Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
Go now: Bhutan
THE DESTINATION: BHUTAN
Why the world’s first carbonnegative nation is the last Shangri-la
Visit the world’s first carbon-negative country for its ancient monasteries, mountain trekking, tropical forests and sacred species, as well some fresh air and your own slice of happiness...
Whoever said Bhutan was the last Shangri-la could well have been right. Its reputation as one of the world’s ‘greenest’ countries is well-earned: tropical lowland forest and Himalayan mountains blanket much of its protected landscape and with its ‘sponge-like’ forests soaking up more carbon dioxide than it emits, Bhutan became the first carbonnegative nation. But it’s not just the government that looks after it. The locals are also guardians of their sustainable way of life, finding it the key to their happiness.
Visitors can get a sense of this joy in unhurried capital, Thimphu, where the main hustle centres around Tashichho Dzong, an ancient Buddhist monastery, and the civil and royal seats of office, too. While you might not get to see the Dragon King on his way to work, you can still shuffle around the complex to glimpse orangerobed monks deep in reflection, the silence only stirred by the squeak of their prayer wheels.
At night, the whitewashed building lights up, a view best enjoyed from Changangkha Lhakhang, a 12th-century temple. During the day, newborn cries spill out of this shrine to protective deities, often visited by new parents seeking blessings for their babies. One thing you won’t see from this panorama is traffic lights – there’s not a single one in the city.
If the hills are calling out to you, make your way west of the Black Mountains, where trekkers may stumble across barking deer, Himalayan black bears and even leopard. Look to the skies for the real highlight, though: blacknecked cranes. At Phobjikha Valley’s RSPN centre, keen birdspotters can spy these rare birds swooping over glacial glades of open grassland during their winter migration. Those sacred cranes steal the show, at least until they disappear in mid-march; come November, you’ll find the locals in full celebration mode, singing and dancing to welcome the birds back to the region at an annual festival. It’s an attitude to life that most visitors can’t resist.