Text and Photos : Nanda Ritsma
Bhutan is a unique tourism destination. Being the last Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom in the world, Bhutan is rich in cultural resources. Religious festivals are celebrated throughout the year and traditional customs are still very much alive. Besides religion and culture, the country’s ecosystems provide home to a variety of species that have almost become extinct in other parts of the Himalaya.
In the central part of Bhutan, the park management of Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, in close cooperation with the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators, has developed a six day hiking trail, the Nabji Trail. The trail leads through different villages inside the park, providing an easy low-altitude trekking during the winter months (November-May). Highlights of the trekking include visits to small Bhutanese mountain villages inhabited by the Monpa ethnic group, and diverse forests of the park, with possible sightings of the endangered Golden Langur and Rufous-necked Hornbill.
The park is a superb place for birding and has a wide variety of plants and flowers. The area also contains a rich cultural history, witnessed among others by the presence of a commemorative pillar in the temple of Nabji. The pillar symbolises the occasion that peace was negotiated between the Bumthang and Assam Kings in the eight century, through the intermediary of Guru Rimpoche. Along the trail more traces of Guru Rimpoche’s presence can be found.
The last two days of the trek go through the homeland of the Monpa people. The small traditional villages of the Monpa community are scattered on the slope overlooking de Mangde river. The Monpas are thought to be the first settlers in Bhutan, and practice a mix of animistic shamanism and Buddhism. They are expert cane weavers and bamboo crafters, using their skills for house construction and making baskets.
Contact
Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO)
Mr. Tek Bdr. Khatiwara
or Ms. Nanda Ritsma
P.O.box 938 Thimphu Bhutan
Tel. :+975 (0)2 322862
Fax :+975 (0)2 325286
Email : abto@druknet.bt
Internet : www.abto.org.bt
Contact for bookings :
For more information and contact details, look at the website of the Department of Tourism, Royal Government of Bhutan (www.tourism.gov.bt).
Support organisation
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation in Bhutan supports the Department of Tourism (DoT) and the Nature Conservation Division of the Royal Government of Bhutan, and the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) in the implementation of the Nabji Trail.
Community-based tourism is new in Bhutan, and experience with the implementation of community tourism development in the country is limited. Because of SNV’s expertise in sustainable and community tourism development in the Himalaya and its long involvement in integrated development programmes in Bhutan, DoT in 2002 requested SNV’s assistance in product development, organisational and institutional strengthening, data management and support to the private sector, in particular ABTO.