“Ogyen Choling is a perfect microcosm of Bhutan,” Brent Olson, founder of tour provider Ethos Bhutan, told me over the phone as we discussed my plans for a two-week trip to the tiny, landlocked Himalayan nation last year. Because of the country’s remoteness, sandwiched between northeastern India and the Tibetan plateau, and a newly increased tourism fee—$200 a night for international visitors—it’s an expensive destination to visit. “If a friend was traveling to Bhutan and could visit only one or two places, I’d tell them to visit Ogyen Choling,” continued Olson, who has been leading tours in Bhutan for more than 30 years, becoming an expert on the country’s cultural heritage through his expeditions and other projects with local organizations and nonprofits.

Bearing that guidance in mind, I embarked last fall on a pilgrimage to Bhutan’s isolated Tang Valley that spanned 36 hours of air travel and three days of driving on mountain-hugging roads. In the valley, I spent three days at the white-washed stone and painted timber manor, whose lineage stretches back to the 14th century, learning about the role of these sites in the area’s history and the people who live there today. Parts of the ancestral home have been converted into a guesthouse and a museum with preserved Bhutanese artifacts; overall the architecture has the same ancient, imposing magnificence as the surrounding peaks.

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