It is a fascinating, often startling panorama. The crops vary from rice, maize, wheat, barley and potatoes to pineapples, bananas, litchis, mangoes and guavas. The state religion of Bhutan is the Drukpa sect of Kagyupa, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism. Throughout Bhutan, from the most densely populated valleys to the most remote mountain waystop, religious monuments and symbols bear witness to a deep and respected faith. Prayer wheels turn, prayer flags wave in the breeze, sending the message of Buddhism forth on the winds, and even on lonely alpine passes the sacred mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is found, carved on slabs of stone and rocky hillsides.
Every Bhutanese home has a chapel where the family prays each day before the altar.
Chomolhari, abode of the goddess whose name it bears, stands in the Southwest, marking the border with Tibet's Chumbi Valley. Four passes, three in the west and one in the east, were once the most important gateways to Tibet. Today they are all but deserted, and at the foot of Chomolhari, the ruins of an ancient fortress and watchtower stand in mute testimony to the activity which once took place at this now lonely frontier.