Haa

Haa district in far west Bhutan opened to foreign tourists only in 2002 and remains well off the Paro–Thimphu–Punakha path. Less than 10 percent of tourists head west across Chelela Pass after landing at the country's only international airport. Even many Bhutanese see Haa as remote. What awaits the adventurous traveler is a revelation. Highland lakes and hidden sacred lands steeped in legend, awesome light shows as the sun sets behind Meri Puensum, treks to isolated villages where few if any Haaps have encountered foreigners, temples that pre-date even Guru Padmasambhava's arrival in the 8th century to bring Vajrayana Buddhism and subdue local deities. Haa has a long northern border with Chinese Tibet, and for hundreds of years north-south Haa Valley was a hub for trade with Tibet. These days the Indian army is posted at the valley's Wangchuk Lo Dzong fortress as a bulwark against the powerful neighbor to the north, and upper Haa is off limits to civilians. The rest of the northern border is set aside as Torsa Strict Nature Reserve — protected land that occupies fully a third of the district's total area, and where no humans are permitted to live. This sequestering preserves Haa as a time capsule with 78 percent forest cover. Just 13,500 Haaps live in the rest of the land,...