This post is part of Mystic Druk Yul, a series of travelogues narrating my trip to Bhutan. Here are the other posts!
« Previous post: Spinning some prayer wheels | Next post: 108 Chortens at Dochu La »

Ordinary streets of Thimphu

Tall prayer flags overlooking Thimpu valley
Tall prayer flags overlooking Thimpu valley

You can see in the picture above how tall the prayer flags are, I am standing at the bottom. This picture was taken from one of the hills north-west of the city. The built up valley with little colorful rooftops looks pretty.

Thimpu city
Thimpu city in the river valley

The yellow-green houses in the picture above is the ‘modern’ construction. Looks quite out of place. The city sprawls along the true-western bank of the Wang Chhu river. The city is very young, it was designated as the capital of Bhutan only in 1961.

Ordinary street in Thimpu
Some street in Thimpu

While it is common for the humble Bhutanese to complain about their garbage problems, most of the city is very clean and traffic is very relaxed. There are a number of taxis, and even a couple of bus routes! Walking on the beetle-nut stained footpaths is the best way to explore the city.

Main traffic intersection
Main traffic intersection

Traffic signals story:
Thimphu is one of two national capitals in Asia that does not have traffic lights. Local authorities had installed a set of lights at this junction but before they became operational the lights were removed. People complained that the automatic traffic signals were too impersonal and hence very unnatural to Bhutanese culture. So, instead of traffic lights, the city takes pride in its traffic police that directs the oncoming traffic with their dance-like movement of their arms and hands. (See video below)

Visit my earlier post for a picture of the same street corner at night.

A street in Thimpu
A street in Thimpu

Thimphu may be the biggest city in Bhutan but you can easily walk the whole city in less than one day! It is very calm and attractive, with a number of cafés, restaurants, art stories and souvenir shops sprinkled all around.

We’ll end this little post about Thimpu with the dancing-traffic-policeman video.

This post is part of Mystic Druk Yul, a series of travelogues narrating my trip to Bhutan. Here are the other posts!
« Previous post: Spinning some prayer wheels | Next post: 108 Chortens at Dochu La »

Related posts

Views of Thimphu City

This post is part of Mystic Druk Yul, a series of travelogues narrating my trip to Bhutan. Here are the other posts! « Previous post: Spinning some prayer wheels | Next post: 108 Chortens at Dochu La » Ordinary streets of Thimphu Tall prayer flags overlooking Thimpu valley You can see in the picture above [...]


30 Responses to “Views of Thimphu City”