FUNDING FOR "ART WOLFE'S TRAVELS TO THE EDGE" IS PROVIDED BY... MICROSOFT.

WORKING TO PROVIDE PHOTOGRAPHERS LIKE YOU WITH SOFTWARE THAT HELPS PRESERVE AND SHARE THE IMAGES THAT YOU WORK SO HARD TO CAPTURE... WITH TOOLS DESIGNED TO MANAGE YOUR FILES INSIDE SO THAT YOU CAN CAPTURE IMAGES OUTSIDE.

AND BY... CANON.

DEDICATED TO INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS TO PRESERVE AND TO PROTECT THE BEAUTY, DIVERSITY, AND GRANDEUR OF THE NATURAL WORLD.

FROM CAPTURE TO DISPLAY, CANON CAMERAS, HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO, PRINTERS, AND PROJECTORS HELP TO FUEL THE PASSION AND THE CREATIVITY THAT BRING THIS INCREDIBLE WORLD INTO FOCUS.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY... CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL.

WE ARE ALL PART OF TEAM EARTH.

A TINY BUDDHIST KINGDOM IS TAKING THE PATH OF ENLIGHTENMENT INTO THE 21st CENTURY.

THIS IS BHUTAN, WHERE PRESERVING TRADITIONAL CULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT IS CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL TO ITS PEOPLE'S WELL-BEING.

I'M ART WOLFE, AND THIS IS "TRAVELS TO THE EDGE."

HIDDEN IN THE EASTERN HIMALAYAS BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA LIES THE TINY, SPARSELY POPULATED MOUNTAIN KINGDOM OF BHUTAN.

HAVING THRIVED FOR CENTURIES IN ISOLATION, BHUTAN IS COMMITTED TO PRESERVING ITS UNIQUE IDENTITY AS IT BEGINS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD.

THE BUDDHIST PRINCIPLES OF PEACE, TOLERANCE, AND NON-VIOLENCE ARE AT THE HEART OF THESE WARM AND WELCOMING PEOPLE.

TRAVELING WITH ME IS BHUTANESE GUIDE PEMA SONAM.

Pema: WE ARE LARGELY BUDDHIST AND LAND OF FARMERS.

PEOPLE SEEM SO FRIENDLY AND CONTENT.

ACTUALLY, WE HAVE THAT INTERESTING CONCEPT OF GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS.

I'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS.

WHAT IS THAT?

IT'S ACTUALLY STARTED BY THE FOURTH KING, HIS MAJESTY, AND HIS IDEA WAS TO, YOU KNOW, SEED HAPPINESS IN THE PEOPLE.

SO THAT IS GUIDED BY THE FOUR MAIN PILLARS.

THESE ARE THE GOOD GOVERNANCE, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC, PRESERVATION OF THE CULTURE, AND THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

BASICALLY, WE ARE A BUDDHIST COUNTRY, AND THE BUDDHISM TEACHES US NOT TO BE MATERIALISTIC.

Wolfe: TATTERED PRAYER FLAGS DANCE IN THE WIND ON HILLSIDES AND HIGH MOUNTAINS EVERYWHERE IN BHUTAN.

INSCRIPTIONS OF PRAYERS WRITTEN ON THESE FLAGS ARE DESIGNED SO THAT, AS THE WIND RAVAGES THESE FLAGS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, THE PRAYERS ARE SCATTERED TO THE HEAVENS.

[ DRUMMING ] IT'S VERY MOVING TO SEE THE MONKS CONSECRATE THESE PRAYER FLAGS AND BLESS THE MESSAGES THAT WILL BE CARRIED AWAY BY THE WIND.

[ MEN CHANTING ] I'M FRAMING A REALLY INTERESTING SCENE HERE.

THERE'S THESE BEAUTIFUL OFFERINGS, INCLUDING A PEACOCK FEATHER, WITH THESE FOUR MONKS CHANTING IN THE DISTANCE, AND I'M JUST PLAYING THE FOREGROUND AGAINST THIS BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP, SO IT'S A REALLY COMPLEX SHOT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF HAVING, REALLY, A THREE-DIMENSIONAL EFFECT.

SO THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO HERE BY GETTING IN SO CLOSE.

[ CHANTING CONTINUES ] IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL RELIGION, WITH ALL THE PAGEANTRY OF THESE COLORED FLAGS.

OVERLOOKING THE LARGE GREEN EXPANSE OF THE PHOBJIKHA VALLEY IS THE MONASTIC SCHOOL OF GANGTEY GOMPA.

PEMA HAS MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR ME TO OBSERVE THE MORNING PRAYERS.

[ CHANTING ] EACH DAY, THESE YOUNG MONKS WORSHIP AND STUDY TOGETHER.

A MONK ENTERS THE MONASTERY AS A YOUNG BOY, AND HIS SPIRITUAL TRAINING CONTINUES THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE.

IT'S AN AUSTERE LIFE, BUT WITH HARDSHIP AND DEVOTION COMES ENLIGHTENMENT.

ON THE ROAD IN BHUTAN, THERE'S A LOT OF DISTANCE IN BETWEEN DESTINATIONS, SO I REALLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIME BY WORKING ON MY IMAGES ON THE LAPTOP, CHARGING MY BATTERIES -- I'VE GOT AN INVERTER THAT'S PLUGGED INTO THE CAR BATTERY -- AND I'M GOOD TO GO FOR A LONG WAY.

SITUATED BETWEEN TWO RIVERS -- THE PHO CHU, MALE RIVER, AND THE MO CHU, FEMALE RIVER -- THE PUNAKHA DZONG IS ARGUABLY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IN ALL OF BHUTAN.

THIS DZONG IS SPECTACULAR.

TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DZONGS.

THE DZONGS WERE BUILT DURING THE 17th CENTURY BY SHABDRUNG, THE ONE WHO UNIFIED THE COUNTRY.

THE REASON FOR MAKING THE DZONG AT THAT TIME WAS ONLY FOR THE DEFENSIVE PURPOSE, SO NOW WE DON'T USE FOR THAT PURPOSE.

SO IT'S HALF USED AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT AND HALF FOR THE MONASTIC BODY.

THESE ARE THE PLACES WHERE THE MONKS, THEY LIVE, AND THEN THEY DO THEIR STUDIES.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE MONKS' LIFE, YOU MUST BE WONDERING WHY THESE LITTLE KIDS ARE HERE IN A MONASTERY AND AT BUDDHIST SITES.

IT'S ACTUALLY THE PARENTS THAT WHO DECIDES WHERTO SEND THEIR LITTLE BOY.

IN OLDEN TIMES, WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE WESTERN EDUCATION HERE, IT WAS COMPULSORY THAT ONE SON FROM THE FAMILY HAS TO GO TO THE BUDDHIST STUDY IN THE MONASTERY.

NOW IT'S NOT COMPULSORY.

OTHER BUDDHIST COUNTRY, THEY BECOME A MONK FOR A TIME, IN LIKE SIX MONTHS OR ABOUT A YEAR, BUT HERE IN BHUTAN, WHEN YOU BECOME A MONK, IT'S FOR THE LIFETIME.

Wolfe: THIS IS A REALLY NICE TRADITION.

AN OLD MAN IS SPINNING A GIANT PRAYER WHEEL, AND WITHIN THIS GIANT PRAYER WHEEL ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF PRAYERS.

AS HE SPINS IT, HE'S GAINING MERIT, OR CREDIT FOR HAVING DONE SO.

NICE.

YOU KNOW WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS?

SO MUCH WILDLIFE IS INCORPORATED INTO THE DESIGN.

ESPECIALLY, WE HAVE THESE MYTHICAL ANIMALS.

Wolfe: WHEN YOU SEE A DZONG, IT'S SO IMPRESSIVE FROM A DISTANCE, BUT WHEN YOU START TO GET INSIDE THIS AND DISCOVER THE ORNATE DETAIL, VIRTUALLY EVERY SQUARE INCH OF THIS BUILDING IS COVERED WITH BEAUTIFUL DESIGNS.

RIDING THROUGH A FOREST IN THE MOUNTAINS OF BHUTAN.

VERY NICE.

THE BLACK-NECKED CRANE IS REVERED AS A HEAVENLY BIRD AND A HARBINGER OF GOOD LUCK IN BHUTAN.

PEMA AND I ARE HEADED OFF TO A PRAYER FLAG SITE TO GET A GOOD VIEW OF THESE ENDANGERED BIRDS.

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL UP HERE.

AND THIS IS ALL PROTECTED.

YEAH, PROTECTED AREA.

I DON'T SEE ANY POWER LINES HERE.

ACTUALLY, WE DON'T HAVE ELECTRICITY.

THE REASON IS THAT -- IS FOR THE BIRDS.

BECAUSE OF THE BIRDS, THERE'S NO POWER LINES.

NO POWER LINES.

INSTEAD, LIKE, WE USE THE GENERATOR AND THE SOLAR ENERGY HERE.

THEY NEST IN TIBET DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS AND THEN THEY COME OVER HERE AND WINTER OVER.

THEY COME HERE DURING THE MID OF OCTOBER AND THEN, LIKE, BY MID OF MARCH, THEY FLY BACK AGAIN TO TIBET.

THIS IS A GREAT VIEW.

WE'RE SURROUNDED BY PRAYER FLAGS.

WE'RE IN A HIGH MOUNTAIN VALLEY IN BHUTAN, AND BELOW US IS AN ENDANGERED BLACK-NECKED CRANE.

OH, LOOK AT THEM PLAYING, SEE?

LOOK AT THE TWO COMING IN HERE.

I LOVE THE WAY THE WIND BLOWS THESE FLAGS, TOO.

THEY DO EVERYTHING AS A PAIR.

THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY REALLY IMPRINTING ON EACH OTHER RIGHT NOW BEFORE NESTING SEASON.

WHAT FLYERS!

WE'VE GOT GOOD KARMA.

GOOD KARMA, BECAUSE WE BURN INCENSE IN THE MORNING TO PLEASE THE DEITIES.

THIS IS SURREAL, TO BE SURROUNDED BY PRAYER FLAGS WHILE THESE HIGHLY ENDANGERED BIRDS ARE DROPPING OUT OF THE HEAVENS AND LANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.

I COULDN'T HAVE CHOREOGRAPHED THIS ANY BETTER.

Pema: THIS IS OUR NATIONAL SPORT, ARCHERY.

ARCHERY IS YOUR NATIONAL SPORT?

HERE, THEY ARE PLAYING WITH THE TRADITIONAL BOW AND ARROW THAT'S MADE FROM THE BAMBOO.

I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE TRADITIONAL SHARPSHOOTERS.

OKAY, I'D LOVE TO MEET THESE GUYS.

HELLO, HELLO.

ART.

IT'S VERY NICE MEETING YOU.

HOW FAR IS THAT TARGET?

WOW!

THAT'S ABOUT 140 METERS.

140 METERS, THE SIZE OF AN AMERICAN FOOTBALL FIELD.

THIS IS AMAZING.

CAN I TAKE PICTURES HERE?

YES, YES, PLEASE.

[ LAUGHTER ] SO WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO HERE IS THAT, WHEN THE OTHER TEAM IS SHOOTING, SO THEY TRY TO DISTRACT HIM SO THAT, YOU KNOW, HE DON'T HIT THE TARGET AND THEN THE OPPONENT GETS THE POINT.

SO, CAN I DISTRACT ONE?

OH, YEAH.

[ YELLS NONSENSE ] OH.

THEY STILL COME VERY CLOSE.

BUT DON'T TOUCH ME.

AH... [ LAUGHTER ] [ YELLS ] WOW.

WHOA!

NEARLY.

HE CAME THAT CLOSE TO A TARGET.

TEACH ME.

HOW AM I HOLDING THE ARROW?

LIKE THIS?

I KNOW.

DON'T WORRY, I'M NOT GOING TO KILL MY CAMERAMAN.

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

OH, THEY ARE.

[ LAUGHS ] WOO!

WOO!

[ LAUGHTER ] THAT WAS FUN.

THESE FORESTS WITH THE SWIRLING MIST, THEY'RE REALLY ENCHANTING TO ME.

THANKS TO BHUTAN'S PROGRESSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES, OVER 60% OF THE LAND HAS BEEN SET ASIDE TO PRESERVE THE NATIVE FOREST.

THE SUCCESS OF THIS PLAN IS OBVIOUS TO ME AS I TRAVEL THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE.

THE BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE IS EXQUISITE.

BUDDHIST RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS, CALLED TSECHUS, ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF BHUTANESE CULTURE.

THE DANCES, PERFORMED BY MONKS, REENACT THE LIFE OF BUDDHA AND THE HISTORY OF BHUTAN.

[ HORNS PLAYING ] THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE PARO DANCE FESTIVAL, AND IT BEGINS IN SMALL MONASTERIES UP ON THE HILLSIDE ABOVE PARO, AND, TOMORROW, IT WILL GO DOWN TO THE MAIN DZONG IN PARO.

ALL THESE ARE DANCERS THAT ARE STREAMING UP THIS MOUNTAINSIDE.

THIS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT -- TO BE AMONGST THIS CULTURE HERE HIGH IN THE HIMALAYAS, TO SEE THEM PRACTICING TRADITIONS THAT ARE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD, AND IT'S NOT BEING PERFORMED FOR TOURISTS.

IT IS FOR THEM.

[ WOMEN SINGING ] THE WAY THESE DANCERS ARE JUST BEAUTIFULLY SPINNING WITH THEIR LONG, ORNATE ROBES, IS SUCH A GREAT MOMENT.

THE DAY AFTER THE FESTIVITIES AT DZONG DRAKHA, PEMA AND I HEAD TO THE MAGNIFICENT DZONG IN PARO FOR A CELEBRATION ON A MUCH GRANDER SCALE.

THIS PARO DZONG IS MY FAVORITE.

IT'S SO ANCIENT-LOOKING.

A TSECHU IS, IN FACT, A RELIGIOUS CEREMONY, ISN'T IT?

Pema: YES.

IT'S DEDICATED TO THE ONE WHO INTRODUCED BUDDHISM HERE IN THE COUNTRY.

WE CALL IT SECOND BUDDHA OR GURU RINPOCHE.

AND WHEN DID HE BRING BUDDHISM INTO BHUTAN?

IT WAS DURING THE 8th CENTURY ON THE INVITATION OF THE KING OF BUMTHANG, AND THAT'S HOW WE BELIEVE THAT BUDDHISM WAS BROUGHT INTO OUR COUNTRY.

THIS IS A PRETTY IMPORTANT AND REVERENT CEREMONY.

YES, LIKE, BY WATCHING, YOU LEARN ABOUT THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA.

Wolfe: THESE MOVEMENTS ARE SO GRACEFUL, AND HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD, AND THEY ALL TELL A BEAUTIFUL STORY.

THIS IS KNOWN AS THE SKULL DANCE, AND THESE DANCERS ARE PROTECTORS OF THE RELIGION.

THESE ARE THE BLACK HAT DANCERS, THERE'S 21 OF THEM, AND THEY'RE PERFORMING A PURIFICATION RITE, DRIVING OUT THE EVIL SPIRITS AND TAKING OVER THE SACRED GROUND HERE.

THIS DANCE RITUAL HAS BEEN PERFORMED IN THIS SQUARE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, AND AS I PHOTOGRAPH THIS, IT FEELS LIKE I'M MOVING BACK IN TIME.

IT'S A VERY SOLEMN DANCE.

VERY RICH IN DETAIL, PATTERN, AND GRACE.

LOOKING DOWN ON ALL THESE DANCERS AS THEY'RE SPINNING, I'M TAKING, REALLY, SOME NICE ABSTRACT SHOTS.

I LOVE THIS PERSPECTIVE, LOOKING DOWN, AND AS THE BLACK HAT DANCERS SPIN, I'M TAKING A VERY LONG EXPOSURE, AND SO IT'S JUST A SPIRAL.

VERY ARTISTIC, VERY ABSTRACT, JUST A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THIS DANCE.

THERE'S THIS REVERENCE THAT YOU FEEL AS YOU WATCH THIS.

THIS IS A VERY POWERFUL AND ANCIENT TRADITION HERE.

IT'S A LONG WAYS UP THERE.

YEAH.

Wolfe: PEMA AND I ARE MAKING THE LONG HIKE UP TO GET THE MOST ICONIC VIEW IN ALL OF BHUTAN -- THE TAKTSHANG MONASTERY, ALSO KNOWN AS THE TIGER'S NEST.

THIS IS A STEEP HIKE, PEMA.

YEAH, IT'S WORTH IT -- WE ARE GOING TO VISIT ONE OF THE MOST SACRED PLACES HERE IN BHUTAN.

THIS IS IT.

YEP, THE TIGER'S NEST.

GOES BACK TO THE 8th CENTURY.

IT'S BELIEVED, LIKE, THE SECOND BUDDHA, OR THE GURU RINPOCHE, RODE ON THE BACK OF A TIGRESS, AND THEN, LIKE, FLEW, AND LANDED SOMEWHERE IN THE CLIFF, WHICH IS INSIDE THE TEMPLE WHERE WE HAVE THE CAVE, AND DID THE MEDITATION TO BRING DOWN THE LOCAL DEITY.

LATER, IN 1695, ONE OF THE SPIRITUAL MASTERS DID THE CONSTRUCTION OF THAT TEMPLE IN THE MEMORY OF SHABDRUNG NGAWANG NAMGYAL, ONE WHO UNIFIED THE COUNTRY.

SO WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR THE BHUTANESE TO VISIT THIS SITE?

BY OFFERING THE PRAISE AND THEN THEY CAN -- WITH THE SORT OF OFFERINGS HERE, THEY GET, YOU KNOW, BETTER LIFE.

THEY GAIN KARMA.

THIS IS THE CLASSIC VIEW OF BHUTAN -- THE TAKTSHANG MONASTERY PERCHED ON THIS VERY STEEP GRANITE HILL -- BUT WHAT MAKES IT SO GREAT IS THE WAY THE LIGHT IS ILLUMINATING THESE PRAYER FLAGS, THE WIND IS SWEEPING UP THE SLOPE, AND THE PRAYER FLAGS ARE RIGHT PERPENDICULAR TO WHERE I'M STANDING.

IT IS SUCH A CLASSIC VIEW.

THERE'S NO OTHER PLACE LIKE THIS IN THE WORLD.

BHUTAN HAS SURVIVED IN ISOLATION FOR MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS.

AS THIS ENLIGHTENED NATION GREETS THE 21st CENTURY, ITS GREATEST CHALLENGE IS PRESERVING ITS SOUL.

THE SIGNS SEEM PROMISING.

I'M ART WOLFE.

JOIN ME NEXT TIME ON "TRAVELS TO THE EDGE."

THIS PROGRAM AND OTHER EPISODES FROM THIS SEASON ARE AVAILABLE ON THREE-EPISODE DISCS FOR $17.95 EACH, PLUS SHIPPING AND HANDLING.

AN AWARD-WINNING BOOK OF ART WOLFE'S LANDSCAPES FEATURED IN THIS SERIES AND BEYOND, "EDGE OF THE EARTH, CORNER OF THE SKY," IS AVAILABLE FOR $49.95 PLUS SHIPPING AND HANDLING.

TO ORDER THE BOOK OR DVDs, PLEASE CALL 1-800-440-2651.

Wolfe: HERE ARE THREE OF MY FAVORITE IMAGES FROM THIS EPISODE.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE, AND HOW THESE IMAGES WERE PRODUCED, PLEASE VISIT artwolfe.com.

FUNDING FOR "ART WOLFE'S TRAVELS TO THE EDGE" IS PROVIDED BY... CANON.

DEDICATED TO INSPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS TO PRESERVE AND TO PROTECT THE BEAUTY, DIVERSITY, AND GRANDEUR OF THE NATURAL WORLD.

FROM CAPTURE TO DISPLAY, CANON CAMERAS, HIGH-DEFINITION VIDEO, PRINTERS, AND PROJECTORS HELP TO FUEL THE PASSION AND THE CREATIVITY THAT BRING THIS INCREDIBLE WORLD INTO FOCUS.

AND BY... MICROSOFT.

WORKING TO PROVIDE PHOTOGRAPHERS LIKE YOU WITH SOFTWARE THAT HELPS PRESERVE AND SHARE THE IMAGES THAT YOU WORK SO HARD TO CAPTURE... WITH TOOLS DESIGNED TO MANAGE YOUR FILES INSIDE SO THAT YOU CAN CAPTURE IMAGES OUTSIDE.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY... AT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL, OUR MISSION IS TO CONSERVE AND PROTECT THE WORLD'S MOST PRECIOUS NATURAL RESOURCES.

BUT EQUALLY, IT IS TO CHAMPION A CAUSE LARGER THAN OURSELVES.