It goes without saying that while on your Bhutan trek you'll want to experience as much of the local culture as possible. However to the strait-laced Westerner, some of Bhutan's ancient beliefs and customs can come across as slightly bizarre. Nevertheless they are fascinating to behold and if you come along with an open-mind then you're certain to have an incredible time. These three unusual experiences simply must be experienced on your Bhutan trek:

Eat a Dish Made From Just Chillies and Cheese

While the Annapurna Circuit is often nicknamed the Apple Pie Circuit, due to the abundance of apple pies en-route, someone should look at renaming Bhutan 'the land of the chilli'. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the locals love chillies more than any other ingredient, and as well as including chillies in almost every dish, they also like to serve them pickled as a side vegetable. If there is one ingredient that they love almost as much as chillies it's cheese, and it goes without saying that the national dish is a meal that contains both chillies and cheese - and that's pretty much it! This dish, named Ema Datshi, isn't for the faint-hearted, but if you love both chillies and cheese then it's definitely worth sampling on your Bhutan trek.

Visit the Temple of the Divine Madman

The Madman was actually a revered Bhutanese saint that not only gave the country its national animal, but also helped a lot of the locals with their fertility issues. His temple in the Punakha Valley really needs to be seen to be believed; but whatever you do don't giggle in the front of any of the monks. Chimi Lhakhang may be decorated with giant phalluses, but the locals take worship at this temple very seriously. When you first enter the temple on your Bhutan trek, a monk will make you bow to all four corners of the temple, before kneeling in front of a giant phallus. Local custom is to visit this temple for fertility issues and after drinking three different coloured liquids you'll be presented with your lucky number and the name of the child that you will bear within the next year, before being whacked on the head by a giant wooden phallus. If children aren't on your agenda yet, then it's probably best to give this temple a miss.

Visit the World's Only Yeti Reserve

On your Bhutan trek you'll probably hear a lot of stories about the yeti, or the 'migoi', as the locals call him. This might just be folklore, but the locals genuinely believe in his existence, in fact so much so that they've set up a yeti reserve in the village of Sakten. This 253 square mile sanctuary was created to protect the habitat of the migoi whose body is covered in thick, reddish-brown hair, although his face is hairless. The Bhutanese have two theories as to why the migoi is rarely spotted; firstly it has its feet on backwards, which confuses many trackers; and secondly, it also has the ability to make itself invisible. If, despite the odds, you fancy your chances of spotting the elusive migoi on your Bhutan trek, the reserve is located 37 miles outside Trashigang.