An elderly woman turns a prayer wheel at Kyichu Lhakhang in Paro, Bhutan.
In Bhutan, it is a tradition to retire from everyday life after a certain age and spend rest of the life wearing a monk’s robe in a spiritual quest. A small group of elderly men and women usually congregate in Paro’s Kichu Lahkhang every day, spending their time turning the prayer wheels.
Kichu Lhakhang (lhakhang = temple in dzongkha) is one of the oldest living temples in Bhutan, and played an instrumental role in spreading Bhuddhism to Bhutan.
A chorten or stupa and prayer flags in the middle of a field in Punakha district, rural Bhutan.
You will find vertical prayer flags fluttering in every house and every free space in Bhutan. They are meant to spread the holy mantras in the air. Chortens, also found frequently, are either memorials for the dead or meant to ward off evil. These structures are ubiquitous in Bhutan and are an essential part of the country’s rural and urban landscape.
During the winter months, the temperature in most parts of Ladakh fall as low as -25C. The numbing cold freezes the lakes and rivers from November to February. Mountains are crowned with fresh snow till the arrival of summer. This photograph of a frozen Indus River was made on the way from Leh to Tso Moriri Lake in February 2013.
