Last night and tonight we are sleeping in a tented camp beside a small river. The weather is good; cool at night, warm in the afternoons, with no rain.

Our goal for today is to hike to the Chorten (Temple). It's not a particularly demanding hike. We will gain less than 1,000 vertical feet but it is uphill all the way and the condition of the trail is poor in spots. Sadly, no photos are allowed inside the temple which is one of the more beautiful ones we've seen so far. Inside, our guide explains the significance of what we're seeing and a local monk conducts a prayer ceremony blessing us in the process. During our trip to Bhutan, I have been blessed more often than on any other trip we've taken.

These photos were taken in October 2008 mostly with a Nikon D3.
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DigitalQuixote > This view of the temple is from our camp. Up river from here, we cross a rickety bridge and start our ascent.
DigitalQuixote > Half way up the trail, we are rewarded with a great view back down the fertile valley.
DigitalQuixote > At the top of the trail, we enter the temple complex through this gate.
DigitalQuixote > Two large prayer wheels are centered in the courtyard in front of the temple.
DigitalQuixote > As I said, we were not allowed to take photos inside the temple but we were allowed to take our cameras to the roof of the temple and shoot the countryside around it. I like this view of the valley. It is typical of many of the valleys we saw. The terraced fields grow red rice, one of Bhutan's main agricultural products. We are in Bhutan during the harvest and the mature rice you see here will all be cut in the coming weeks of the dry season.
DigitalQuixote > Here's another, but unobstructed, view back down the valley. Our tented camp is among the trees at riverside in the center right of the photo.
DigitalQuixote > As we leave the temple complex, we exit through the back door ahead in this photo. Our next stop is to visit a farm family in their house. This will be interesting.
DigitalQuixote > Here's our tented camp as seen from across the river on our descent. The rightmost tent was the "stone bath tent." Google it ... you'll get the idea.
This view of the temple is from our camp. Up river from here, we cross a rickety bridge and start our ascent.
> This view of the temple is from our camp. Up river from here, we cross a rickety bridge and start our ascent.
This view of the temple is from our camp. Up river from here, we cross a rickety bridge and start our ascent.
Gallery pages:  1  
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