It was midmorning as my guide, Singay Dradul, and I approached a verdant valley in the district of Wangdue Phodrang. We had come from Pele La, one of Bhutan's highest passes at 3,407m, which marks the boundary between the west and central parts of the Buddhist Kingdom. Over the past two hours of hiking, we had barely seen a soul except for a group of semi-nomadic yak herders who had recently come down to lower elevations for the winter.
