We loaded up at 9 am for our six hour drive.

First we reversed our drive from two days prior back up to the Lawala Pass. This means going along the newly widened dirt road again. Bumpity bumpity. More oyes.

We did enjoy pulling over as a shepherd drove a herd of yaks along the road. Many times along this long drive we had to pause for the cattle that decided to meander along the road. Great fun.

Today, after the Lawala Pass we drove through the Wangduephodrang Valley, then over the Pelela Pass, then through the Trongsa Valley, and finally the Yotongla Pass and into our valley of Bumthang.

It’s a long windy, very windy and more windy drive as we hugged the mountain overlooking deep valleys below. The roads varied from two lane pavement to single lane pavement to dirt roads, to washed out patches, to construction materials piled into the road, to resting or slowly walking animals, to lots of life going on as we drove by.

This is entertaining but can also lead to car sickness. So there were several interesting patches but it’s a long drive.

It was a cooler, cloudier day so this added to the mystique but made the driver’s job that much more challenging. At one point we were literally driving through the clouds. Yeah, not easy driving.

En route to Trongsa is Chendebji Chorten, patterned on Kathmandu’s Swayambhunath Stupa, with eyes painted at the four cardinal points. It was built in the 18th century by Lama Zhida, to cover the remains of an evil spirit that was subdued at this spot. Legend says that the evil spirit manifested as a gigantic snake. The Chendebji chorten was built in order to subdue Ngala dudm, the dreaded demoness of the Chendibji area, and bring peace to the valley. The relics inside the chorten were all provided by the Bemji Choeji. The skull of the second Gangtey Trulku Tenzin Lekpai Dhundrup was also put inside the chorten as a relic.

Here we saw young monks learning to blow a ceremonial horn as well as study playfully together. The location is above the river and is quite beautiful.

After a picnic lunch under a waterfall we visited an important Dzong.

Trongsa Dzong literally means ‘the fortress on the tip of a Dungkhar (conch) of the never-changing country of Druk and the everlasting Dharma.’ Trongsa Dzong was built in 1647 during the time of Trongsa Penlop Chogyal Minjur Tenpa. It’s strategically located overlooking the Mangde Chhu (river).

It is the largest and most strategically significant dzong in Bhutan, located in the center of the country overlooking the Mangde River gorge. It served as the historic seat of power for the Wangchuck dynasty (the kings are all from this family).

Apparently who ever was the head of this Dzong was the most important in the country and the current king served as its head before he was king (apparently this is a requirement).

It’s a beautiful location and we happened to see the Head of the Dzong as we arrived (this is evident by his unique attire) and he greeted us as he went by.

It’s a huge complex and we first climbed several flights of steep stairs to reach the temple. The young monks were seated cross legged on the floor learning their chants to the beat of the master’s cane on the floor. Some seemed to be staring out in space and some were looking at their phone. Were they watching football or reading the text from their phone?

Then we took several photos of the complex and the valley below. And a huge drop in the valley. Very dramatic.

Just outside we saw a proper Bhutanese archery playground and we could barely see the target in the distance. It was so far. It would be fun to see someone actually hit that target.

From there we had two more hours of driving, stopping only to stretch our legs for ten minutes.

Therefore we were pleased to see our lodge, Six Senses Forest in the Forest (greeted by two horns and a green scarf for nature), and chill in our room.

So it’s all part of the adventure and we recognise how lucky we are to get to see such a beautiful and unique country.