A first day in Thimphu
How to spend your first day in the world's only capital without traffic lights.
Thimphu is small, walkable and full of character. Here’s our ideal first day.
- Morning: Circle the National Memorial Chorten with local elders spinning prayer wheels, then drive up to Buddha Dordenma for valley views.
- Late morning: Meet Bhutan’s national animal, the takin, at the Motithang reserve.
- Lunch: Ema datshi and red rice in town.
Ema means chilli and datshi means cheese. The national dish is a stew of split chillies, yak cheese, garlic, onion and tomato, normally eaten with red rice, a nutty grain that farmers in west-central Bhutan have grown for centuries. In the short film below, a family in Bhutan makes it from garden to plate.
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- Afternoon: The Folk Heritage Museum and the textile museum, then watch the traffic police direct cars by hand at the main junction.
- Evening: The flag-lowering ceremony at Tashichho Dzong at sunset.
