Bhutan Jumolhari Third Mountain Festival

After trekking for two days from Shana in Paro and as temperatures dipped to almost zero degree, about 200 people including tourists joined the local communities last week at the third Jomolhari Mountain festival to celebrate life in the mountains.

Amusement: Winners of a horse race, which was held as part of the Jomolhari Mountain festival last week (Photo: Lhendup Tharchen, JDNP)

Perhaps the coldest festival celebrated in the country, the two-day fiesta at the base of Mount Jomolhari, which is about 3,850 meters above sea level, is organized annually to encourage wildlife conservation through community participation and promote ecotourism opportunities in the Jomolhari region.

Among others, one of the highlights of the fest this year were the hikers sighting the elusive snow leopard, the national bird ravan, the Himalayan black bear, blue sheep and marmots.

About 50 visitors, in groups with local guides hiked to Tshophu, Lhaliphu, Bagala and Thomphuna. The guided tours, said festival organizers help the local community generate income besides the fest also providing a forum for them to market their dairy produces.

Health camp: A resident gets his BMI checked during the mountain festival

Through various events such as the horse race among the community’s men, the festival, which the Department of Forests and Park Servcies’ director general Chencho Norbu opened on October 7 also showcased local culture and tradition and encourage yak herding among the people in the highlands.

Unlike in the last two festivals, this year, a team of five officials from the Faculty of Nursing and Public Health (FNPH) joined the community and provided a free health checkup. The Bhutan Foundation, which had supported the first two festivals, funded the health camp, which the people received well, said park officials.

“The health checkup, which was done for the first time benefitted the communities including park officials,” Jigme Dorji National Park manager, Lhendup Tharchen said. “Given the long distance that people have to travel to avail health care, the check up saw a good turn out.”

About 100 people got their health checked, the dean of FNPH, who led the team Dr Chencho Dorji said. “We checked their Body Mass Index and people were quite happy to get the facility, even though there is a BHU there,” he said. “Those who were found with hypertension and high sugar levels were asked to visit a hospital.”

The teachers and students of Jomolhari School also participated in the fest with cultural programs while an art competition was also organized for the students.

“The main objective of the festival is to strengthen community based conservation by involving the communities,” Lhendup Tharchen said.

The Jigme Dorji National Park (JDNP) with the gewogs of Tsento and Soe organized the Nu 5.5M festival that the Tourism Council of Bhutan funded. The festival is held every year on the 25th and 26th day of the eighth month of the Bhutanese Calendar.

Source: Kuenselonline

Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO): Regional tourists will be able to process tourist permit online

Regional tourists will be able to process tourist permit online if the government agrees to the request from the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO).

The ABTO recently wrote to the government to make the service online, and the association is hopeful of a positive response. “We are yet to hear from the government,” ABTO’s Executive Director Sonam Dorji said.

Regional tourists coming in by road today need to show up in person at the border check points to process their tourist permit which will be valid for Thimphu and Paro dzongkhags only. If they plan to visit other dzongkhags, they need another permit from Thimphu.

Regional tourists coming in by air do not need to process the permit for Paro and Thimphu dzongkhags like those coming by land. However, they also need to avail another permit from Thimphu if they wish to visit dzongkhags besides Paro and Thimphu.

“So far, only dollar paying tourists can apply for permit online,” Sonam Dorji said. “It takes time for regional tourists to process permit at the Phuentsholing international border.”

Last year about 85,000 of the total 133,000 tourist arrivals were regional tourists, out of which 68,000 were from India. Regional tourists comprise tourists from India, Maldives and Bangladesh and officials argue that it has become important to transfer the issuance of the permit online.

Tour operators believe that the proposed system would not only reduce hassle for regional tourists but also help formalise the informal tourism in the country. Those tourists coming in on their own without routing through tour agents are called informal tourists.

Sharing his personal view, home minister Dawa Gyaltshen said he was positive about the idea although the government is yet to reach a consensus. “In this era of ICT, I think we need to do that in future,” lyonpo said, adding that the cabinet hasn’t been able to sit in the recent weeks.

Indian tour operators also raised the issue when they recently attended the Indo-Bhutan tourism conclave in Thimphu. They said it was a hassle for regional tourists to process the permit, which they said takes time.

An Indian tour operator from West Bengal who attended the conclave said having to wait for hours at the border check point to avail permit was a big problem for regional tourists. “I have been visiting Bhutan for quite sometime and I had to wait for four hours to avail my permit to Bhutan,” he said

“We have to come in person, which is a big hindrance for the growth of Bhutanese tourism industry itself,” he said. If tourists can book permits online, he said they could do that in advance and make a secured trip to Bhutan.

Some tourism officials said that the introduction of the proposed system would contribute in bringing regional tourists during off-season. Bhutanese tourism being seasonal in nature is the main constraint the industry is facing today, according to officials.

Indian tour operator Rajat Goswami said services such as issuance of permits should be made easier. He said regional tourists are equally important for Bhutan, as are dollar-paying tourists.

“We give business when Bhutan has nothing. It’s not alternative business,” he said.

Indian tour agents said they also receive late responses from their Bhutanese counterparts. “People these days have no patience,” he said. “But we get response from Bhutan counterparts very late,” he said

Source: Kuenselonline

Bhutan Festival: What’s tshechu really, and why do we observe it?

The answer is simple you may think. It is in many ways. But tshechu is much more than how it is understood today.

History has it that Guru Rinpoche, the great scholar, visited Tibet and Bhutan in the 8th century and 9th century. He visited Bhutan to help the dying king Sindhu Raja in Bumthang. Guru performed a series of such dances to restore the health of the king. The grateful king helped spread Buddhism in Bhutan. Guru organised the first tshechu in Bumthang, where the eight manifestations of Guru were presented through eight forms of dances.

But tshechu is more than celebration of Guru Rinpoche’s extraordinary life and contributions. It is a moment to give thanks; it is a time for people to supplicate for good days ahead. However, with time, tshechu has come to mean something totally different.

Tshechu was initiated long time ago as the most profound public teaching – how we live our lives, how we need to conduct ourselves as an individual member of society, and how we could work together for the benefit of all. It was meant to be a time of celebration for people who had to work for days on end in the fields, a moment for members of family to come together and celebrate their success.

All these have taken a different turn today. Tshechu these days is a holiday and time to have some fun, nothing more than that.

“Tshechu is fun. We get to see a lot of different things and time to hangout during nights,” says 17-year-old Kuenga Tenzin. “Chams are a bore, really. There should be more modern dance and songs.”

But 76-year-old Aap Thinley Penjore disagrees. Tshechu is not a plain celebration, he says. It has a deep significance. “Tshechus are kurims for the nation and the people. What is important is that one should have a complete devotion. Prayers need to be earnest. Only then will good things happen to the people and the country.”

But to the young people, the twirling and twisting of the masked dancers mean nothing. There is nothing to be gained from it, materially, emotionally and spiritually.

Raksha Mangcham, the dance of the Rakshas and Judgement of the Dead, which is based on the Book of Dead – Guru Rinpoche’s scared teaching – is, at the best, a funny act to most young people today.

“I don’t understand why these dancers are going about wasting so much time. And look at the rain. What’s the purpose of it,” says Sonam Choden, a 19-year-old student. “I have heard that the dances have special meaning. I don’t get it.”

Shingje Choegi Gyalp, the Lord of the Dead, has been basking for a long while, in the rain not for no reason. The judgement time will soon begin. Black and white deeds will be counted and the fate of a person will be decided.

“Not many people understand the significance of tshechu today,” says Aap Kinley Sithub of Kabesa, Thimphu. “Tshechus were initiated to thank gods for peace and prosperity and to invoke the power of the higher beings to grant us continued prosperity and happiness.”

Today, tshechu has come to mean a time to flaunt one’s wealth. How best one is dressed and how richly one eats is Tshechu. For young people, it is a time to find a mate and have a good time, however fleeting the moment.

Says Lopen Pema Thinley, a retired teacher: “It is good that we now have commentators at tshechus. Otherwise, our young people will not understand anything about tshechu. It is crucial that we understand why we are doing this. It is more than just culture, tradition and belief system. It is a life lesson.”

Shingje Choegi Gyalp is looking on, almost motionless. Acts unfold and the rain continues. Thimphu Tshechu is coming to an end. Outside, on the streets, traders and merchants are busy selling garments and things varied.

Has tshechu also come to mean business?

Source: Kuenselonline

Higher flexibility.Lower fares

Tourist arrivals in Bhutan fall during Peak season

While spring has not been so bountiful, there is not much to look forward to in fall either for the tourism industry that saw a drop in international tourist arrivals by about 14.62 percent as of August this year.

Even the ongoing Thimphu tshechu, one of the highlights of the peak season failed to draw as many international tourists as it did last year.

Records with the Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB) show that a total of 3,495 international tourists have been booked to arrive for the Thimphu tshechu this year against 5,280 international tourists in 2014 for the same period.

Bhutan recorded a total of 99,709 tourists as of August 31 of which 32,877 were international visitors and 66,832 regional visitors. While this is an overall increase of 30.83 percent, in terms of international tourists, this season saw a drop of 14.62 percent.

Regional tourist arrivals continued to increase this year. As of August 31, regional tourists recorded an increase of 77.25 percent compared to the same period last year.

Visitors from India, Maldives and Bangladesh are considered as regional tourists. They are exempt from the minimum daily tariff of USD 250 and 200 during the peak and lean seasons that the international tourists pay to visit Bhutan.

TCB officials said the Bhutan-Thailand friendship offer for the lean months of June, July and August brought in a total of 8,842 Thai visitors that boosted the international tourist arrivals statistics.

However, they also said that the tourism industry continues to be affected by the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake and the bomb blast in Bangkok, Thailand since Bangkok is the preferred choice of entry point and circuit destination for visitors coming to Bhutan.

The drop in arrivals, which is compounded by the increasing number of tour operators and guides leaving, has left the industry in doldrums.

Hotels and Restaurants Association of Bhutan’s president Thinley Palden Dorji said that while the association doesn’t have data on occupancy yet, going by the demand, there is a decline from last year. “This year it’s relatively calmer and easier to get rooms unlike last year,” he said, adding this has left many hotels worried.

However, Thinley Palden Dorji said that last year as the Thimphu tshechu coincided with the puja holidays in October, it had increased demand for rooms from regional tourists.

As for tour operators, most said they recorded a drop in arrivals compared to the past years.

“For us, it’s been the same like last year but this year it wasn’t difficult getting hotels,” a tour operator said. “Still there are many hotels available while last year there was shortage of rooms everywhere.”

Etho Metho tour and treks’ director Sangay Wangchuk said they experienced a drop in tourists by about 30 to 40 percent compared to last year. He attributed the drop to the Nepal earthquake, which led to cancellation of trips.

Some tour operators said that Myanmar and Sri Lanka emerging as new destinations had an impact on Bhutan as a destination. Besides, tour operators said that the increasing number of Bhutanese tour operators led to more competition.

Guides Association of Bhutan’s (GAB) chairman Garab Dorji said that at this time of the year, the association receives many requests for guides. “This year there are hardly any requests which means there is a drop in arrivals,” he said. “Most guides were saying they aren’t engaged this time.”

During peak seasons, GAB arranges freelance guides for tour operators when the demand soars. However since last year, Garab Dorji said the market has been inundated with guides.  “Every year about 400 to 500 guides enter the market,” he said.

A tour operator said that the drop in international tourist arrivals this fall is proof of how volatile the tourism industry is. “It only goes to show what we are up against if the country becomes too dependent on tourism,” he said.

There are more than 2,300 guides, 1,600 tour operators and 123 tourist standard hotels in the country as of last year.

Source: Kuenselonline