Gangtey and Phobjikha Valley

DISCOVER GANGTEY AND PHOBJIKHA VALLEY

About Gangtey and Phobjikha Valley

The valley of Gangtey is one of the most beautiful spots in Bhutan. After a hard climb through dense forests, the road opens onto a wide, treeless valley, and the surprise is matched by a feeling of vast space. It is an extremely rare experience in a country where most valleys are tightly enclosed. A few kilometers beyond the hilltop Gangtey Monastery, on the valley floor, lies the village of Phobjikha. Each winter, endangered black-necked cranes migrate here from the arid plains of the north, seeking the milder, lower climate. Their arrival is celebrated every November at the Black-Necked Crane Festival, held in the courtyard of Gangtey Monastery. Phobjikha sits at an altitude of 2,900 m in the district of Wangduephodrang, on the edge of Black Mountain National Park. Two meandering rivers, the Nakay Chhu (Chhu Naap, "black water") and the Gay Chhu (Chhu Karp, "white water"), wind through its golden-brown wetlands and dwarf bamboo meadows. According to local legend, the two rivers are really a snake and a boar. The animals once raced each other, with an agreement that if the snake (Nakay Chhu) won, the valley would be able to grow rice, but if the boar won, rice could never be cultivated there. The snake, forced to meander the whole way, lost the race. And so, to this day, no rice grows in Phobjikha. Instead, the valley's farmers are known for their potatoes and hardy highland crops.