Trips to Thimphu

Traveling to Thimphu is diving headfirst into an ancient and authentic culture. With just 100,000 inhabitants, this city has more Buddha statues than people, as inside the enormous statue of Buddha that dominates the valley, there are at least 125,000 statuettes of the sage, how remarkable! But, undoubtedly, what stands out the most is not this, but the phallic shapes that decorate the houses from beginning to end. And that's because in Bhutan, the most widespread religion is tantric Buddhism. Could that be why it is the country with the highest happiness index in the world?

Thimphu: travel to the soul of Bhutan at the foot of the Himalayas

This happiness is monitored from the Tashichho Dzong, where the Happiness Commission is located in the part housing government buildings. In the other half of the Dzong or “fortress,” 300 Buddhist monks live together in a monastery. The capital of Bhutan, for its part, encompasses all the tradition and authenticity of the country hidden behind the snowy peaks of the Himalayas; this is something you quickly find out if you look at its architecture, the clothing of its people, places like the Memorial Chorten, where the elders gather to pray and chat, or the farmer's market, where local products take center stage at street stalls. Are you up for visiting the only city on the map where the national sport is archery?