Travel
River, which flows down from
Jomolhari, the country’s second
highest peak. Uma is run by COMO
Resorts who also run a second
Bhutanese lodge in the valley of
Punakha; most guests split their
time between the two hotels,
keeping the same guide the entire
week. My visit was in December,
considered low season but
a delightful time to be in the
mountains. A fireplace inside
Uma’s lobby was burning the native
hardwood that locals call zhishing,
its scent deeply comforting.
A short drive down the hill,
“downtown” Paro village is compact
and walkable. With plentiful sources
of local lumber, houses are built
large to accommodate multiple
generations of a family. Houses
are generally inherited by a
daughter rather than a son, and
a successful man will then move
into his wife’s home.
Bunches of red peppers hang on
strings outside windows to dry
in the sun against the walls of
buildings. Peppers are an export
commodity as well as an ingredient
in ema datschi, a favorite national
dish of chili peppers and yak cheese.
In a shop I bought several bundles of
thick stalky incense containing
Himalayan cypress. Also for sale in
many shops is the woven woolen
fabric used for the national dress,
the kera for women and gho for men,
which looks a bit like a bathrobe.
By lucky timing, a competition was
taking place at the centrally located
15