Escape to a Place Where Yaks Dance and Ngas Thunder

Photo credit: Chad O'Hare

There is a place so unusual, so colourful and precious that I almost want to hide my story from the world. Isolated in the steep mountains of Bhutan’s far eastern region, the villages of Merak and Sakteng only allowed access to foreign visitors in 2010. Electricity arrived a few years later.

New roads are quickly approaching Sakteng’s villages, which are otherwise accessible by foot, yak, horse or zoe - a cross between the local cow and the yak. Our original trekking route was reduced by a day because a four-wheel-drive road has advanced along the track to Merak. From there, we hiked to the enigmatic village of Sakteng.

Unforgettable moments:

• Dodging a dancing yak during the traditional yak herders’ dance as the theatrical beast mock charged members of the audience who jumped back in feigned fright.
• Sharing moments with smiling locals as they harvested buckwheat using handheld sickles and separated the grains with woven baskets.
• Receiving a random invitation into a local family’s home to watch part of their annual Lo Che ceremony. Inside the wife poured us a bowl of “arra”, homemade whiskey, before a lama and his brother chanted mantras while playing an array of timeless Buddhist instruments. The “nga” drum beat echoed through the window and across the village.
• Women performing the Tshogchang, a traditional sharing of their culture through song, dance and rounds of arra served while pinching and not-so-subtly encouraging each of us to continue sipping. I am not sure which absorbed more arra, my clothes or my stomach!

"Auntie" of Sakteng Village Photo credit: Chad O'Hare

About Upcoming Book

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More undiscovered destinations can be found in Dust in My Pack, available now at most online book retailers.

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