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National Geographic
15 hours ago
- General
- National Geographic
Sinful. Poisonous. Stinky? How tomatoes overcame their wicked reputation
Tomatoes were reviled for centuries—so how did we come to embrace them? This small New Jersey town claims to have played a major role. Once called the "poison apple," tomatoes were thought to be supernatural and sinful—especially because of their red color. Photograph by The Maas Gallery, London / Bridgeman Images While Salem, Massachusetts gets all the hype for its infamous 1692 witch trials, there's another city called Salem—this time in New Jersey—that's tied to a rather legendary tale where tomatoes were the enemy. (Witch hunts were common in the 17th century. Here's what made Salem infamous.) There are many myths and legends about how the tomato was once seen as the so-called 'poison apple,' but how it lost its evil reputation and became a beloved piece of produce is a complicated story. According to historian Andrew F. Smith, author of The Tomato in America: Early History, Culture, and Cookery, the tale involves a farmer and horticulturist who went to brazen lengths to prove the tomato was safe to eat. Aristocrats would fall ill or die when they consumed tomatoes—but it was the plates they were eating on that posed the problem. Photograph by O. F. Cook, Nat Geo Image Collection In 1544, Italian herbalist Pietro Andrea Mattioli classified the tomato as both a nightshade and a mandrake—a category of food known as an aphrodisiac. The tomato was often referred to as a 'love apple' and kept at arm's length. Later in 1597, prominent English herbalist and botanist John Gerard called tomatoes 'corrupt' and 'of rank and stinking savor' in his book, Herbal. This statement essentially sealed the tomato's fate in Great Britain and later the American colonies. By the 18th century, the tomato was nicknamed the 'poison apple' because aristocrats would fall ill or die after consuming them. But it wasn't the consumption of the tomato that triggered their illness or death. Instead, it was the plates the wealthy used to dine on—specifically the pewter plate. These plates contained high levels of lead that, when mixed with the natural acidity of the tomato, caused lead poisoning. (How the simple fork almost tore apart the fabric of society.) In his book, Smith notes that some of the earliest references of tomatoes in American colonies were in the late 18th century, but people were growing the fruit out of curiosity, not eating them. 'For those who came to America in the colonial period, it just wasn't on their agenda,' says Smith. The rise in tomatoes with myth and folklore According to Smith, large-scale immigration to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—particularly from Italians, who brought with them the invention of pizza—contributed to the eventual consumption of tomatoes. (Think you know who invented pizza? These foods have surprising global origins.) But it was Robert Gibbon Johnson, a farmer and horticulturist from Salem, New Jersey, who had a lasting impression on the general public's opinion of tomatoes. According to legend, Johnson stood on the Salem's courthouse steps in 1820, eating a basket full of tomatoes for all the public to see. When he didn't die of poison, word spread that tomatoes were safe to eat. Despite there being no record of Johnson's actions on the courthouse steps in Salem, that didn't stop this New Jersey town from playing along with the tale. Photograph by Justin Locke, Nat Geo Image Collection Smith did find evidence that Johnson actually grew tomatoes, so 'it's certainly possible that his work encouraged others to consume,' he says. But Smith notes that a lot of other folks were growing tomatoes at the time, so this isn't the sole reason the fruit became popular. By the 1830s, an array of tomato cookbooks and recipes were being published in America. Rich Guido, executive director and librarian of the Salem County Historical Society, believes this tall tale is typical of a small rural town that's passionate about their local history, even if the story may have a lot of half-truths. 'We've always had a connection with history and being a rural agricultural community—that's why the tomato story really comes into play,' says Guido. How the tomato lives on in Salem Although there is no physical evidence or documentation of Johnson's tomato trial, that hasn't stopped people from embracing this tale. Sickler eventually recounted the story to Harry Emerson Wildes, an American sociologist and historian, who wrote about it in his 1940 book, The Delaware. Stewart Holbrook added further embellishment to the event in his 1946 book, Lost Men of American History. On January 30, 1949, CBS radio gave the narrative even more notoriety when it broadcast a reenactment of Johnson famously eating a tomato on the show, You Are There; Sickler acted as a historical consultant for the show. In New Jersey's Salem, from 1989 till 2022, the town held the Salem Tomato Festival, where locals and visitors would watch reenactments of Johnson's event, wear costumes, and, of course, eat tomatoes. However, according to Guido, the festival was put on hold when it was revealed that Johnson was a slaveholder to Amy Hester Reckless. As to why Salem and New Jersey embraced this legendary tale as the obscure history of the Garden State, Curtis Harker, records manager at the County of Salem, thinks it's the love of the Salem tomato—which also involved a certain ketchup company at one point. (How Henry Heinz used ketchup to improve food safety.) 'It's a combination of the love of the huge flavorful Salem tomato plopped on a hamburger, Heinz Company's citywide aroma making ketchup in Salem City for 100 years until 1977, and the amusing story of Johnson bravely eating a tomato on the courthouse steps,' he says. Although the lore around Johnson has been tarnished by his slaveholding, the tomato continues to maintain its grip on this small New Jersey town.
National Geographic
6 days ago
- Politics
- National Geographic
Climbing Mount Everest may get even harder
Last month, as the 2025 climbing season began on Mount Everest , Nepal's upper house of Parliament introduced a tourism bill that includes a suite of new rules that would significantly raise the bar for who is allowed to attempt the mountain, who can guide, and how much it will cost. This year's proposal includes a mandate that Everest hopefuls must first climb a 7,000-meter peak located in Nepal, as well as requirements for all guides to be Nepalese citizens, for medical certificates confirming good health to be obtained from approved in-country facilities, new garbage fees, and insurance to cover the costly removal of dead bodies from the mountain. The Washington Post reported that the cost of removing a dead body from Mount Everest ranges anywhere between $30,000-$70,000. Announcements like this happen almost every year: The government floats new rules intended to improve safety and accountability on the peak, such as banning solo climbers and helicopters, or requiring tracking chips and feces removal. But they're rarely implemented. This is due to pushback from guiding companies, and an inability to pass the proposed legislation. The current bill is still in draft form and would still need to go through both houses of Parliament, meaning that changes are likely. (National Geographic crew finds clues to Everest's lost explorer, Sandy Irvin e ) A high-altitude expedition team crosses a crevasse on Mount Everest. Photograph by Mark Fisher, Nat Geo Image Collection The most controversial rules are the 7,000-meter peak requirement and the Nepali guide requirement. Both rules have been proposed before, or are very similar to previous proposals, but have never been passed into law. According to Lakpa Rita Sherpa, who guided on Mount Everest for two decades and has summited the peak 17 times, some of these new ideas are generally good—such as making sure climbers have some experience at altitude—but similar ones have been proposed in the past and 'they've never been passed or enforced.' He cited the difficulty of implementing these rules, which would require the government to track compliance across hundreds of companies and climbers, amidst high turnover in the Ministry of Tourism and the prevalence of bribery in the country. (The Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on alleged bribery in Nepal.) 'The reason they do it is to promote business, and to give the impression that they're trying to make mountain climbing in Nepal safer in order to attract more people to come,' said Alan Arnette, who summited Everest in 2011 and is a longtime Everest blogger, and who has been keeping track of these annual rule proposals for over a decade. 'The reason that it doesn't get implemented is because the operators don't follow the rules, and then the government doesn't enforce the rules—because everybody knows that if they enforce some of these rules that it would cause business to drop.' The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation and the Nepal Tourism Board did not respond to requests for comment. Helicopters land and take off from the heli pad at Base Camp amidst rescues of injured climbers from Camp 2. Photograph by Max Lowe, Nat Geo Image Collecion Safety vs. tourism dollars Tourism is one of the largest industries in Nepal , and Mount Everest—the world's tallest peak—is its crown jewel. According to the most recent tourism data, there are 374 climbers from 49 countries on Mount Everest this year, which has generated $4 million in royalties from permit fees alone. (Compared to $2.48 million for 359 people in 2015). As high numbers of climbers continue to flock to the peak each year, the country reaps economic benefits but also has to reckon with the issues it brings—like on-mountain traffic jams , issues with trash and waste management , and increased fatalities . In 2023, 18 climbers died on Everest , and in 2024 eight climbers died. Some of the most common causes of death on the mountain are acute mountain sickness (AMS), falls, illness/exhaustion, disappearance, and avalanches. With an increased number of people on the mountain, support staff must ferry a higher volume of gear through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall—the location of an avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas in 2015 while they were doing just that. (Microplastics found near Everest's peak) That same year, citing safety reasons, Alpenglow Expeditions moved its Everest expeditions from the South Side of the peak in Nepal to the North Side, in Tibet, writing that the Nepalese side 'has become overcrowded with inexperienced team members and unqualified guides.' The North Side is far less crowded and far more rigid when it comes to rules, said Lakpa Rita. 'In China, you have to follow the rules no matter what,' he said. 'If you don't follow them, you won't get a permit to climb.' ExplorersWeb reported in September 2024 rules set by the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) that stipulate climbers must submit a climbing resume and medical certificate, have climbed a 7,000-meter peak, be accompanied by a professional mountain guide, and use oxygen above 7,000 meters. (In 2016, Melissa Arnot Reid became the first American woman to summit Everest without supplemental oxygen. She climbed from the Tibet side.) Two climbers participate in an early morning trek in the Khumbu Icefall with Pumori Peak illuminated in the background. Photograph by Eric Daft, Nat Geo Image Collection An expedition member steps across a bridge of aluminum ladders lashed together above a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall. Photograph by Andy Bardon, Nat Geo Image Collection 7,000-meter experience requirement One of the more controversial proposals is that climbers must have successfully summited one of the 7,000-meter peaks within Nepal before attempting Everest. This rule would not count summits of 7,000-meter peaks in other countries, such as Denali or Aconcagua, or the popular prep climb of Nepal's Ama Dablam (just shy of the requirement at 6,812 meters). While the aim is to ensure that only those with proven high-altitude experience are allowed on the mountain following several deadly seasons marked by overcrowding and underprepared clients, Arnette said that many of the accepted 7,000-meter peaks are 'remote and dangerous.' They include peaks like Annapurna IV, Api Himal, Tilicho Peak, and Baruntse. There should be leeway for popular peaks, like Denali and Aconcagua to count toward this requirement, he said. The reaction from the climbing community has been positive in regard to increasing the experience level of Everest hopefuls, and the pushback is mostly around the specifics of the rule and which peaks count. Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering told CNN that a 6,500-meter anywhere in the world would be a better idea. 'We are generally in favor of any rules that would increase the skills and experience of aspiring Everest climbers,' said Suze Kelly, Director of Adventure Consultants, a New Zealand-based guiding company. 'And would thus discourage people from rocking up with the approach that they can attempt the summit with no prior experience, as we see each year with many of the low-cost outfitters who are prolific in Nepal.' There have been many articles written about inexperienced climbers on the peak putting themselves or others in danger—Lakpa Rita Sherpa said he's seen people who've never put on a crampon before who come to attempt the summit. This type of climbing prerequisite has been floated a few times over the past 30 years, with the government proposing a requirement for climbers to summit a 6,000-meter peak before Everest. The rule was discarded following pushback from expedition companies and climbers. 'The reason people don't want to cut the numbers on Everest is they're worried they'll lose work,' said Lakpa Rita, who has spoken with officials in the past to find ways to address overcrowding. 'It's all about the money.' (What to know about climbing the world's tallest mountain) Medical screenings All climbers would need to submit a medical certificate from within the last month, and from a government-approved medical institution in Nepal to confirm they're in good health. This would require a person to pay for an expedition, travel to Nepal, and perhaps be told they're not in good enough health to climb. Arnette thinks that regardless of the law, it's a good idea to get a rigorous health check prior to climbing—like a cardiac stress test for climbers over 50, and a check of iron levels for female climbers.
National Geographic
7 days ago
- Science
- National Geographic
A quiet island experiment reveals a battle of the bees
When beekeepers introduced honeybees to a protected island, wild bees nearly vanished. Could removing the hives reverse the damage? Domestic honeybees (Apis mellifera) help with pollinating crops worldwide, but they also compete with wild bees for nectar resources. Photograph by Ingo Arndt, Nat Geo Image Collection Since 2018, honeybees have feasted on wildflowers across a remote Italian island called Giannutri every spring. But for the last four years, Lorenzo Pasquali had the unusual task of shutting the honeybee hives down and watching wild bees as they scrambled to claim the flowers, racing for every drop of nectar in the absence of their domesticated rivals. Managed honeybees, often used in agriculture, and native bees feast on the same floral nectars and pollens. Ecologists have long suspected that honeybees may be pushing wild bees to the margins, but carrying out experiments in these wild insects has turned out to be tricky. Pasquali, an ecologist now at the University of Bialystok, Poland, and his colleagues turned the islet—just over half the size of New York's Central Park—into a living laboratory to test honeybees' impact. The results, recently published in the journal Current Biology, suggest that wild bee numbers alarmingly dropped. With the temporary removal of honeybees, nectar and pollen levels surged, allowing wild bees to forage more and feed on nectar longer and altering their daily routines. 'It is surprising and a nice experiment,' says Alfredo Valido, an entomologist at the Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología in Spain, who was not involved in the research. The researchers designed a very clear experiment relating honeybees, flowers and wild bees, he adds. (Native bees that pollinate many of our favorite foods.) A new honeybee (Apis mellifera) emerges from a brood cell to live for six short weeks. It spends that time foraging for food, making honey, and raising the next generation. Composite Photograph by Anand Varma, Nat Geo Image Collection The buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) was one of two wild species that saw a drop in numbers on Giannutri Island after honeybees were introduced. Photograph by Chris Gomersall, 2020VISION/Nature Picture Library Beekeepers first brought honeybee queens to Giannutri to raise them in isolation. The island is part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, and in 2021, authorities asked Pasquali's advisor, entomologist Leonardo Dapporto of the University of Florence to investigate whether managed honeybees that were recently brought to the island might have an unexpected ecological fallout. Hiking the island with another colleague, Alessandro Cini of the University of Pisa, they noticed plenty of honeybees buzzing around, but just a few wild bees. From scuba diving to set-jetting 'What if tomorrow there are no honeybees on the island?' Dapporto wondered. 'How [would] the behavior of wild bees change?' The team decided to use the island as a natural experiment. Every other morning, Pasquali would seal off the entrances to all 18 honeybee hives on alternating mornings, making sure the honeybees couldn't leave. Then, he and fellow researchers would observe the island's wild pollinators. The bees were kept inside until late afternoon—just long enough for researchers to observe how wild bees behaved in their absence. 'It was a unique experience. Never boring,' Pasquali says. 'I still remember every plant and rock on the island.' For Pasquali and his teammates, identifying native wild bees was easy. The wild bees are bigger and darker with bright colors. The wild bees also fly with a distinct buzzing sound compared to the honeybees. The researchers tracked how often wild bees entered or exited plots of land, tracking how often they visited flowers, and how long they spent drinking nectar. Using delicate tubes, they also measured the volume of nectar available for the wild bees in presence or absence of honeybees. The team found that when honeybees were locked in their hives, nectar volume increased by over 50 percent in some plants, while pollen level spiked by nearly 30 percent. Subsequently, the researchers found an increased level of searching behavior in wild bees and they also sucked in nectar for a longer time. Over four years, as the team carried out surveys on the island to monitor wild bee populations, they found that Anthophora dispar, a solitary native bee species, and Bombus terrestris, a type of bumblebee, fell by nearly 80 percent compared to their population level at the start of the study in 2021. While in the beginning of the experiment researchers expected to see some impacts to the wild bees, 'we didn't imagine that the impact was this strong,' Dapporto says. The dataset is still a correlation, he adds, but the fact that the wild bee population declined so significantly after the introduction of honeybees puts them on the prime focus compared to other factors. Commercial beekeeping, like this operation on a ranch in California, is extremely important for agriculture, but honeybees may threaten native wild species when they're introduced to protected areas. Photograph by Anand Varma, Nat Geo Image Collection 'We are not against beekeeping practice,' Dapporto adds. But when honeybees are introduced into protected areas, especially those home to rare, endangered, or native wild bee species, park authorities should exercise great caution and ecological assessment. Wild bees on bigger islands and even in sensitive protected areas in mainland regions might be facing similar fates, if honeybees have been introduced without proper assessment, the team says. Wild bees face a range of threats, from habitat loss and climate change to pesticide exposure. But unlike many of these pressures, competition from honeybees is something humans can actively manage. As soon as Dapporto's team informed the national park about the results, the park immediately took action, halting the practice of beekeeping starting this year. That makes the results even more impressive, Valido says, commending the quick action. 'It's not logical to introduce [managed species] in an area where you want to preserve the flora and fauna,' he adds. In addition to beekeeping, 'sometimes conservation areas have a variety of land uses for things like pasture cattle and sheep,' says Victoria Wojcik, Science Director at the Pollinator Partnership Canada, a non-profit dedicated for the conservation of pollinators. Even in these cases, conservationists should look at the ecosystem resources to avoid overstocking. But for an area designated as a critical habitat for an invertebrate species, specifically a bee, 'I would be really confused as to why someone would consider permitting honeybee keeping in that landscape,' she adds. As for Dapporto and his team, they are continuing to track whether the native wild bees would change their behavior and bounce back in number as the honeybees are removed from the island. The team has already collected some data this year and is planning to continue observation for coming years. 'Then we could see if a longer absence of honeybees will produce a [major] effect on the behavior of wild bees,' he adds.
National Geographic
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
These capuchins are abducting babies from howler monkeys—for fun?
A young male nicknamed Joker was probably the first to start carrying a howler monkey baby on his back for days on end. Then a group of other young males started to copy him. Here a white-faced capuchin monkey perches on a tree branch in Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica. A group from the same genus has been observed with stolen howler monkey babies on a small island off the coast of Panama. Photograph By Eric Kruszewski, Nat Geo Image Collection On a tiny island off the coast of Panama called Jicarón, a male capuchin monkey called Joker appears to have started a disturbing trend. Camera traps caught Joker, nicknamed for the scar on his face, and other male white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus imitator) carrying kidnapped howler monkey infants on their backs. Researchers originally set up the traps in 2017 after a botanist visiting the island had reported the monkeys using stones to process food, which had never been seen before in the more slender kind of capuchin that inhabits Costa Rica and Panama. The cameras did reveal one group of capuchins using stone tools and anvils to crack open seeds, fruits, even crabs and snails. Yet as the team reports in the journal Current Biology this week, the footage also captured this bizarre baby-snatching fad, something never seen before. 'It was so weird that I went straight to my advisor's office to ask him what it was,' says primatologist Zoë Goldsborough of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. (Capuchins are known for their ingenuity—another species is 3,000 years into its own 'Stone Age'.) A bizarre new trend A recording dated January 26, 2022, first documented an unidentified young capuchin male carrying a howler monkey (Alouatta palliata coibensis) infant. The next day Joker was carrying that same infant. And so he did for days on end, at least until February 3. 'Our first thought was that maybe this infant had been abandoned by the howlers, and then adopted,' Goldsborough says. There was one known case of a marmoset monkey infant being adopted by a different species of capuchin in Brazil. But crucially, that baby was adopted by a female who could nurse it, says Patrícia Izar of the University of São Paulo, who reported that finding in 2006. Capuchin males, on the other hand, don't have a clue what to do. And so the kidnapped howler infant very likely died of starvation. What's more, the poor infant was making the kind of calls it usually makes when separated from its mom—and later on, some adult howlers called out as well, indicating the infant had not been abandoned, but abducted instead. 'We don't have footage of how the capuchins did this,' says study coauthor Brendan Barrett, a behavioral ecologist at Max Planck. 'But we know they are not afraid to gang up on much larger howlers.' Things were about to get a whole lot weirder. In April and May, Joker was seen carrying another howler infant, and then another. Footage also showed him dragging a third one, possibly dead, with some other young males tagging along. Then, between September and March, the situation escalated: Four other males were seen carrying live howler infants on their backs or bellies, sometimes for more than a week. Over a span of 15 months, at least 11 infants had been abducted—and few if any are likely to have survived. While there had been at least one earlier report of a capuchin from a larger species in Brazil stealing a howler monkey infant and carrying it off in its mouth, presumably to eat it, this study is the first to document white-faced capuchins abducting infants in this way—and researchers are especially fascinated that the behavior was subsequently picked up by other individuals, too. 'This observation is particularly intriguing because examples of the social spread of such behaviors with no apparent fitness benefits in animals other than humans are rare,' says Izar. Because there had been camera traps on the island for years before this behavior was ever observed, the researchers probably captured the first time it happened, or at least a very early occurrence. It is not unusual for young capuchin males to be seen carrying infants of their own species, says Susan Perry of the University of California, Los Angeles, who has studied Costa Rican capuchins at another site for decades, but was not involved in the current study. 'Capuchin males often try to steal capuchin infants, and they seem extremely pleased—as if they've won a prize—when they succeed. Until the infant gets hungry and starts crying for milk.' At that point, the infants tend to be abandoned. 'Fortunately, the infant's mother or other female relatives are usually lurking nearby to retrieve their infants.' Capuchin males have a preference for male infants, says Perry. 'We think the infants they develop a close relationship with early on will often grow up to become allies with whom they can make the risky move to another group to mate.' Abducting howler monkeys would obviously be useless in this regard, but perhaps their urge to carry infants is so strong that it sometimes misfires, says Perry. Goldsborough and Barrett agree, but they believe another tendency may be misfiring as well—the desire to do as others do. Perhaps Joker really just wanted to carry an infant, and then the others just wanted to have a go at it as well. Not that it improved their social standing—young males carrying howler infants appeared to be the target of aggression from other capuchins more often than those that weren't. But for a species in which learning a new technique to get your hands on difficult-to-reach but nutritious foods is an important part of growing up, perhaps the tendency to do as others do pays off often enough to be indiscriminate. Island life may bore capuchins The island environment could be a factor, too, the researchers argue. On the mainland, capuchins usually have to be wary of predators, and foraging takes up more time when you have to be constantly on guard and stay close to the group. On an island with plenty of food and hardly any threats, perhaps young males are just bored. 'Animals living on islands with no predators—or in zoos, were they are also safe and well-fed—have often been found to be more innovative and better at using tools,' says Goldsborough. In many cases, what bored animals come up with may be useless or even annoying, says Barrett. 'I've seen capuchins groom porcupines and smack cows on the butt. They mess with everything. They're just constantly testing and interacting with the world.' But occasionally, an individual will find that, hey, if you swing a rock at one of these smelly, colorful things on the beach, there's a tasty treat inside. Or that if you hang out with male infants, they'll have your back when they grow up. Some capuchins also develop strange rituals with no other purpose than strengthening social bonds. It's all in a day's work for this large-brained, hypersocial, tirelessly inventive species that in many ways resembles our own, even though our last common ancestor lived around 38 million years ago. But what about the poor howlers, an endangered species on Jicarón, whose babies are being abducted? 'It's tragic,' says Goldsborough, 'but as researchers, we don't intend to interfere with natural behavior. I hope the howlers will eventually adapt, for example by keeping a safe distance from this one population of capuchins, or that the capuchins themselves will eventually tire of this. Those howler infants can be quite a handful.'
National Geographic
19-05-2025
- National Geographic
Bhutan's beauty beckons tourists. Here's how to plan your trip.
Considered by some to be the real-life location of the elusive Shangri La, Bhutan is a small Himalayan enclave that also happens to be the last remaining Buddhist Kingdom in the world. Here, there are many more Buddhist temples and monasteries than days of the year, and just about as many festivals. Add in rolling hills, dense forests, and countless never-to-be-named mountains in areas so remote that it takes a week's worth of hiking to reach the nearest village, and you have yourself a culture-loving trekker's dream. From two-mile treks up to hilltop temples and sacred sites to the newly established 250-mile Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan has routes for all skill levels. The Black-Necked Crane Festival in Bhutan is held annually on November 11 at Gangtey Monastery in Phobjikha Valley. Photograph by Tshering Wangdi, Alamy Stock Photo Bhutan's new model of tourism Freshly opened to tourism in 1974, Bhutan has a number of regulations in place for visiting. And, having watched neighboring countries like India and Nepal face significant overcrowding and pollution problems as a result of rapid commercialization, Bhutan decided to take a different approach. Intent on preserving its culture and pristine natural habitat, Bhutan requires guides and federal workers to wear traditional dress while on duty; it requires three trees to be planted for every one cut down; and its constitution sets aside 64 percent of land as permanent forest. To prevent overcrowding, Bhutan also introduced one of the highest tourist taxes in the world. Dubbed the Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), this $100/day charge is required to obtain a visa, and it is in addition to the accommodations, airfare, activities, guides, and other trip costs. (Our ancestors walked these trails hundreds of years ago. Now you can too.) The Bhutanese Paro Tshechu Festival within Paro Dzong. Photograph by Eric Kruszewski, Nat Geo Image Collection How to choose which festivals to see in Bhutan Each festival has its own focus: Increasing prosperity, improving health and wellbeing, or warding off evil spirits. They also, particularly in remote regions, provide a rare opportunity for locals to socialize with extended family and friends they rarely see otherwise. Celebrations often last three-to-five days and many locals attend every day to be blessed by the dances. Filled with elaborate costumes and intricate performances, these festivals welcome dozens of masked dancers representing demons, spirits, animals, and deities that perform for three or four hours at a time. Most attendees sit on the ground (often outdoors in the sun), but some bring mats and small stools to pass the time more comfortably. For the past 25 years, Kinley Gyeltshen has been leading hiking, heritage, camping, and festival tours for Wilderness Travel, one of Bhutan's first international tour operators. According to him, festivals are a fun addition to a trip, but shouldn't be the focus. Instead, he suggests travelers spend about half-a-day at a festival and spend the rest of the time exploring other aspects of the country and culture. Gyeltshen also encourages travelers to consider smaller, lesser-known festivals. 'Not only will there be fewer tourists, but you'll have a better chance to really get a feel for the people and be able to interact with locals on a personal level,' he says. Dancers performing at the Trongsa Tshechu, a prominent annual festival in Bhutan, celebrated within the walls of the Trongsa Dzong. This festival is also known as the winter festival and is a major religious and cultural event. Photograph by Reinhard Golebiowski, Anzenberg/Redux A crowd watches Buddhist monks performing a masked dance during the annual Trashigang Tshechu festival. Photograph by Jed Weingarten, Nat Geo Image Collection When to go to Bhutan There's no bad time to go to Bhutan. In fact, numerous festivals take place every month across the country, and there are excellent hikes available year-round. When planning your trip, consider that most festivals follow the lunar calendar, so the dates are not fixed. Here's a breakdown of what to expect each season. November – January The weather is cooler and potentially snowy during these months, but Gyeltshen says the hiking is good and skies tend to be clear. 'It's the best time for photography, particularly if you want clear pictures of bright blue skies and snow-capped mountains,' he says. Winter is also the best time to witness the 700 black neck cranes that roost in the Phobjikha Valley ('Crane Valley'). The Black Neck Crane Festival is held in November, when the cranes begin arriving, but Gyeltshen suggests visiting in December or January to witness the largest numbers. Aside from the Black Neck Crane Festival in central Bhutan, all other winter festivals are in the far east, requiring several days of driving or a likely-to-be-canceled domestic flight. February – March Late winter and early spring offer cool but pleasant weather and you still have a chance to spot black neck cranes in Phobjikha. The landscape is still fairly brown (and you may experience light snow in some areas), but the hiking trails, festivals, and attractions are much less crowded. The Punakha Festival is an excellent choice, as it is lively, easy to get to, and a short drive from many other attractions. (Related: A photo journey into the remote communities of eastern Bhutan) Celebrations often last three-to-five days and many locals attend every day to be blessed by the dances. Photograph by Pete Ryan, Nat Geo Image Collection The Gangtey Tshechu festival at the Gangtey Monastery. Photograph by Lee Frost, robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo April – May Though the black neck cranes have returned to Tibet, Gyeltshen says late spring is the best time for birdwatchers who want to see the large number of migrating river birds returning to Bhutan from northern India. The weather is warm and pleasant, valleys are bursting with wildflowers, and hikers can enjoy less snowy and muddy trails. The Paro Tshechu Festival is a popular festival that is very easy to get to because it's held near the airport that virtually all travelers arrive through. The drawback of visiting in late spring is that trails, attractions, and festivals are much more crowded. June – August Summer monsoons have become less intense in recent years, but these months remain the wettest. Hiking is certainly an option, but you'll face a much greater chance of encountering sloppy, muddy trails. Gyeltshen notes that the upside is that in summer, flowers are brilliant and bountiful, including the national flower, the high alpine blue poppy, and the critically endangered pink poppy. Sonam Dorji, a tour guide with MyBhutan, adds that summer festivals are plentiful, they go on rain or shine, and that the country is less crowded because of the higher chance of rain. September – October Though summer monsoons can extend into September, the weather tends to be pleasant. According to Dorji, September is the best month to tackle long treks like the 216-mile Snowman Trek (which he's done three times). Thought to be the hardest trek in the world, this harsh Himalayan hike typically takes 24-30 days to complete, includes several passes over 17,000 feet, and requires wilderness camping every night. Because October is less prone to rain and has so many easy-to-reach festivals (like Thimphu and Jakar), October is a bit more crowded than September. If visiting in October, Gyeltshen suggests also considering the Highland Festival. Held each October 23-25, this high-elevation festival attracts few foreigners since it takes place in the remote highland town of Laya, a two-hour trek from the nearest road. (Related: See the relentless beauty of Bhutan—a kingdom that takes happiness seriously) How to get there:Gateway city, Paro (the only international airport) can be reached by direct flights from Dubai, Kathmandu, Bangkok, Singapore, Delhi, and a handful of other Indian cities. Delhi has daily flights, Bangkok has several flights per week, but some cities, like Dubai, only have one weekly flight to Bhutan. Two airlines serve the country, Drukair and Bhutan Airlines, and if you join a group tour, your tour operator will likely handle booking your flights. Guided tours: Technically, a guide and a driver are not required, but hiring both makes traveling easier, partly because travelers are not admitted to many sites without an official guide. Adventure travel company, Wilderness Travel, specifically schedules small group hiking tours around the country's spring and fall festivals. Intrepid offers several hiking-focused trips and they are often combined with Nepal to help bring down the cost, but they do not typically include festivals. Numerous other small operators, like MyBhutan, specialize in custom tours focusing on hiking, festivals, luxury, or other themes. Cassandra Brooklyn is a New York City-based travel writer who specializes in sustainability, accessibility and the outdoors. She is a former international tour leader with EscapingNY and is the author of the guidebook Cuba by Bike.
