Ura

Picnic lunch packed we left at 9am for the the 2 hour climb through the end of Choekhor valley and the scenic ascent to Sherthang La, at 11700ft,the portal to Ura valley and the highest in Bhutan.At the La, Ugyen stopped the car I thought this was for a photo opportunity,wrong, it was the start of today's designated hike.Great I said,sarcasm being totally lost on these guys.So from the La we set off down the steeply pitched cow track down through the forest for the 1700ft descent to the medieval village of Ura,during the descent we met a cowherd and his son searching for a missing cow,this made me think of Himalayan Black Bears and Leopards,so I picked up the pace a bit, having read the previous day that a young girl had been killed by a leopard.

As we entered the village we passed the elevated look out post,where they keep a night watch for wild animals.Ura is a very small hamlet,they grow and export potatoes,they keep cows they live a very simple life of subsistence farming.On we walked through the village and up the gentle climb to the far side of the valley where Ugyen was waiting with the car.

Now we began the drive homeward it was surprising how long it took by road to simply arrive at the La where our hike had begun.Actually we are less than 300ks from Thimpu but it would take 3 days driving to get there.

At some point during the descent we stopped for our picnic lunch,I wasn't hungry but they had made such an effort,it would have been extreme bad manners for me to refuse lunch.They spread a rug for me to sit on and unpacked a feast of rice,chicken in a sauce,mixed vegetables,spinach,chips,chilly in cheese sauce,guava and tea.All the while the large crows and sleek looking magpies waited patiently for there turn.Tashi and Ugyen then sent me off walking,while they cleaned up,picking me up on the road 10 minutes later.

 Continuing our journey we stopped about 14ks from Bumthang to visit the Burning lake,this is a rock pool of a fast and deep,eddying mountain river where a  Lama to prove a point had jumped into the water carrying a butter lamp,only to rise from the pool with the lamp still burning.At the site,there was a holy man meditating,he has been in meditation for three years but took time out to explain to Tashi the fine detail of the event,he also obliquely criticized me apparently,because from where I was taking photos a man and his wife had fallen to there deaths last year.Oops. Unsuprisingly,given that flat spots are few and far between many people in this country die in the manner of long falls and sudden stops.

Traffic jam,Bhutan style.

Hiking down to Ura.

Tashi 

The night watch.

Rustic Ura

Looking down the Ura valley.

Love this country.

Eastern Himalayas.

Hard work.

Patience reward.

The Holy man and Tashi.

The Burning Lake.

Jambay Monastery.