Honolulu Advertiser Hob Osterlund
Our airplane is several miles from its destination in Paro, Bhutan. It’s late afternoon, and we’re flying so low we can almost count the individual blue pine trees in steep forests below. The airport’s altitude is 7000 feet, and we’re still in monsoon clouds. Soon we can see the branches on the trees, mingling tentatively with loose tufts of vapor, whispering the presence of a mystery. We spot women in small rice paddies, close enough for us to name multiple colors in the kiras, their traditional clothing. Sharp embankments are within shouting distance of our wings, and children on mountain roads stop to wave enthusiastically as we descend. We’ve been told that a safe arrival in the Paro airport takes a skilled aviator, so it’s a good time to remember that miracles are known to happen here. Though most people have still not heard of Bhutan, it is a world unlike any other.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is nuzzled in the eastern Himalayas, north of India and south of Tibet. Not only is it in the mountains, it is virtually all mountain. The country ranges in elevation from about 600 feet to 24,778 feet, and only 8% of the land is tillable. Flying is the only way for tourists to get there. Druk Air is the exclusive airline to fly into Bhutan, with a fleet of two 72-passenger airplanes. It has the distinction of being the only airline to routinely fly over eight of the tallest peaks in the world.
The word Druk means dragon. Druk Yul is what Bhutanese call their country, translated as the Land of the Thunder Dragon. It is listed as one of the ten biodiversity hot spots in the world, with an estimated 165 mammal and 5500 plant species, 500 of which are considered medicinal. There are about 770 bird species. In contrast, North America is reported to have about 800 species of birds, in a land mass more than 400 times larger than Bhutan. Seventy-two percent of the Kingdom is covered with forests. A remarkable 26% of the entire country is protected by national parks and sanctuaries. Most of the giant peaks have never been explored by westerners and are considered home to the deities, so climbing them is not allowed. Bhutan is so protective of its environment that killing a black-necked crane means life imprisonment. Plastic bags are illegal.
The king of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, is respected both internationally and at home. In his 26-year reign he’s been credited with opening Bhutan to the visitors for the first time. Bringing in tourists is one thing, but delivering Bhutan to the 21st century is quite another. Bhutan’s resources are as vulnerable as they are impressive. It has a population of about 650,000 people, most of whom are scattered in remote valleys narrowly wedged between high mountains. It measures 180 miles long and 100 miles wide, a land mass about one-fifth the size of Oregon. The majority of people live on subsistence farming with an average annual income of $510.00. Roads have been built within the last 20 years, and though they connect some regions, most of the country can only be reached by footpath. In order to be cautious with its capacity to absorb visitors, Bhutan’s annual tourist count is about 7,000.
We have come to trek and to experience the culture. We’re also drawn to the high mountain passes where prayer flags are planted in auspicious locations and where invocations are best heard by the gods and goddesses of the Himalayas. We each have our own list of requests for our challenged world, and are eager to set these prayers free. Once our plane lands, we touch the tarmac in gratitude and bow in reverence toward the mountains, which totally capture our attention. The mountain pass through which our airplane flew is already obscured. These are monsoon clouds, not the angry hit-and-run variety, but more of the what’s-the-hurry, drooling kind. They hang low on the mountains like gauze petticoats, allowing a seductive look upwards. Gradually we notice another subtler, equally
