BHUTAN

Dzongs, high valleys and walking that earns its views. It takes planning and a permit, so start the conversation early. At the tshechu festivals in spring and autumn, monks perform masked dances in the dzong courtyards, and at dawn a giant thangka is unrolled across the wall. In Thimphu, the school for the thirteen traditional arts trains painters, carvers and weavers, and we can arrange time in the studios. The climb to Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest, is best done early, before the light goes flat.