Bhutan Chomolhari Trek - 9 Days

Taktsang or the tiger’s nest temple is the most revered temple to the Buddhist. This magical temple clings to a vertical granite cliff 800m above the valley. Legend has it that in the 8th century, Guru Rimpochey, a tantric master flew here on the back of a tigress and meditated in a cave around which the temple is built. A hike to this temple will take up most of our morning. In the afternoon, we will host a special Buddhist prayer ceremony at the beautiful 1200 year old Kyichu Lhakhang Temple, to bring us good luck for the rest of the journey.

The trail from Shana to Thangthangkha is a very rocky series of small ups and downs along the Paro Chu and can be very muddy if it rains. About 2 ½ hours into the trek, you will come at a junction where a trail branches to go to Tibet. 

Today you will come across small sparse settlements, and herds of yaks. You will also be crossing the tree line (4000m). Our camp at Jangothang will bring us face to face with the majestic Jumolhari. Jangothang means the land of ruins; you will see ruins of some old settlements, which no one seems to know much about.

Acclimatization and rest day. A good optional hike is to climb to the Tshophu Lake at 4300m, which is about 2h from Jangothang.

2 hours from Jangothang is the Tshophu Lake, which you probably visited yesterday. From the lake, it’s another 2 hours to the pass. Climbing up to the pass, we will be rewarded with stunning views of the Jumolhari and Jichu Drakey. From the pass, it’s all the way downhill until our camp at Yaksa.

Climbing out of Yaksa, you will see the few houses that make up the Yaksa village across the valley, and the pass you came over yesterday. About 2 hours of gradual climbing and you will cross the tree line, entering another valley. The pass is 1 hours climb from here. From the pass, you can see the yak herders grazing grounds of Thombu, our camp. On a clear day, you can even see some houses in Tibet.

A short steep climb will take us out of the Thombu basin, traversing along a trail cut into a rocky cliff with a dizzying drop. 4 hours of steep and dusty descent (1 ½ k of vertical descent) will bring us to the army check post that we crossed on the first day of our trek. Our camp is a further 2 hours downstream from the army camp where our car will be waiting then drive to Paro after bidding farewell to our Trekking Staffs. In the evening we will walk around the town for shopping.

 After breakfast our guide and driver will transfer to airport for your departure flight.