Rainbow Photo Tours of

After breakfast we leave for a six-hour drive to Trongsa, again through very scenic terrain. We're not in any hurry so we play a game of leapfrog, passing our fellow travelers, stopping for photographs and meeting at the final destination, Trongsa. We will also make numerous stops to photograph yaks and their herders, alpine flowers, lovely picturesque villages, and other roadside and panoramic scenes. After we go through PeleLa Pass (10,825 ft.) we get our first glimpse of the snow-covered Black Mountains far off on the horizon. This drive between Phobjekha and Trongsa is one of the most scenic and exciting legs of our journey into the clouds, crossing rivers and streams, passing farmlands and villages as well as primordial forests that have never been inhabited because of the deities believed to reside there. (Look across the deep valley to the uninhabited steeply inclined forest that seems to go on forever and ask your guide to explain the legend.)

An hour away from Trongsa we make our first sighting of the crimson-roofed Trongsa Dzong, with the Mangdechu river cascading in one continuous waterfall down through the valley beneath. Take a picture of the dzong from here then take a picture of the carved-from-granite road you were just on from across the chasm— this is a good example of, one minute "as the crow flies' but one hour as the car drives on Bhutan's famous National Highway.

Just above Trongsa we will check into the first-class Yangkil Resort where you can sit on your private balcony, cocktail-hour drink in hand and enjoy the majestic view of Trongsa Dzong just below the resort. Trongsa Dzong represents Bhutan's link with its historical monarchy since it is the ancestral home of the first king of Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuk. This is also the investiture site for future kings ascending the Golden Throne of Bhutan. The current (fifth) King of Bhutan was handed The Raven Crown by his father as he ascended the throne in November 2008. We can wander its remarkable succession of street-like corridors, wide stone stairs and beautiful stone courtyards. Trongsa Dzong represents the very best opportunity to capture the true essence of Bhutanese monastic and parliamentary architecture. Here, 25 lhakhangs (small temples, among which is the oldest lhakhang in Bhutan—the Chorten Lhakhang, built by Yongzin Ngagi Wangchuk in 1543) house sacred images and religious relics. Intricate wood carvings and beautiful frescos are emblazoned on the walls and pillars. With a little patience, monks will walk in and out of your frame as you photograph these remarkable and rare structures. Overnight halt and dinner, Yangkil Resort.