as beautiful as before the fire.

Tashi Delek — that’s what Bhutanese people wish at the moment of good-bye. It means «auspicious and peaceful being». They also believe that Shangri-La is hidden in their mountains. Looking at the summit of Everest from my airplane window, I thought that they might be right. Because a place where the Gross National Happiness is the most important measure that counts, could hide something more than just a country of the happiest people in the world.