In 1626, Father Estêvão Cacella and his assistant, Father João Cabral, set out from the region of Bengal and into the Himalayan mountains. The two Jesuit missionaries would become the first Europeans to reach the kingdoms of Bhutan, Nepal and parts of Tibet. In the process, they would provide the world with the oldest and most detailed look at Bhutan’s legends – Ngawang Namgyal – and his kingdom.
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Maps
Map source – I have added locations to the original map that are relevant for our story – as well as extended the Brahmaputra River.
Resources
There are not a lot of resources regarding the journeys of our Jesuit missionaries. I have listed the two most prominent items:
Father Estevao Cacella’s Report on Bhutan in 1627, translated by Luiza Maria Baillie. This is a wonderful piece of work that provides a clear and readable translation of Father Cacella’s report, plus note from Baillie. Available as a PDF file.
Early Jesuit travellers in Central Asia: 1603-1721, by C. Wessels. Although written in 1924, this book provides a good analysis of the journey of Cacella and Cabral.
Wikipedia page of Estêvão Cacella.
Image above is of Ngawang Namgyal – Bhutan’s king at the time of our story. Source.
Explorers Podcast 