The Busiest City in Bhutan, with No Traffic Lights
I’ve been warned that Thimphu isn’t reflecting the real Bhutan. It is the biggest city in the country, most developed, and quite busy (in Bhutan’s standard). But I can surely say, Thimphu was one of the most pleasant big cities I’ve ever been to. Because the city is located up on 7,656 ft (2,320 m), the climate is just perfect. It was a constant 25 deg Celsius during the summer days (and it’s dry!). By just a short hike, we could see the whole city and the valley. I loved the green! Even if they are affected by foreign cultures, Bhutan is doing a great job on protecting their culture (read more about it from My First Impressions of Bhutan). They don’t even have a street light. Instead, they have a police man in the intersection. Apparently, the street lights were too confusing!
We spent two days in Thimphu. Some of the unexpected activities were quite memorable (as always). We had a chance to peak at the archery tournament (it was open to the public), and one of the player was one of the Prince. It was quite fascinating to see how person can be so accurate. It’s uncanny, actually. We also stumbled upon into a local nunnery, that happened to be hosting praying mantras for several days. I had such a great time in Thimphu. Some of the portraits on ‘Faces of Bhutan’ were taken here as well. Here are photos of beautiful Thimphu!
Archery Tournament
The Memorial Stupa
Tashichho Dzong
Thangtong Dewachen Dupthop Nunnery
From the rainy day to the bird on the barbed wire and the prayer flags and the monks among the prayer flags… I’m seriously blown away. This is some travel photography that feels very rare to me and VERY special. You have captured something seriously special…. My heart literally beat faster as i was scanning through your photos. If I were you, I would be framing these!
That first shot is awesome. And I love how photogenic the monks are. The one on the left in the last photo is very suave 🙂
Archery is the national sport? That alone tells me I would LOVE this place. Your photos are amazing. Seriously. My favorites are the first shot and the one of the monk walking away. The adorable bird with the crazy feathers is a close third.
Beautiful shots Juno!
Thimphu looks to be a wonderful little city surrounded by some amazing scenery, some great shots of the place. I find the lack of street lights very interesting it must make the streets at night seem very different especially with police officers lighting the way.
Love the angles and perspectives you worked with in these photos and that bird… incredible!
Beautiful photos from a beautiful country. Well captured.
That is beautiful. I so desperately want to go to Bhutan. Still contemplating applying for jobs there.