From Punhaka we had a long winding drive west, gaining elevation. After about 45 minutes, we stopped for a roadside grilled corn that was rather starchy. Pretty soon we were in the clouds, so it became harder and harder to see much, though we had glimpses of massive trees with lots of ferns and moss.
Sadly for us, Dochula Pass was totally fogged in so valley views were not possible. We were able to walk around the 108 Dochula Chortens, and the photo below was taken during a temporary clearing that let us see more than 50 meters!
We also checked out the Meditation Caves Park across the street, then the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang temple
on the hill. The temple was ornate but not that memorable except for the precious stones set into the floor in a circular pattern in two spots. This was the only time we saw this feature.
Finally, we tried the Lungchutse Gompa hike. There are hundreds of prayer flags at the beginning, but the trail was steep and muddy so we decided to turn around after 10 minutes.
Lunch at Druk Wangyel Cafe – Leandra hit the spicy jackpot with the momo sauce 🥵 thankfully it was on the side. I wasn’t super hungry so I got two slices of banana bread and hocolate cake for lunch!
Next on the itinerary was a stop at Ser Bhum Brewery. The road down was narrow, steep, and bumpy, and just before the brewery there was a small stream crossing! How they built a brewery down here is impressive.
We were given a short tour of their operations, then got to taste a range of their beers:
- Kati Patang snappy wheat – bottle was lovely, lots of spice. Made for the Indian market.
- Dragon Stout – rich and balanced.
- Bhutan Glory Amber – English style, quite light with some malt.
- Beor 360 India export lager – lovely coriander and orange, light but surprisingly good.
Nice tasting overall, and we took a six-pack of cans to go as part of our tour.
