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    Birdwatching

    རི་བོ་ཇིཀྲུ་ཌེཀ
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    Bhutan is a birders' paradise. This country the size of Switzerland is home to about 680 species of avifauna in astonishing variety — gulls, terns, storks, falcons, woodpeckers, kingfishers, hornbills (including the spectacular rufous-necked hornbill), macaws, cuckoos, starlings, and on and on. Of these, some 200 are endemic. Twenty six are globally endangered, including imperial herons, one of the fifty rarest birds in the world, and the famous black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis) that over-winter in Phobjikha Valley after breeding on the Tibetan plateau. Bhutan is such a biodiversity hotspot that ornithologists are sure more species await discovery within its borders. A deep reverence for life among the Bhutanese keeps this sanctuary intact, rooted in the Buddhist ideal of non-harming, along with their genuine love of nature. Nature preserves, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks make up over half the land. The constitution guarantees that at least 60% of the nation's land will be maintained as forest cover for all time. Right now that stands at 72% and growing, as volunteers gather annually every Social Forestry Day to plant more trees en masse. Birders visiting the country for the first time are often pleasantly surprised by nature-protecting regulations that just mak...

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    Only known to science since 1876, the the IUCN Red List lists this shy species of crane as "vulnerable." A few hundred individuals fly to Bhutan's serene Phobjika Valley -- the country's largest wetland area -- to escape the Tibetan Plateau's frigid winters. The RSPN (Royal Society for Protection of Nature, which created the center) has monitored the cranes here since 1987, and bird arrivals have been steadily increasing in the three decades since.
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    Stretching down the middle of Norzin Lam from the National Textile Museum to the luxurious Taj Tashi Hotel, a line of simple bamboo huts house Thimphu's highest concentration of Bhutanese handicrafts and souvenirs. The craft bazaar is one of the capital's most interesting places to browse, with heaps of malas (prayer beads), glossy wooden bowls, brass Buddha statues, grimacing skull masks, sheaves of delicate handmade paper, jewel-toned scarves, and even mugs decorated with photographs of royalty.