This Hidden Mountain Monastery Is So Remote, Even Google Maps Struggles to Find It

This Hidden Mountain Monastery Is So Remote, Even Google Maps Struggles to Find It (Image: Lance Gerber/ Instagram)

One of those places that seems to be effectively lost to time is Thowadra Monastery in Bhutan, high aloft, on a ragged ridge some 3,400 metres above sea level. It is locally referred to as Thowadrak, and it sits on a cliffside in the Tang Valley in the Bumthang district. It is named High Rock, which describes its height as well as its remoteness. It has no paved roads that lead to it, and the last part is a three-hour hike after the nearest farm road.

It is a steep trail with a narrow path, which is frequently prone to landslides or excessive precipitation. Trees become sparse, the air becomes thinner and on most of the way, you have neither a cell signal nor a clear landmark to tell you where you are going. The monastery is occasionally lost on even the digital maps, or appears faintly, since the satellite images are spotty and the ground is subject to erosion and seasonal snow. The structure itself is harmonised with its environment: bare rock walls, plain whitewashed temples and no decoration. It is a spot to be lower than grand, and has more to do with the contemplative quiet than with sightseeing.

Thowadra is not only remote in space, but in religion. The rhythm of the life of monks here is a solitary and meditative one: hours of meditation, traditional Buddhist rituals, and the smallest amount of contact with the outside world. It is also a musically important monastery that is one of the four holy cliffs of Guru Rinpoche in Bumthang. Since ancient times, pilgrims and workers came here not to have comfort or luxury but in order to show devotion, being here and doing something.

It takes immense preparation to visit Thowadra. Weather may be unpredictable: hail, bright sun, or snow may make the road unsafe. The correct equipment, local practical advice, and physical fitness are needed. But those who go there say it is not all about scenery. It is the voice of wind in the gullies between mountains, prayer-songs in the cliffs, and that silence which is difficult to discover nowadays.

Thowadra is not as popular as other popular monasteries due to its isolation. Little is known about its exact design in details, the bulk of information is provided by monks and locals in the villages. And even though Google Maps can label its general position, users tend to complain that it takes an incorrect route, or disappears without any trace at all when in proximity. To a good number of the travellers, visiting Thowadra turns into a pilgrimage rather than a journey of nature, spirit, and the boundaries of what can be traced with technology.