Trans Bhutan Trail

bhutaninboundJuly 6, 2022

0 51 7 minutes read

It’s not very rare that you can travel a millennium-old trail utilized by royals, monks, and commerce. It has been 60 years. The Trans Bhutan Trail was the only viable method to traverse Bhutan’s mountain kingdom until the 1960s when it went out of usage.

It’s returned, thankfully, and this 11-day tour will show the world what it’s been missing. You’ll walk some of the best parts of this 403-kilometer track, seeing its stunning, diverse scenery and timeless settlements from another time. This journey, which includes lovely camping places and overnights in a comfortable local Bhutan homestay, will provide insight into Bhutan’s rural and spiritual life that it can only obtain by venturing off the main road. So lace up your trekking boots – the Trans Bhutan Trail is waiting for you.

Active travel style

It may find hiking, trekking, biking, rafting, and kayaking excursions worldwide.

You can do rafting in your trans bhutan trail

Camping Service Level For Trans Bhutan Trail

Most nights will be spent camping, with occasional hotel/hostel stays at the start and throughout; public and private transportation will be inexpensive.

Physical Rating: 4 –

Rigorous Most healthy travelers can participate in some high-altitude climbs or more rigorous activities.

Itinerary to experience Trans Bhutan Trail

First day: Paro/Thimphu

When you arrive in Paro, you will be transferred to your hotel in Thimphu, where you will meet the rest of the group and your local tour guide. If time allows, spend the afternoon at Buddha Point, which is home to Thimphu’s most recognizable landmark, the Buddha Dordenma. Then, pay a visit to the Memorial Chorten, a 1974 Tibetan-style stupa that is one of Thimphu’s most magnificent religious landmarks. This evening, meet at a nearby restaurant for a welcome supper and your first taste of Bhutanese cuisine.

Meals included: Lunch | Dinner

Second Day: Thimphu/Chendebi

You will begin your journey along the Trans Bhutan Trail today. Continuing eastward, the group will arrive at Pelela, 3,407 meters (11,177 ft) above sea level, where the climb will begin. Watch for the yak herder camps that may be seen scattered throughout the valley as you make your way down through the grasslands below Pelela. Before touring the Kuenzang Choling temple, also known as the village Lhakhang of Rukubji, you’ll stop for lunch at a traditional farmhouse. It will incentivize you to learn the unique regional tongue of Rukubji from the inhabitants over tea!

Rejoin the trail after lunch to make a moderate ascent out of the valley, through the forest, and back to Chendebi village, where the group will set up camp for the night. Visit the Chorten (stupa), which is thought to have been constructed where the three ridges and the three edges of the sky meet once you’ve arrived. The evening meal will be given at the campsite and will be organic and local.

Trans Bhutan Trail

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Third Day: Chendebi/Tsangkha

Before returning to the Trans Bhutan path at the Chendebi Chorten:

Have breakfast at your tent (stupa).
Continue on the path once on the East-West National Highway, then make your way back through the countryside in the direction of the settlement of Tangsibji.
Before traveling to the next section of the path, stop in the village for a hearty farmhouse lunch before crossing multiple hydroelectric plant sites.

Bhutan became the only carbon-negative nation in the world due partly to these clean, renewable energy initiatives. Visit the Trashi Choeling Lhakhang (temple), which is in Trashiling village, in the afternoon.

As soon as the group reaches Tsangkha, you will visit the local temple, or Tshangkha Lhakhang, before continuing to your campsite, where you may take a hot shower and eat an organic meal with the rest of the group.

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Fourth Day: Tsangkha/Trongsa

After breakfast at your camp, return to the Trans Bhutan Trail. A brief but difficult ascent out of Tsangkha, crossing the Ugyen Choling and Tsangkha Sheydra, is part of today’s walk. The route then descends once more to intersect the National Highway at the Trongsa viewpoint, which is thought to represent Bhutan’s geographic center. As your troop descends into the narrow valley below, imagine yourself as a former royal. Before hiking up the opposite side of the valley to access Trongsa Dzong through the Western gate, take in the breathtaking views of the Dzong (fortress) and cross the historic cantilever bridge over the Mangde River. The rest of the day is yours to relax and explore when we check into our hotel until we reassemble for Dinner at a nearby restaurant in the early evening.

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Fifth Day: Trongsa

Enjoy a brief breakfast this morning before leaving for a visit to Trongsa Dzong, a fortification first constructed in 1541 as a modest meditation room. Before going to the Trongsa Ta Dzong (watchtower), which now houses the fascinating Royal Heritage Museum, tour a few of the Dzong’s 23 Lhakhang (temples). The leisure of the day is free for you to explore Trongsa leisurely.

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Sixth Day: Trongsa/Gyetsa

Today, say bye to Trongsa and return to the Trail for more hiking. The gradual ascent to Kewathang marks the beginning of the Trail between Trongsa and Gyetsa. As the party travels through Yotongla, you will trek through a section of deep woodland and halt for a picnic lunch. Travel through meadows and open forests until the Trail reaches the Gyetsa River. You can take a hot shower and eat an organic dinner at the campsite once the party sets up a tent in Gyetsa.

Visit villages along the trail

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Seventh Day: Gyetsa to Bumthang

After breakfast today, the group will go along the Trail’s most historic portion. The royal family traveled between their winter and summer houses using this portion. After passing via Kikila Pass, you’ll enter the Bumthang Valley. We’ll make a picnic lunch stop along the way to take in the views.

Visit the magnificent Jakar Dzong (fortress), popularly referred to as the “Castle of the White Bird,” as soon as you arrive in Bumthang. Be sure to take note of the stronghold’s special characteristics, such as its fifty-meter tower and a protected passageway with two parallel walls joined by defended towers that provided the people of the citadel with access to water during a siege. Enjoy a wonderful experience this evening as you relax in your homestay lodgings. Spend the evening in the house of a local Bhutanese family, who will serve as your hosts for the evening, along with a few other tourists. Learn about your local hosts’ daily lives as you share a meal and swap stories.

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Day 8: Bumthang to Punākha

Before returning to the quaint village of Punakha for a day of touring, enjoy breakfast at your guesthouse. After a pause for lunch along the way, you’ll continue to the Bazam (bridge) near Punakha Dzong (fortress). It would assist if you were dressed in official Bhutanese attire, such as a go for men and a kora for women, to cross the bridge on foot. Take a tour of the Dzong on the opposite side (fortress). In the evening, enjoy another homestay with a native Bhutanese family. Enjoy a great home-cooked lunch and get some rest before an amazing new day.

Stay: Bumthang Homestay

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Day 9: Punākha/Paro

After breakfast today, we will all go to Paro to settle into a hotel and have lunch. Then it’s time to leave and visit some of Paro’s most well-known attractions. Visit the Ta Dzong, or “watchtower,” which serves as Bhutan’s National Museum and is the location of several exhibitions that feature treasures from Bhutan’s enchanted past, including sculptures, paintings, and paintings. Continue to the magnificent Paro Rinpung Dzong, often known as the “Fortress on a Heap of Jewels,” which is a fortress. Enjoy a flavourful dinner this evening with your CEO and other travelers.

Bhutan homestay

Stay: Punakha Homestay

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Tenth Day: Paro

Eat a hearty breakfast before leaving Paro for a trip to the renowned Taktshang Goemba, often known as the “Tiger’s Nest Monastery.” The Tiger’s Nest is Bhutan’s most well-known religious structure, poised precariously 900 meters (2,950 ft) above the Paro Valley level.

You will get the opportunity to see the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated after arriving at the Tiger’s Nest, as well as the vast network of Lhakhangs (chapels) that contain statues, murals, chortens, and a sacred spring.

The journey passes a small Chorten, a simple monastery, and a waterfall on its way, giving breathtaking views from the ridge. On the way down to the access road, stop by Machig-Phu Lhakhang (temple) briefly, if circumstances permit. The remainder of the afternoon is at your leisure to unwind at your hotel or explore Paro independently before enjoying one final Dinner as a group at a nearby restaurant to commemorate the journey!

Meals included: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner

Eleventh Day: Paro

Before being driven from your hotel to the airport for your return trip, savor one last breakfast.Meals included: Breakfast

Journey Illustrates

Enjoy camping & farm stays in some of Bhutan’s most secluded and beautiful areas.
Hike along and discover a portion of the historic Trans Bhutan Trail.
Enjoy some delicious meals at nearby farms.