You can travel by motorbike to many exciting places, but few countries can match the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The mysterious mountainous country of the south-eastern Himalayas is one of the world's best-kept secrets and a motorcyclist's Eldorado.

Tiger's Nest is the name of this small Buddhist monastery that has one of the world's most magnificent views. It hangs on a cliff side, from which there is a drop of 900 meters directly into the abyss. To see this sight we had to use the apostles' horses up the hill through the coniferous forest, for there is only a narrow footpath to get there. It takes approx. 3 hours to go up there from where we parked our iron horses, but it was worth all the hardships.

It is not difficult to find the joy of driving in Bhutan, because you slide through one magnificent mountain landscape after another on roads where there is virtually no traffic.

Bhutan's many Buddhist festivals are an explosion of color with shamanistic mask dances performed to the sound of bizarrely transcendent music from large drums and long brass horns. These festivals take place all year round in the many whitewashed temples, so-called Dzongs, that are scattered across the Himalayan mountains.

Buddhist prayer flags flutter in the wind on a mountain pass in Bhutan with the eternal snows of the Himalayas in the background. The prayer flags are painted with mantras and symbolic figures which, according to the faithful, have a sacred power which is spread by the wind. Prayer flags in the Himalayas are made from colorful pieces of cloth that are hung along mountain ridges and peaks.

Five colors are used: white, blue, yellow, green or red, and each color represents one of the five elements of Tibetan Buddhism. The fifth element, which we do not have in the Western elemental system, is "consciousness". The tradition of hanging prayer flags originates from the pre-Buddhist Bön religion, which was practiced in the Himalayas before Buddhism became the dominant religion.

A Dzo chews cud and stares at the passing motorcyclists on a roadside in Bhutan. A dzo is a cross between a yak and a cow and is a common livestock and pack animal here in the southern Himalayas.

A local Bhutanese woman sells her beautiful, handwoven yak wool scarves and throws at a small stall on a mountain pass in Bhutan.

Crowned monks wearing saffron robes are seen everywhere in Bhutan.
Buddhism came to Bhutan with the Indian tantric master, Guru Padmasambhava, in the 8th century. Buddhism is the most widespread religion in Bhutan and is practiced by 75 percent of the population.

An archer closes his left eye and takes aim with his compound bow. There is a sharp flick followed by a dull sound as the arrow hits a shooting target approx. 80 meters away. A round of applause follows and a rehearsed triumphant dance is performed as a gesture by the teammates.

Archery is the national sport of Bhutan and the only discipline in which the country participates in the Olympic Games. Just over 500 years ago, archery was introduced to Bhutan by the Buddhist monk Drukpa Kunley, also known as "The Divine Madman". He is still a folk hero here in the land of the Thunder Dragon, which the Bhutanese call their Himalayan kingdom.