David Braun
National Geographic
December 1, 2014
High on top of a mountain pass on the road from Thimphu to Punaka, overlooking the Himalayas, is a concentration of 108 chortens (stupas) built in memory of Bhutanese soldiers killed in the 2003 war against insurgents from India. The Queen Mother, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, commissioned the monument after King Jigme Singye Wangchuck was victorious in the struggle to dislodge the rebels who were using Bhutan as a base to raid India.
The National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration, in Bhutan last month to meet with grantees, listen to briefings from government officials and environment groups, and observe science, exploration, and conservation in the field, passed this spot twice while traveling the pass between the modern and ancient capitals.
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Photograph by David Braun
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