Adventure in the Himalayas

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Saturday, 7 September 2019 - Visited the historic Jowo Temple of Kyichu in Paro with its ancient stupas and courtyard details, saw Druk Choeding temple and intricate wooden window carvings, drove north along the Paro Valley to Drukgyal Dzong fortress with its Himalayan views, and captured scenes of Buddhist architecture and mountain landscapes.

The Jowo Temple of Kyichu is one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, originally built in the 7th century by the Tibetan Emperor Songtsen Gampo.

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It is considered to be one of the 108 temples he built to control the Tibet border.
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Stupa in the temple courtyard.
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A stupa on a hill near the Jowo Temple.
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An angry lion.
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A delicate iron lattice outside the temple assembly halls. There were two rooms for the devoted.
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Prayer wheels - with many little stupas surrounding them.
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A stupa next to Jowo Temple.
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Druk Choeding is the Paro town temple. The main statue in the temple is of a seated future Buddha. There is also a statue of Gyenyen, considered the local protector, surrounded by a collection of old Bhutanese shields and weapons.

The temple was built in the year 1540 by Ngawang Chhogyel, who was one of the princes of Ralung in Tibet.
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I love the corner dragons on the temples - this is still Druk Choeding.
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The detail on a window of Druk Choeding.
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We then drove to the end of the road running along the Paro Valley north. At the end of the road is Drukgyal Dzong.

Drukgyal Dzong was a fortress and Buddhist monastery. The dzong was probably built by Tenzin Drukdra in 1649 to commemorate victory over an invasion from Tibet.
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Our guide's father used to come this way with pack mules into Tibet through the mountains to trade - then return back to Paro.
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The valley into the Himalayas and Tibet.
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