A Hike to Tango Goemba

Last weekend we went on a hike with our friends Brian, Sandra, and Vincent.  Our destination was the Tango Goemba (Monastery) 12 km north of Thimphu.  According to our new friend Piet (who works for the WWF and has written a book about the hikes here), on a scale of 1-10 in difficulty, this trek rates as "peanuts".   It was plenty challenging for us. 

(If you want to check it out, the book is called Mild and Mad Day Hikes around Thimpu, by Piet van der Poel & Rogier Gruys). 

  

Before we had gone 100 yards, we saw these monkeys.  We think they look like the photos of the golden langur, which are rare and only found in this part of the world.  But this has not been confirmed by anyone who actually knows what they are talking about.  We need to ask Piet.

The picture below is looking down at the trail.  It is hard to give a good perspective from this photo, but it was steep and very curvy (but still only "peanuts" on Piet's scale).

Trey went up the mountain this way.

Some people go up the mountain this way (look closely).

Below are some of the buildings around the monastery.  The site was founded in the 12th century.  Many of the present buildings date from the 15th century.  Tango (which translates as "Horse Head" and refers to the shape of an outcrop of the mountain) currently functions as a university of Buddhist studies for 280 monks.

Below is the entrance to a meditation cave.  I believe (but am not certain) that this was the meditation cave of the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the spiritual, cultural, and military leader who is regarded as the founder of the Bhutanese state.

 

This view shows a chorten (which holds religious relics and is a place to pray) with another monastery building in the background.  Some monks served us tea there later as we made our way back down.

                                            

And finally, we made it to the top.  The building below is the residence of the Gyalse Rinpoche, an important trulku (reincarnated lama).  According to Lonely Planet, he is recognized as the seventh reincarnation of the fourth desi, or secular ruler of the country.  We were able to go inside and receive a blessing from him, which was a very unique experience.  Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside.

More views from the top.

On our way back to Thimphu, we were greeted by a procession of donkeys (mules?).  This one was dressed up nicely.