Tashigang

Set high between the mist-clad peaks of Eastern Bhutan, where the snow-mantled tops of the Himalaya skirt their way around the Tibetan Plateau and into wild and untrodden Arunachal Pradesh in India, Trashigang is a town of pure drama. It is crowned by the ubiquitous Bhutanese dzong, glowing brilliant white, and gilded with a roof of golden yellow over the soaring banks of the Dangmechu River. In the valley below, Trashigang proper sits compact and close-knit. Here, winding cobblestone lanes weave between its timber-frame housing blocks and the enthralling, folksy conglomeration of lean-to stores and handicraft emporiums that forms its central bazaar.

Many visitors make their way here to embark on explorations deeper into the Eastern Himalaya; Trashigang tour guides specialise in excursions out spots like Trashiyangtse, with its shimmering white temples and Khaling, surrounded by verdant valley sides and blooming meadows. Others come in the early winter for the Trashigang Tsechu festival, when a kaleidoscopic burst of Buddhist red and orange engulfs the town and traditional folk rituals grace the courtyards of the ancient fortress.