Phobjikha Valley

The Phobjikha Valley is a broad glacial bowl at three thousand metres and the winter home of the black-necked crane, which arrives from Tibet in late October and stays until February. Around five hundred birds feed in the marshy valley floor, and the whole valley is managed around them, with power lines buried underground so the cranes do not strike them. The Gangtey monastery stands on a ridge at the head of the valley. The nature trail crosses the wetland on boardwalks, and dwarf bamboo covers the slopes. Nights are cold and most farmhouses have no heating beyond a stove.