We were in Bhutan in end May; that’s the last leg of Spring. Spring starts around end March here and Bhutan is full of flowers everywhere for the next 2 months — in the trees, plants and meadows. We saw enough to have a heart’s fill!
Every Jacaranda tree in Punakha had been rendered lilac when we were there. Thimpu, being at a higher reach, didn’t have the Jacarandas. It had willows. But Punakha offered rows and rows of Jacarandas in the streets, pregnant with the beautiful lilac colour flowers. To me, the flower lover, it was an added boon – Jacarandas are my favourite flowering trees. 10 years of big-city living had taken away the happiness of seeing these trees every spring – Delhi-Mumbai don’t have these varieties. In fact, Delhi still had a few here and there, but I haven’t seen any in Mumbai in the last 7 springs we have spent here. Happy to find me so happy with the Jacarandas, Sonam, our guide, let me be. I sat down under one gigantic Jacaranda — couldn’t let go of this beautiful moment without a few minutes in silence and awe. I sat down, without touching the camera that was hanging from my neck, to look at the hundreds of flowers that had flown down from the trees to the grounds and the bees that had swarmed around these flowers to suck and stock honey in the hives up in the Dzong’s ceilings. But, most of all, I sat down to smell the Jacarandas the way I’d smell them in my childhood in Shillong. In those few minutes, I travelled back in time and relived some simple moments that the grown-up years had snatched away.
It was lilac again at the Phobjikha Valley — the Primulas were in full bloom here. The black cranes had flown back to Tibet, leaving the valley to the Primulas. The hills of Gantey had red, pink, yellow Rhododendrons. It was roses, lillies, every everywhere.
Flower lovers, this is when you should come to Bhutan. The country is in full bloom at this time.
PS: Wheels On Our Feet’s FB page has a complete album dedicated to the flowers. Check them all out! Here — https://www.facebook.com/WheelsOnOurFeet
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Plan your Bhutan holiday with help from our detailed posts at — 10-day Itinerary & Tips for a Bhutan Holiday