Josh Liberman, world traveler, renowned travel photographers, and spiritual tour leader for our Spirit of Bhutan trip guests this week on Halle’s blog.
Since it’s a culture already frozen in time, pilgrimage travel to Bhutan is then even more traditional, more precious, more authentic an experience than most people dream of. On a walk through the valley below the famous Tiger’s Nest monastery, your path winds through modest agrarian villages, where men still don their traditional “Ghos” (the Bhutanese “man-dress”), and women tend the fields in intricately woven “Kira” dresses. Quest travel might mean you are hurrying to get to the monastery, but the Thunder Dragon will not be tamed that way. Try a smile. The Bhutanese smile is infectious, and when returned, it grows ten-fold!
Do not be surprised if, during your pilgrimage travel, you are invited into one of the local farmhouses for tea
or Arat (the local homemade hooch), and perhaps a sampling of delicately pungent yak-milk cheese eaten even at Tiger’s Nest. If you do sample the Arat, be warned, Bhutanese hospitality is impossible to refuse (more than once, our host poured Arat through my fingers – I was on quest travel, so I clutched my hand over my cup in an effort to ward off a third glass of their potent draft). The Thunder Dragon roared that night!
Whether it’s a cultural trek you desire, ecological tourism, wildlife, Botany, bird watching, or pilgrimage travel—you simply want to get off the paved road and set out on your own—Bhutan offers true once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences that are heralded by most as “the best travel experience I’ve ever had.”
Please join Spirit Quest Tours and Joshua Liberman, your host, for our Spirit of Bhutan Tour, where you’ll enjoy a cup or three of Arat on your magical journey on the road less traveled.
