In the inner sanctum of the ancient white-walled fortress, dozens of red-robed monks prayed as incense swirled. A handful of Western tourists self-consciously shuffled in.
With a deep throaty mumble, the older monks recited the ancient Buddhist scriptures laid out before them on the wooden floorboards.
A girl chewed the fingers of her Barbie doll, caught between fascination and fear.
The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan calls itself a "high-value, low-volume" tourist destination, consciously excluding the backpackers who roam neighbouring India by insisting visitors spend at least $200 per person per day in the peak season. And yet what was once an exclusive retreat for the well-heeled is steadily joining the tourist circuit.
Hollywood stars like Uma Thurman and Cameron Diaz are reported to frequent Bhutan's boutique hotels, but it's elderly Americans who most visitors are likely to encounter.
Bhutan is in danger of becoming a victim of its own success.
"We should put the brakes on a little," said Thuji Dorji Nadik, joint director in the Department of Tourism. "Every destination has its USP [unique selling point], and for us exclusivity plays a large role."
Sandwiched between India and Tibet, Bhutan is billed in tourist brochures as the mystical paradise of James Hilton's book Lost Horizon.
At times, it lives up to the description, conjuring up a medieval world of Buddhism mixed with ancient animism, a culture deeply linked to that of Tibet yet one that avoided the heavy hand of China or the tempting touch of the West.
Men still dress for work in knee-length gowns, and four-fifths of the population are farmers. But Bhutan is slowly modernizing. The first car arrived in 1961, and TV was finally allowed in 1999.
More dramatic changes are on the horizon as the country plans for its first democratic elections next year.
Last year, more than 17,000 tourists made it to Bhutan, a 27-per-cent jump over the previous year and nearly three times as many as in 2003. That doesn't include the 30,000 to 40,000 Indians who are allowed to visit without visas.
Most tourists head for the monasteries and fortresses, which dominate every district and host exotic religious festivals and swirling dances that last several days at a time in the spring and autumn.
Another option is a trek into the high Himalayas, some walking for days for views of the 7,314-metre Mount Chomolhari.
Bhutan is off limits to mountaineers — its people believe the peaks are abodes of the gods — and boasts the world's highest unclimbed mountain, the 7,570-metre Gangkar Puensum.
Bhutan says it learned many lessons from the problems that followed when Nepal threw its doors open in the 1950s.
Environmental protection is strong here — 72 per cent of the country is still forested. But litter and erosion are beginning to spoil the trails.
"We tried to impose 'a limits-to-luxury' principle, but in practice that is not really being done," Nadik said. "Tour operators feel it's in their interests to provide as much luxury as they can."
Yet 59-year-old John Witorz had no complaints after two short treks. "I have been just about everywhere in the world and this has to be one of the best," the Australian said. "My face still hurts from smiling for a week.
"It is quite a high price compared to other Third World countries," he added. "But it was worth every cent."
But Witorz, like most visitors, was unimpressed with Thimpu, a sprawling city where garbage disposal is a growing problem and aggressive stray dogs prowl the streets.
The emphasis on festivals and trekking creates another problem — tourism is strongly seasonal, with more than 80 per cent of arrivals from March to May and September to November.
Poor-quality food ranked as the top complaint of foreign visitors in a recent Department of Tourism survey, but most were very satisfied with their visit.
"It is still sort of unspoilt," said 63-year-old Jo Eschenbacher from Minnesota.
How the country copes with the ever-growing demand will determine whether it stays that way.
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