<< Punakha and Its Fortress

01/21/19 - Rafting in Punakha

We took a rafting trip down the Female River that runs through Punakha. This was the gentler option than the Male River. There were a few rapids, short stretches of white water, but this was not an adventure by anyone’s standards except our own. We had never been rafting before. We squeezed into wet suits and put on helmets. Then we boarded the raft and learned how not to hit each other or our guide with the paddles. That done, things went smoothly.

The high point of the trip was the Palla’s fish eagle that swooped over our raft and downriver. We watched this great gray bird in awe. It was a rare sighting. There was no way we were going to be fussing with cameras. We did take a few pictures of the more common and more cooperative ruddy shelducks. We had views of the snowy mountains whose meltwaters in which we were rafting. We passed prayer flags and shrines. It was an amazing journey, and, for us, quite an adventure.

The banks of the river

Snowy mountains upriver

A placid stretch

Silver water and exotic trees

Another view of the river

A sparkling day on the Female River

Yet another view

A ruddy shelduck

A few more ruddy shelducks, just for luck

Beautiful water

Exotic trees

Keywords: bhutan