My Trip to Drakarpo, Paro

So, here I am finally getting some time to sit down and write about my hike trip to Dra-Karpo, Paro which has been one of my amazing trips recently. I had heard about Dra-Karpo from some of my friends who had visited before and the thought and imagination of moving around across a whole mountain had always fantasized me. The lack of not getting enough friends to go along with had always made my dream remain a dream until recently where this trip was made possible from 4^th May 2017 to 7^th May 2017 along with my work colleagues. It was just a week back when I also made my decision about going to Dra Karpo. I was looking at some of my papers on my work desk when one of my staffs came to do some work in the computer and that’s when she called or got a call and I was lucky enough to have heard the word Dra Karpo. Immediately upon hearing the name of the place, my eyes lifted up and I was curious enough to ask her about the trip. I requested to her if it was possible to include me also in the trip as I had always wanted to go to this place but since I was not having friends to go along with so I was held back. My request was accepted by my colleague in addition to their already count of approximate 10 members for the visit. While most of the arrangements starting from food to lodging would be made by them, all I had to do was give my monetary contributions and of course lend my help too by taking my vehicle along in the trip. We decided to leave from Wangdue on the morning of 4^th May and reach there by lunch time so that we could atleast start doing our rounds across the holy mountain by afternoon. Two of my friends who had their relatives there managed to arrange for the lodging. We took groceries and other items with us so that we were not much of trouble to the relatives. Getting a leave from work was pretty worrisome when most of the staffs from the office would be going for this trip. My request of getting leave from work for some days got approved by my immediate supervisor and I could not wait to start off for this exciting hike. In fact, it was quiet surprising and blessing in disguise when all the things were falling in place starting from making a request to the staffs to go along with them till getting my leave approved.

I immediately started my packing on the evening of 3^rd May so that it wouldn’t be much of a hurry in the next morning as we were planning to start early. We were to have atleast 3 vehicles going with us but in the end moment something came up and by chance only my vehicle was going while those who were not fitting in my vehicle would be coming by taxis/cabs. I had made sure the previous evening to fuel my car and keep it ready.

So finally the morning of 4^th May came up and I couldn’t wait any more to gear up for my trip. 

My office staffs and their cousins who were to go along with me in my vehicle came to my place. I was also ready and we started for our trip by 8 am. To reach Paro, it takes approximately 2 hr 45 minutes drive from Wangdue and with the better condition of the road the journey was amazing. By 10 am we had reached Thimphu and it didn’t take us much to reach Paro. To reach Dra-Karpo we didn’t had to enter the main Paro town. We had to go till a point called Shaba and from there; there was a feeder road of approximately 4-5 km which was to go till our destination. 

By the way, before moving towards Dra-Karpo, let me give you a short description of Paro valley as was seen through my eyes. I have basically visited Paro on occasions of travelling out of country as it has the country’s one and only international and domestic airport. Then I remember having gone to the famous Tiger’s Nest once in June 2014 which was also an amazing trip. My mother used to tell us that we stayed in Paro for some years when we were just kids before we were being sent to Kalimpong to pursue our schoolings. Once I went with my parents for a short drive in and around Paro town but could not locate much of things which did interest me. Basically I think it has lots of cultural architectures to see and observe which cannot be completed in a short period of time. The serenity of the place, the aroma was just sufficient to make me fall in love with the place. I am not going to write more on it as details on the place can be checked from google.com with just a click of the finger.

Okay! So getting back to the point where we reached Shaba at Paro and from where we were to drive uphill in some pretty rough feeder road for approximately 4-5km. The passenger’s seat was all packed and so was the carrier at the back of the car. My staffs who were travelling with me were holding additional luggage on their hands too. Well, the first few meters of drive uphill was fine but then I saw big potholes, big lumps of mud, big stones, muddy roads and that’s when my worry started. I was panicking from inside looking at the road condition but I could not afford to show it to my staffs who were travelling along with me and who were depending upon me to reach to the destination. I remember coming to two points on the uphill road when the vehicle did not pick up and had to be literally stopped. With applying the brake and in first gear, it was hard to stop the vehicle which was moving back. My staffs were good enough to come out of the vehicle and some of them lent their help by placing some big stones on the back wheels. Nevertheless, I thought that I had to call for help to pull up my vehicle but I think God was in favor of me and helped me to take the vehicle out of the mess.

There were quiet many houses at the locality of Dra-Karpo. Since we had divided ourselves into two groups so we separated ourselves in a group of 5 members. The place where my staff’s relatives were living was around 10 minutes from the main monastery.  There was sufficient and good parking to park our vehicles. Her relatives were so nice to have made us lunch and waited for us. It was a big relief to have pulled up the vehicle to our destination and then to be getting a delicious lunch. We rested for a while and after sometimes our members who came in taxi/cab also joined us for lunch. We decided to pay a visit to the monastery before we started our circumambulate or ‘kora’. I had taken some fruits, ‘dalda’, incense sticks to be offered to the monastery.

I was able to complete my rounds around the monastery in 2.5 days. So I am going to write my experience in the different days separately.

Dra Karpo is a scared blessed place visited by Guru Rinpoche and is a knoll of rocks within which is several sacred rocks and caves of religious significance. It is located overlooking the shaba valley. Around the knoll of sacred rock is the hermitages and temple built against the rock where several elderly people live to recite ‘mani’ and circumambulate the scared rock knoll. The 8^th century revered saint, Guru Padmasambhava accompanied by his consort ‘Dakini’ Yeshey Tshogyal and many other yogis and great Masters down the ages have blessed and sanctified this particular place. I am not sure but I think one round is approximately 500-600m.

If you carefully observe the rocks along the path as you walk around the mountain, you can see foot and hand prints and many other auspicious signs and symbols believed to have manifested by themselves through some supernatural forces. It is also believed that if one circumambulates the mountain 108 times, even sins so great as killing one’s own parent can merit redemption. 

Afternoon of 4^th May 2017

I started my first day kora after lunch around 3 pm after paying my homage in the main lakhang (temple). It is believed that one should first visit the main lakhang before starting with the kora. It was drizzling when I had started with my kora. The first round was pretty tough because it was my first experience in the new place and I needed some time to get used to walking around. Many of my staffs were really confident that they would be completing 108 rounds positively. While I was in a doubt looking at the terrain of the slope I just gave a confidence to myself that I would complete as many rounds as possible during my stay there be it not necessary have to be 108 rounds. It is believed that one should walk slowly and pray from the heart and not with the intention of competing to complete the rounds first. Well on my first day I was able to complete 13 rounds. The path along one side is uphill while on the other side it is totally downhill. I think it is the determination with which one starts the prayers and is able to complete. While walking uphill one tends to get tired fast and while walking downhill one can’t afford to move fast as that will just land in hurting the knee areas. I was able to come back from the kora/rounds by 5 pm. I did not force myself to compete in runs as it would just basically tire me out on the next day. I still had 2 more days to complete my rounds. Back at home my staff helped her aunt in making the dinner while we chitchatted over with others about how our first day went. We decided that we should take some pack lunch the next day as it was time consuming to come back home and then walk up hill for the rounds. 

5^th May 2017:

This day was a very auspicious day being “Zhabdrung Kuchoe”. We all woke up by 6 am though we had decided that we would start early. But with kids around and then preparing lunch and of course being our first time we all decided to go together in the morning. Many people were expected to come to the monastery on this day. We freshened up and I decided to go in formals though there were people who were coming in pants and trousers to complete the rounds. By the time we reached upto our spot it was almost 7 am. Without more a due we started our rounds instantly. Our other group of members who had put up near by the monastery had started their rounds by 5 am. I bowed down in front of the deity before starting my rounds. I calculated on the average number of rounds I was supposed to make during my stay there to complete the 108 rounds. Initially when starting it was pretty tough, when we are not used to such a terrain and that too having to walk in formals. But there is a saying “where there is a will, there is a way”, so be it slowly I started my rounds with a will and a determination to complete my rounds. I was able to complete pretty many rounds with time passing by. There were lots of people coming from in and around Paro and also the locals. There were people who had come and pitched tents accordingly. After a while the path became pretty crowded with many people coming by to the monastery. While moving around I thought to myself that this is truly heaven on earth itself. We, the people irrespective of having so many religious places in Bhutan itself pay so much of money and expenses to travel to other religious places outside of Bhutan.  Its like we have everything here and what do we need as human beings. Some days we are to be waking up and thank God that I have water to wash my face, food to eat, clothes to wear, people to talk and smile with. What more do we need. Human desire never ends, the more we get the more we want. Our expectations never end rather keeps growing. We should be happy that even though our country is small and we are dependent on other developed countries for our up lift, we have everything what we need to fit in our population. There are countries, there are people around the globe who longs to get this type of happiness. They don’t even have the basic necessities to make them happy. It’s like a living hell for them. They never know what is going to happen next. The grass always looks greener on the other side but when faced ourselves the true meaning behind it comes out. I feel happy and fortunate enough to have been born in such a beautiful place where our rulers, our forefathers have worked adequately to give us a better future. All these thoughts were crossing my mind and I actually didn’t realize how soon I completed almost 10 rounds. There were many kind and generous people who provided refreshment to the people circumambulating the mountain. Then I remember eating some tasty momos made by some locals. For 5 pieces it cost us Nu.50/-.

I didn’t see any glimpse of shops or restaurants around the place by which it would have been convenient for us to go and eat. There, this lady was there selling momos @Nu.50/- but it was good enough for us when we were hungry and thirsty in a place where shops and restaurants were nowhere to be seen. It is said that we should not pray and go about making rounds about the mountain at 12 noon. I forgot to ask the reason behind it. May be some days I will be asking it again. My staff had made “nakei”- I am lost out of words for its English translation and “ezzay” – home made pickle with local cheese and green chillies along with rice. For a person like me who rarely touched chilly, forget about eating it, a person who is so conscious of the local rice containing carbohydrates, it was a surprising fact to be eating rice in all my three times meal along with curry which had lots of hotness in it. Well the best part being I was able to digest it and yet feel light enough at the end of the day. Due to the heat and friction while walking it became pretty tough for me to walk in formals. At first I thought of continuing with wearing formals but it became really tough to walk around and finally I had to give up. I went back home and changed to trousers and returned to continue my rounds. We relaxed for a while before continuing to head for our rounds. So I was able to complete a total of 55 rounds till today. I headed back to our place of residence, freshened up, changed, had our dinner and looked forward to another day to completing my remaining rounds around the scared mountain. Most of us were all tired so it didn’t take us much time to have our food and rush to our beds to close for the day with our prayers. I thanked God for having given me a chance to come to such a beautiful place and made up my mind to reach the monastery the next day by 5 – 5:30 am.

6^th May 2017

Saturday was a little less packed compared to the previous day because it was a religious and an auspicious day. I started my day by waking up in time to reach the spot by 5-5:30 am. Well I had some biscuits and tea for my breakfast and carried some water and wai wai as my edibles if ever I felt hungry while walking. By the time I reached up, my staffs from other group had already started their rounds. But today I was getting quiet accustomed to the place and I knew how to balance my body and when to balance it well. It would be quiet impossible to walk without a support. Some people had sticks made from branches of trees while some carried umbrellas as their support. The latter was my option too. Like the day before refreshment in the form of water and juice were placed along the path. I think I finished quiet many number of bottles to quench my thirst. The day started gloomy and there was doubt of shower which proved true. Strong gust of wind blew making us cling to our jackets and hats. We were not hungry because of the quiet many number of water and juice we drank. But still one of my staffs and me made it a point to eat a little though. We finished our lunch fast as it had begun to drizzle. By the time we completed some few more rounds it had begun to rain heavily. But since we had our umbrellas along with us so it wasn’t much of a problem. Most of the elderly people had left for home as the path was slippery and only few of us were left behind. Though we were using umbrellas but the strong force of the wind was not permitting us to balance well in the rain along with those umbrellas. So finally we had to let go using umbrellas and walk with our heads covered by jacket hood. By then the down pour was heavy enough to make us feel cold and we had to stop for a while. Since I am a patient of asthma it became a little difficult for me to continue my rounds around the monastery and finally I had to stop for the day. It was 5 pm when I closed down and headed home. I think by this time most of my other young staffs had completed their 108 rounds about the monastery. Another thing which was worrying me was the road condition because of the continuous shower. It was quiet surprising to see snowfall on the tips of the mountain nearby to the place where we were residing. To realize the fact of snowfall in the month of May was leaving me speechless and was just making me stare continuously at those tips. It was continuing to shower in the late evening. But later it did stop raining which gave me a little relief. Though the rain stopped but then the condition of the road was also something to worry about as I had to reach the main road from the feeder road. Sometimes I wonder why the feeder road is not being well maintained. I have noticed that it’s just a first cutting and then the road is being considered made. Atleast some gravels and such materials can be spread over the path so that there is no risk during travelling in the monsoon seasons. There wouldn’t be much of a problem for big vehicles who have 4WD but those small ones like mine would be much in a trouble while travelling both uphill as well as downhill.  Howsoever, I prayed to God before sleeping for the next day to make it a bright and a sunny day so that I could take my vehicle smoothly towards the highway. With these prayers I was off to sleep. Today I was able to complete 95 rounds with balance of 13 rounds to complete on the next day.

7^th May 2017

My first thought when I woke up was the road and looking outside the window to monitor the weather for today. It seemed a bit gloomy though it wasn’t raining. The roads were still messy with mud all across. I planned to move back down towards the highway well in time to avoid if it rained again. Completing the balance 13 rounds was also not a joke. I was pretty exhausted with the previous day’s rain, the cold and me not feeling well because of my asthma but then somewhere deep down inside my heart I prayed to God to please make the weather a better one today. Likewise I reached the monastery around 6 am and started with my balance rounds of koras. If one had that pace of speed then five rounds could easily be made. When I completed my rounds it was approximately 9 am sort of. Then I started noticing ray of sunlight across the valley and slowly it spread out. That gave me confidence and faith to complete and thank God for having been there along with me and giving me the determination and capability to complete my 108 rounds. By this last day, I had become habituated with the slope of the path and wasn’t much of a problem completing the rounds. During my final round of completion of my kora, I could feel that sense of positivity which gave me energy to finish up. During my 108^th round, I walked the path slowly, observing each and every minute detail which I could come across. One thing I noticed was the structure of the stones there. The structure of the stones was such that it looked like the existence of many snakes in and around the areas. The shape of the stones had come out in such a way that it gave a psychological feeling of the existence of some Godly figure or ‘stupas’(statues). I enjoyed each and every step of my 108^th round admiring what I was seeing through my eyes and what I would be missing so much about the place. I would definitely be missing those old grandmothers giggling around, chitchatting over some minute homely talks; it was a matter of fact to appreciate these old ladies for the ever green activeness stored in them. I have taken many pictures of the place in and around and I will be uploading here in my blog. I bowed down before the deity offering my token of thankfulness and being grateful for having given me the chance to complete the 108 rounds.

After completing the rounds I headed back home to pack up my bags and move in time. Since I had some work in Thimphu, my staffs were to go in another vehicle directly to Wangdue. I had my early lunch and waited for sometimes to make sure that the road was beginning to get dry and that vehicles were plying through that way. I thanked my staff’s relatives who were so generous enough to have accommodated us amidst their busy schedule and their hectic life. I took some luggage of my staffs in my vehicle as I was travelling alone and I had enough space to fit in their stuffs. I took leave and then headed down towards the highway which lead me towards my work station via Thimphu.

My feelings:

When I first entered the locality of Drakarpo, the only thing which was in my mind was how the road would be and our accommodation. When I was leaving from the place it had created a feeling of closeness and I could feel that gap when I was leaving from Drakarpo. I felt so attached to the place in just a matter of few days. I used to be so focused in completing my rounds around the monastery in time and admiring the beauty of nature that it didn’t give me time to think about work, family and so on. For a moment, this place gave me the chance to be with myself, to be with God, to know Him, to understand Him and feel the time go by. Every day I would wake up and all I could feel and sense was the aroma of the place there. I got a chance to sit down and observe the creation of God. I don’t know when I will get a chance to come back to this place again but for sure my first trip to Drakarpo has left an imprint on me. I have been so fascinated by the place, its structure, the beauty of it that I really don’t have enough words to describe everything about it. I wish what I saw through my eyes could easily be poured out in the form of words on my blog but alas it’s not possible. Paro is an amazing beautiful valley and so are other districts in Bhutan. Likewise already mentioned we have so many beautiful places be it a religious place, be it a historical place, site seeing, everything is here then why is it that our people travel all the way to other places just to give themselves a hectic time and trouble. To have been able to reach the place which I had wished for, to feel the presence of Mother Nature, to be in her care of warmth and comfort was surely a blessing in disguise for me and truly heaven on earth itself.

Note for people coming for the first time. Bring enough clothes, get a support stick or a long umbrella, enough edibles, and carry plenty of water, a cap, thin shawl to prevent sunburn.

The one and only Drakarpo Monastery 

With colleagues

The momos which we ate at Nu 50/plate.....It was tasty for a hungry stomach..

Far view - Drakarpo and the holy mountain across which people make the rounds.

Myself with the monastery at the background

With one of my good staffs Ms. Karma Lhamo.

With Kintsho pie...^_^

The signboard seen in the entrance of the monastery

Relaxing during lunch time...:)

The beautiful Paro Valley

Relaxing during lunch time.

On my way back - happy after completing 108 koras and feeling warm