BETWEEN PEAKS AND PRAYERS: FLIGHT TO PARO - BHUTAN JOURNEY

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We reached Kolkata one day before and had a restful sleep. We went to the airport early, checked in, and asked for window-side seats on the left side, as that would be the best place to view the mighty Himalayas. As seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, it is advisable to go early and book these precious seats.

While checking in, I noticed that we were the only senior people; all the others were either big family groups or newly married couples, with the girls with mehendi still fresh on their hands and feet, dozens of glass bangles on their hands, and their husbands protectively guarding their new wives with hands around their shoulders! 

After checking in our luggage, we went exploring around the airport, which had quaint shops and window displays.

We sauntered to our gate and waited for the boarding call . We could see the Bhutan Airlines flight getting loaded up with luggage and food

Once called in, we entered the flight; though it was a small one, we found that the seats were comfortable , with enough leg space and push-back facility.

There were in-flight magazines with lot of information about the country.

In no time, refreshments were served: fresh and wholesome sandwiches, fruit bread, peanuts, and orange juice were given.

Time passed very quickly ,I was excited and was waiting for the Himalayas to appear, lo behold! There was an announcement from our pilot that we could start seeing the Himalayan mountain ranges on the left side, I nudged my husband ,who was happily dozing, to stay awake and have a look at them.

As the seat belt sign was off, a lot of kids tried to crowd onto the left side only to be gently hushed away by the air hostess.

It was surely a thrilling experience to see the 18,000-foot peaks of the serene Himalayas playing hide and seek with the white fluffy clouds; my husband always appreciates my vivid imagination and child like enthusiasm to appreciate even the most mundane things .

A few minutes later, our pilot announced that the mighty Mount Everest would now be seen on our left side. Yes, there it was ! Majestic and mysterious,I thanked God for giving me this opportunity to at least see it from afar, as I knew I could never climb it.

Paro Airport is the sole international airport of the four airports in the Kingdom of Bhutan. It is 6 km from Paro, in a deep valley on the bank of the Paro Chhu river. With surrounding peaks as high as 18,000 ft, it is considered one of the world's most challenging airports, and only a select number of pilots are certified to land at the airport and to my utter delight, I came to know one was a woman pilot.

In 1968, the Indian Border Roads Organisation built an airstrip in the Paro valley, which was initially used for on-call helicopter operations by the Indian Armed Forces on behalf of the Royal Government of Bhutan. Bhutan's first airline, Drukair, was established by Royal Charter on 5th April 1981.

At 6,500 feet long, the runway at Paro is actually shorter than its elevation. Besides the danger of flying through some of the world’s tallest peaks, the runway is carved out of the mountain foliage, and pilots must also account for vicious winds that sweep through the valley.

Landing and taking off are from both directions of the airport's only runway.

The airport is served by several airlines such as Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines. Druk Air has flights operating to several domestic and international locations such as Bagdogra, Delhi, Guwahati, Gaya, Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka, Bangkok, Gelephu, Jakarta, Kathmandu, and Singapore. Bhutan Airlines has carriers to Delhi, Kolkata, Kathmandu, and Bangkok. 

The last part of the flight before landing at Paro took us through deep green valleys, through which aircraft took a couple of turns with hills on both sides. Throughout this part of the flight, I held my breath, only releasing it when we landed safely, as I was tense, anticipating that the plane would crash into the hills or trees; sometimes I could see right into the houses nearby.

Visual flight rules call for the pilots to use their own judgement to manoeuvre the aircraft while landing and taking off . Since the decision is taken based on their knowledge of the terrain and landmarks in the valley, coupled with the quality of visibility, they need absolute clarity in the weather for a safe flight. 

While landing, the pilots hand-fly the plane with their local knowledge, navigating it mindful of the electric poles, roofs of the homes, trees, hill-sides etc. It is almost like the aircraft is being flown in the alleys.

Paro Airport is very interesting, with just 6-8 flights arriving at the airport daily; each flight is received with much care, the entire airport staff being activated to serve the plane in every aspect from immigration customs and security to baggage handlers.

As we landed and got down, I found that all of us were crazily clicking snaps of the flight, scenery around us, and the hundreds of custom Bhutanese buildings with largely wooden-based architecture. Bhutanese ramp workers greeted us and obligingly took a snap of us both.

Paro Airport is an exquisite place for architecture and is a place to be treasured.

Externally and internally, the airport was Bhutanese in its design and feel, and was a beautiful place full of beautiful things.

Going through immigration was a pleasure and not the usual painful challenge normally experienced by us. The processing at the immigration counter was quite straightforward, we needed just our passports as our visas were already verified at the Kolkata airport where we boarded Bhutan Airlines flight. The immigration officers spoke excellent English and were quite polite.

There were two terminals! The original 1999 terminal was joined by the newer, slightly larger terminal that opened on Mar 18, 2016, is for arrivals only.

We could see beautiful cherry blossom trees and the animated flags flapping around in the wind. We could see, to the north of the terminals and ramp areas, a maintenance area with a large shared hanger for both Bhutan Airlines and Druk Air.

After clearing customs, we found the money exchange counter located on the right, with the exchange rates listed on the board.

We came out of the airport, where we could find a lot of people waiting in traditional dresses; our guide, with our names written on a placard, was waiting for us.