Chomolhari Trek

Your guide will meet you at your hotel in the morning to begin your city tour of Kathmandu. You will visit the Boudhanath temple, the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal, Pashupatinath, a Hindu pilgrimage site, and possibly view cremation ceremonies along the banks of the Bagmati River and continue drive to Patan Durbar Square to take in ancient Nepalese architecture and end your tour after a lunch. Then, you will visit the Patan museum. Overnight in Kathmandu.

After breakfast you will be transferred to Tribhuvan International Airport for the flight to Paro. After completing the visa formalities at the Paro airport you will be received by our Bhutan’s representative and transferred to the hotel. While driving through the picturesque Paro valley with its quaint clusters of hamlets amid terraced paddy fields you will see by the sight of white-domed peak of the sacred Mt. Jhomolhari that looms overhead. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore the town of Paro and its markets. Dinner and overnight in hotel.

After breakfast we hike to Taktshang Monastery which was built on a cliff in the eighth century. It is one of the most popular and picturesque monasteries in Bhutan. After the visit to the monastery we will visit the ruined fortress of Drugyel dzong which still attracts visitors due to the strategic location of the fort. The fort defended the Paro valley from the Tibetan invasion from the north in the early 17th century. On clear weather Mt Chomolhari (7320m) can be seen towering over the dzong. We will proceed through the beautiful valley to the watch tower or locally known as Ta-Dzong. It was housed into the National museum in the 1960s by the third King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The seven floors museum highlights various aspects of Bhutanese culture and history dating back to the 7th century. We will take a short walk downhill to the Rinpung Dzong which serves as the administrative center and school for monks and return to Paro). Dinner and overnight in hotel.

We will drive up to Drukgyel Dzong (Bhutan Victory Fort) where the road ends and trek begins, following the Paro River gently uphill through an agricultural valley and the village. We camp in a meadow opposite to the Gunyitsawa Army check post (2800m). Dinner and overnight in camp.

The trail is a gradual ascent with plenty of ups and downs alongside the Paro River through the conifer forest, ferns and Rhododendrons. On a clear day, you will see a magnificent view of Mt. Jumolhari and we camp in a meadow at Thangthangka. Dinner and overnight in camp.

We start our trek from Soi Thangthangkha and gradually ascend the elevation until we reach Jangothang at an altitude of (4090m). Though it is not a long trek, we will be worn out when we reach to camp beneath a ruined fortress at the base of Mt. Jumolhari. Here you will have a view of the high ridges and snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas. The trail passes through the army post, tiny villages and you can meet the yak herders on the way and share a cup of yak butter tea with them. Dinner and overnight in camp.

On this day you can relax. It is a day of acclimatization. You can choose four different day hikes from three to four hours each. One goes up to the top of the highest ridge that gives a good views of Jichu Drake, another hike goes to Tsophu and so on. Day hikes up to the top of the valley towards Jhomolhari. If you are interested in a lake for fishing then you can take the hike to Tsophu. Overnight Camp at elevation 4090m.

Today the trail gradually ascends to Nyile La (pass) at 4,890m. It tends to be windy at the pass. After the pass you will have a long descent until Lingzhi. During the trek you will see yak pastures on the way and sometimes some nomads. You will have an excellent view of Lingshi basin. Mt Jechu Darkey and its descending glaciers can also be seen on a clear day at the north end of the valley. We camp in Lingzhi near by the river at 3980m. Camp near a stream in a meadow 4,010m.

On this day we take a rest after the previous day’s strenuous trek. It’s worth a visit to Lingshi Dzong or makes an excursion to Tsokha Lake. Large herds of blue sheep and musk deer could be seen during the excursion. Overnight Camp.

The first half of the trek is mostly through barren valley until you ascend up to Yeli-La pass at 4820 m. From here you will have a glimpse of Mt. Jumolhari, Mt. Tsherimgang and Mt. Masagang on a clear day. The trail gradually descends following a stream. Camp in a meadow at 4110m.

While crossing the Thimphu River the trail winds up and down several times until we make the final ascent for about an hour to Barshong. We camp just below the ruins of the Barshong Dzong at 3,785 m elevation.

The trail descends gently through a dense forest of conifers, birch and rhododendron and then drops steep descent to the Thimphu River. Camp in a meadow at 3628m elevation.

Today we descend uphill above the Thimphu River through the rhododendron forest to a small pass (3510m). The trail winds up and down until we reach Dodina where we meet the vehicle with  driver for transport to Thimphu.. It is a 30 minute drive to Thimphu. Overnight at hotel in Thimphu.

After breakfast we go sightseeing tour of Memorial Chorten of late king, National Library, Painting School, National Library, Handicrafts Emporium and walk around Thimphu downtown for shopping. If you are lucky, you may visit weekend market on Saturday or Sunday. After lunch drive to Paro en-route visit to Simtokha Dzong and continue drive following the Thimphu River until Chuzom (Confluence) and taking the direction toward Paro.

After the spectacular flight back to Kathmandu the rest of the day you are free to relax in Kathmandu or to go shopping.