The most magnificent hike in Bhutan: The Tiger’s Nest

It was over a decade ago that I first saw the famous image of the striking Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan that captured my attention. I was paging through a National Geographic Traveler magazine and there it was, the iconic Taktshang Goemba, more commonly known as the ‘Tiger’s Nest Monastery’ astoundingly perched on a sheer cliff face 900 meters (2,950 feet) above the Paro Valley. The image took my breath away and I knew someday I’d have to hike up to see it for myself. Fast forward to December 2022 and there I was in Bhutan, at the foot of Tiger’s Nest finally able to realize my dream.

Per my guide Singay, Tiger’s Nest is astonishing. When I asked why, he replied, “Sometimes words are better left unsaid. You have to see it for yourself.” 

The Tiger’s Nest is undoubtedly Bhutan’s most famous sacred site and a must-see for anyone visiting Bhutan. Given its location (it is only 15 km northwest of Paro, home of Bhutan’s only international airport) the hike is generally done on the day before leaving the country. The monastery is only accessible on foot via a relatively strenuous one-and-a-half to two-hour hike up the mountainside, so it also was good to do after overcoming jet lag and doing some hiking to get my legs in shape.

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Breathtaking Bumthang: Bhutan’s Cultural Heartland

On my fifth day in Bhutan hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail, I woke up in Bumthang, the spiritual and cultural heartland of Central Bhutan. Given its beautiful landscape, rich local culture, and sacred historic pilgrimage sites, Bumthang is one of the most coveted tourist destinations in Bhutan. Home to some of the oldest Buddhist temples and monasteries, and awash with breathtaking fertile valleys of buckwheat and potato fields, Bumthang is astoundingly serene. Even more so on the cusp of winter.

That morning, I rose early to a glowing sunrise and was delighted to see the entire valley covered in frost. I stepped out on my balcony and marveled at how the harvested fields were sparkling, and the low-hanging clouds were blanketing the valley.  This is the coldest part of Bhutan and in another few months, it would be difficult to reach given the icy roads.

Morning mist over the valley of Bumthang, Bhutan

Morning mist over the valley of Bumthang, Bhutan

I was fortunate because this was the first and only time during my nine-day trip that I was spending the night in the same hotel. It would be the furthest east I would travel in Bhutan before heading back to Paro on the long, mountainous roads. Thankfully we were taking two days to travel back east due to the difficult nature of the roads. I don’t think my stomach could handle the long drive all in one day.

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Trongsa Dzong

Day Four Hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail: Trongsa

After a magical day hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail from Pelela Pass to the village of Rukubji where we stopped to enjoy a traditional Bhutanese meal at a local farmhouse- it was time to move further east to  Trongsa. It was day four of my hike along the Trans Bhutan Trail (TBT) and it was hard to believe how much we had already covered.

Map of six day hike on Trans Bhutan Trail

Map of my route on the Trans Bhutan Trail. Map credit: Trans Bhutan Trail

Since we left Paro, we had driven 226 kilometers along snaking mountainous roads with three hikes along the way, stopping for the night in Thimphu and Lobesa. We were literally only scratching the surface of this mighty ancient 403km trail that passes through 27 gewogs (villages) and nine dzongkhags (districts) of Bhutan. To hike the entire TBT, it would take 28 days and a lot of camping. The further east we traveled, the further back in time it felt and the more isolated it became. I only saw a couple of tourists at my hotel but no one on the trail.

Trongsa is a small village strategically positioned between the beautiful fertile valley of Punakha and the cultural heartland region of Bumthang in Central Bhutan. Separated both east and west by high, deeply-forested mountains, Trongsa is most known for its breathtaking dzong (fortress) which is perched high above a gorge with a drop so sheer to the south, it almost looks like it is floating in the clouds on a misty day.

Trongsa Dzong, Bhutan

Sunset view of the Trongsa Dzong from my hotel room at the Vangkhill Resort

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Rububji, Bhutan

A Stop in Rukubji: A Traditional Farmhouse meal along the Trans Bhutan Trail

Our hike along the Trans Bhutan Trail (TBT) from Pele La continued down through a vast open meadow, passing by a campsite of semi-nomadic yak herders and a few local farmers along the way. My guide Singay and I were headed to the village of Rukubji where we would stop and enjoy a traditional Bhutanese meal at a local farmhouse. As one of the first authorized trail guides of the TBT, Singay has been setting up a network of passport ambassadors along the way who offer food and lodging to intrepid travelers.

I was looking forward to having a traditional meal and learning more about the Bhutanese way of life for many of its people. Per the World Bank, roughly 60% of Bhutanese live in rural areas today as opposed to almost 96% in 1960, before the first highway was built. The past 60 years have seen more change and modernization in Bhutan than ever before.

As we entered the village, Singay told me that Rukubji is known for its special Lhakhang (temple), Kuenzang Choling. It is believed that the temple was built over 300 years ago by a Lama named Tshendhen Duelwa. Unlike most temples, it is not built on a ridge with a view out over a valley, but rather on an extended plateau and close to two rivers. Local legend says the temple was built on top of the head of a snake demoness which was subdued by Duelwa.

Rukubji is also famous for its unique local dialect. While Dzongkha (which translates into the “language of the fortress”) is the official and national language of Bhutan, there are over nineteen spoken dialects throughout the country. Given its mountainous topography, many communities have been isolated for centuries and developed their own unique dialects that can still be heard today.

Rukubiji, Bhutan

Entering Rukubji, we pass by the community farm set against the backdrop of the deep, dark forest. 

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Hiking through the meadows below Pelela Pass, Bhutan

Hiking the Trans Bhutan Trail: Down from Pelela Pass

I woke up early to the glorious sunshine splashing through my hotel window in Bhutan’s Punakha Valley. It was my third day in Bhutan and my second day of hiking along the Trans Bhutan Trail and I could hardly wait. After yesterday’s hike, I had already fallen in love with the beauty, culture, and mystique of this extraordinary place. Today’s hike would bring us on yet another marvelous adventure. We would begin at the top of Pelela Pass down through a semi-nomadic yak herding community, and on to a traditional farmhouse in the village of Rukubji. It was going to be a day to remember.

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Following the footsteps of the Divine Madman along the Trans Bhutan Trail

It was my first official day of hiking along the 500-year-old  Trans Bhutan Trail (TBT). We had set off early in the morning from Dochula Pass, at 3100 m (10,171 feet) walking through thick Rhododendron forests and whistling to scare off Himalayan bears and tigers. While thankfully we didn’t run into a bear or worse, a tiger, we did see a pack of gray-faced Langurs, a species of monkeys that live in the forests of Bhutan. Today’s hike would bring us along a special part of the TBT that is known as the “Divine Madman’s Trail” and of course like all things in Bhutan, there was a famous legend behind it.  “Bhutan is a land of stories,” Singay told me while we descended through the forest to a beautiful verdant valley. “What I love most about the Trans Bhutan Trail is that is a walking museum of history, legend, and culture. And this hike is no exception. Now we are following in the footsteps of the Divine Madman, Tibetan lama Drukpa Kuenley, who arrived in this part of Bhutan in the 16th century to fulfill his legacy of suppressing evil energies through his dharma teachings”. 

Setting off down the Divine Madman's Trail through beautiful Punakha Valley

Setting off down the Divine Madman’s Trail through beautiful Punakha Valley

 Traditional farmers working the land as they have for centuries

As I looked down the lush valley at the legendary arrow house in Thinleygang, Bhutan, I thought about the tiny trinket that has laid next to me on my bedside table gathering dust for over a decade. Follow your arrow it says, reminding me of a long-held promise to be hiking in Bhutan before my next milestone birthday. I couldn’t believe that just like the Divine Madman who had shot an arrow traveling through the high plateaus of Tibet to Bhutan, I’d ended up halfway around the world as the last guest of the season on the Trans Bhutan Trail, just before my 51st birthday.

I have driven near this valley many times as a child alongside my father to return to his maternal village each year,” said 28-year-old Singay Dradul, my guide.  “I had heard the legend of the Divine Madman and the infamous Chandana Lhakhang which means house where the arrow landed. But in all those years I had never actually visited the Arrow House until I became a trail guide.”

“And here we are” he smiled as we looked down the valley at a 16th-century traditional farmhouse. “Are you ready to meet the owner and her brother and learn the history of the arrow house?”

The legendary "Arrow House" (Chandana Lhakhang) Bhutan

First glance of the legendary “Arrow House” (Chandana Lhakhang) on the right

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Dochula Pass Chortens Bhutan

Dochula Pass: If there is a will, there is a way

I arose early on my first full day in Bhutan to the sounds of stray dogs barking outside my window and the morning light shining on the mountains above the Trashi Chho Dzong  (fortress). Today was the first day of hiking on the 500-year-old newly reopened Trans Bhutan Trail and I could hardly wait. 

Room with a view. The view outside the balcony at my hotel in Thimphu. 

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Tashi Delek. Welcome to Bhutan!

After collecting my luggage, I took a deep breath and walked out of the airport to find my guide. To visit Bhutan, it is mandatory that you have a guide and a driver for the entire stay. Thus, these two people are who I’d be spending the next nine days with during my solo trip to Bhutan. While I get along easily with most people, I desperately hoped we would connect.

Dressed in a gray-colored gho, a pair of black knee-high socks and freshly polished black leather loafers, my guide smiled warmly holding a sign with my name. Nicole Melancon, Trans Bhutan Trail. 

Tashi Delek. I’m Singay. And this is Dorgi, our driver,” Singay said pointing to another young man dressed in a red and green plaid gho, Bhutan’s traditional dress“Welcome to Bhutan”. 

Little did I know, Singay, Dorgi, and I would be great friends by the end of the trip. We made the perfect team, and their jokes, laughter, knowledge, and passion for Bhutan made the trip all the more memorable.

My two new friends. Dorgi (on left) and Singay (on right).

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The last hiker of the year on the Trans Bhutan Trail: Part 1 Arrival

As we made our descent into the emerald-green Paro Valley I couldn’t stop myself from thinking I was in a scene from the Avatar. It almost didn’t look real. Just twenty minutes before, we had passed Mount Everest on the lefthand side window of the plane and I was instantly spellbound. After over ten years of dreaming, I was finally almost there.

The landing at Paro airport, the only international airport in Bhutan, is one of the most difficult and dangerous in the world. In fact, only 15 pilots are authorized to land there because it requires a manual, visual landing. Trying to navigate a jet airplane through a country that is known as the most mountainous country in the world requires guts.  Especially since Bhutan’s average elevation is 10,760 feet and mountains cover 98.8% of its total area. The only other place I had felt so fearful of landing was over the Himalayas of Nepal. And Nepal is what brought me to Bhutan.

As we descended, I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy by the magical surroundings outside the window. The valley was lush, verdant, and blanketed in trees. Lovely calming music that felt like being more at a spa than on an airplane was gently playing through the Druk Air’s loudspeakers. If this was the world’s last Shangri-La,  I was certainly very excited to see it.

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The Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary : One of Few Rare Remaining Tropical Cloud Forests in the World

What started 50 years ago on a plot of cattle-stripped land has grown into the only tropical cloud forest in the United States with over 100 species of bamboo, gigantic tree ferns, and many rare and endangered species affording visitors an opportunity to learn firsthand about the value of conservation

As I drive up the windy road, high above the white-sand beaches and black lava fields of the Kona coastline into an area covered by ‘Ōhi‘a trees and lush rainforest, I am struck by how ecologically diverse the island of Hawai’i truly is. As the largest inhabited island of the Hawaiian archipelago, the island of Hawai’i has almost every subclimate zone on the planet altogether in one relatively small place.

At the entrance of the 70-acre Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary, a white-haired, eighty-ish-looking man is greeting visitors. Wearing a sweatshirt that reads “May the forest be with you” Norman Bezona’s smile spreads ear to ear, crinkling the deep creases along the corners of his eyes. He can hardly wait to tell us the story behind this unique forest. It is one of 736 known tropical cloud forests in the world and the only one in the United States except for the El Yunque National Forest located in the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico.

Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary

The entrance to the Kona Cloud Forest Sanctuary.Tours available by appointment only. 

Our small group of ten visitors follows Norman inside the entrance, stepping into a magical oasis of peace and tranquility. Statues reminiscent of Bali line the property. Norman informs us that Bali is one of his favorite places on earth, except for of course the island of Hawai’i. We sit on a wooden balcony overlooking the vast depths of the forest while Norman pulls up a chair, readying himself to start our first lesson.

“Does anyone know the difference between a tropical rainforest and a tropical cloud forest?” Norman asks the group.

One blond-haired, pig-tailed girl eagerly raises her hand and replies: “It rains a lot in a rainforest while a cloud forest feels like being in the middle of the clouds“.

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Polulu Valley

The Top Ten Unforgettable Family Experiences on the island of Hawai’i

From hiking along the ancient lava flows at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to night snorkeling with manta rays and stargazing at Mauna Kea, the island of Hawai’i is filled with endless adventure for the entire family. Here is my curated list of the top ten unforgettable Family Experiences on the island of Hawai’i

The island of Hawai’i – the largest inhabited island of the Hawaiian archipelago – has it all. Nowhere else on earth can you find so much ecological diversity jam-packed into one place. Pristine rain forests, lava deserts, world-class beaches, snow-covered peaks, an active volcano, stunning sunsets, and just about every adventure you can imagine.

Given the island of Hawai’i’s unique geography (there are all but four of the world’s subclimate zones on the island of Hawai’i), there is much more to do than simply lay on the beach. Here are my top ten ideas for the best way to explore this amazing place, ideas that the entire family will enjoy.  I have also included information on how to visit Hawai’i sustainably while respecting the native culture, history, and land.

Author’s note: All these opinions are based on my own experiences and perspectives. The article is about how I personally experienced Hawai’i through my eyes as an American woman and tourist visiting the island of Hawai’i. 

Photo courtesy of Hawaii Tourist Authority

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Piazza del Mercato Lucca Italy

Lucca Like a Local: Interview with Tour Guide Paola Moschini

One of the best day trips from Florence is to the lovely town of Lucca. Known as a Città d’Arte (city of art), Lucca is one of the most beloved towns in all of Tuscany for its beauty, charm, historical treasures, and extraordinarily well-preserved city walls.

For such a small city, Lucca is jam-packed with attractions and has a tremendous amount to see in a day. That is why it is best to see Lucca like a local- that is through the eyes of an experienced, knowledgeable tour guide. Thanks to Debra Kolkka of Bagni di Lucca and Beyond, I learned of Lucca-based Tour Guide, Paola Moschini who ended up being the highlight of our visit.

Always laughing and smiling while she purveys some of the most magical stories and legends of the past, Paola seems to know everything about Lucca. I enjoyed my tour with Paola so much that I invited her to do an interview about what makes Lucca so special. Here is what she had to say.

Lucca, Italy

Lucca is known for its many towers which provide stunning views of the city and beyond.

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