Ar du ous sa fari in Bhu tan yields mem or able ex peri ence
Trav el party hikes and rafts to reach Royal Manos Park in south of the tiny Hima lay an king dom
“A sa fari in Bhu tan?” I asked. “That can not be.”
That far away king dom, nes tled in the Hima lay as, is where you can climb the icy peaks in search of the elu sive snow leop ard or explore the foot hills to find an an cient dzong built be side the rush ing riv ers. But the land of the sa fari it is not.
My daugh ter re plied that was not com plete ly so — in the south, the na tion al parks bor der India, where elephants and some times tigers roam.
We had thought that Bhu tan in Oc tober would be ideal for either trek king or ex plor ing the low lands. But by the time our group of five — two 20- somethings, a couple of 60s and a 91- yearold — had coordinated work and studies, DrukAir was com plete ly booked four months in ad vance. It was fes tival time when inter nation al trav el lers flock to the tiny king dom.
Our friend Tshering, found er and dir ec tor of Bhu tan Scen ic Tours, came to our res cue — a sa fari in De cem ber. And, un believ ably, the weath er in the south would be like our sum mer.
The two- hour flight from Bang kok to Paro was ex cit ing even for the third time. But my grand daugh ter and her hus band knew the an nounce ment with Bhu tan ese music was just for them — “first time visitors should not be concerned.” They were thrilled when the Airbus wound down be tween mountain peaks.
The next mor ning we were greeted warm ly by Tshering, re united with our friend and guide Tanden and met our new driv er, Kimzong. We were de light ed when Tshering said sev er al trav el lers had come to Bhutan be cause of read ing my arti cles in The Vancouver Sun.
As we wound our way on the ex treme ly nar row road high above the Paro Valley, breath taking, nailbiting took on new mean ings. Mountains across the way ris ing over 4,500 me tres were cov ered with trees, rolling mounds of green looking like enor mous pil lows. And on the side below our road were ter ra ces, ready for spring plant ing, go ing on for ever, al most to the val ley floor. Tiny hous es dot ted the land scape, some with un expect ed sat el lite dish es.
Our driv er, Kimzong had the skills of a ser pent as he stealthily approached the count less curves and manoeuvred our six- metrelong van away from the edge of the nar row road, with only a sheer drop be yond.
We hap pi ly ar rived at the re mote val ley — the gate way to the land of the sa fari — thank ful for the pray er flags wav ing gent ly in the breeze. Kimzong real ly de served a gold metal.
The next mor ning after the pack mules were load ed, I mount ed my chest nut pony, usu al ly re served for vis it ing digni tar ies. It took four men to as sist me, the make shift stirrups were mere loops of an old rope. The whole vil lage, about 50 or so came out to watch me pass by but I was too ter ri fied to wave, won der ing if the dozen rid ing les sons before leav ing home would be enough for a non- rider.
When the trail ahead seemed even more haz ard ous, it was de cid ed that we should all re turn to camp. The others would head out the next day. To my re lief, our guide sug gested that I might pre fer to stay in Camp 1 with a help er.
The next mor ning, I watched my fam ily, the guide, pack ers and cook, all load ed down with back packs, begin the trek. Their next day was filled with ex cite ment. First head ing out by foot, then raft ing down stream to the heart of Royal Manos Park.
Two ele phants were soon herded back in from the for est — my daugh ter and son- in- law board ing one and my grand daugh ter and hus band on the other. To their sur prise, they head ed out on sa fari and were treated to an amaz ing trek, perched high above the ground, wind ing through the jun gle, ducking under vines and branch es.
A long day of trek king back fol lowed, through thick jun gle vege ta tion, across pre car ious swing bridg es, past re mote home steads with or ange or chards and wading through icy riv ers until they ar rived back at base camp with many tales to tell.