A Weekend with the Black-necked Cranes

Could it have been auspicious? As I entered the Phobjikha Valley, the black-necked cranes were circling the sky above me. To escape the brutally cold winter in Tibet, these cranes migrate south in the late fall. Villagers believe the arrival of the cranes is of spiritual significance. Perhaps this is because the birds have traversed the same path across the Himalayas that Guru Rinpoche did centuries ago to bring Buddhism into Bhutan, or perhaps this is because the cranes circle the Gangtey Goenpa (a large monastery perched on a hillside) three times prior to making their annual descent into the glacial valley.

My stay in the Phobjikha Valley was intimately peaceful. At the Guest Information Center, lodging was provided. The caretaker created a dinner of red rice, dahl, and mushroom and cheese curry with the ingredients we purchased out of a family's home a half hour walk up the hill. The meal tasted so wonderful that I knew the preparation must have been infused with genuine TLC. Bundled in five layers, wondering how this Bhutanese valley at 10,000 feet could possibly serve as a winter migration area, I slept on and off until dawn. At this time, there would be a chance to see the dancing of the cranes. Having slept as a herd in the marshlands, I observed the cranes pair up as a couple or a family (upon finding one another, a male and a female crane remain together as a pair for life) to begin another day's set of flights within the valley.

So long as I kept a slow pace with a quiet tread, tracing the perimeter of the valley brought me in closer view of the cranes. Balancing on logs across the marshes and finding my way heel-toe through the narrow pathway within the shoots of bamboo, I discovered that the valley is inhabited by cows, horses, sheep, hawks, trout, larks and butterflies. All appeared to live harmoniously with one another, although danger of the cranes' interactions with the hawks and a snow leopard (which fortunately I did not have sight of) makes these birds now vulnerable creatures. And while surrounded by magnificent elements of nature, I am discovering that a hike in Bhutan may not be complete without a visit to a temple. Stepping inside to observe the statues of Buddha and wish upon a butterlamp, the residing monk explained to me that this temple I was in and the chortens I had seen along the way have been in existence from the 15th century. I had come halfway around the valley.

Upon returning to the Guest Information Center and enjoying afternoon tea and biscuits, my world became a bit smaller when I met the only other chillup in the Phobjikha Valley ("chillup" is an affectionate Bhutanese term for a foreigner) ... a woman named Mary from San Francisco!