- Trekking in the 'Land of the Thunder Dragon'
- The unspoiled Basingthang Valley
- Chomolhari and Jitchu Drake
- Taktsang Monastery - the 'Tiger's Nest'
- The spectacular Thimpu Festival
North of the tiny Bhutanese capital of Thimpu, the pristine Basingthang Valley provides a passage through Himalayan foothills to the high peaks on the border with Tibet. This superb trek traces the course of the Thimpu River upstream to rarely-trodden meadows at the head of the valley. Here, we have a day for exploration, with the chance to reach the summit of a 4500 metre viewpoint hill. We then trek across the spectacular Yale La (4700m) where we have fantastic views of the imposing spire of Jitchu Drake,before dropping down to the dzong at Lingshi. From here, we follow yak herding trails south towards the Paro Valley through a high alpine world with isolated villages and stunning views of nearby Chomolhari. Few trekking groups have completed this excellent circuit, which guidebook-writer Francoise Pommaret considers to be one of the best treks in Bhutan.
The Thimpu Tsechu (Festival)
Religious festivals are taken very seriously by the Bhutanese, who have an unquestioning faith in their religion. However, in addition to gaining a great deal of religious merit from attending a festival, the Bhutanese also derive much enjoyment. They dress in their best clothes and jewellery, make an effort to mix with their friends and acquaintances, eat and drink to excess, and generally have a good time. One of the most important festivals in the Bhutanese calendar is the Thimpu Tsechu which takes place each autumn. We have arranged for our September Chomolhari trek to coincide with this festival. We will have plenty of opportunity to watch the colourful masked dancers whirling and leaping, and also the equally colourful audience dressed in their finest Khos and Khias. Within the festival ground are many stalls, selling everything from cooking utensils to exotic jewellery and you will also find stalls offering strange and delicious food, and there's even a beer tent.
Trip Guide
Trekking conditions on this great route are nowhere very difficult. The trail that we follow is in regular use by local people and their pack-animals as they travel between the high valleys. In general this trek offers easy walking conditions, as there are no glaciers to negotiate and the passes that we cross should not be heavily snow covered. However, the trekking is quite sustained and does involve the crossing of several passes over 4500 metres (14,750 feet), including the Nachuing La at 4900 metres (16,075 feet). There are no really long days and we have included 2 days in the Basingthang Valley where there is the option of doing considerable exploration or taking it more easily. The trek is within the capabilities of any regular weekend hillwalker. This route presents a great variety of landscape types; ranging from fertile and intensively terraced farmland, through some of the finest mixed forest in the world, to open, alpine pastureland and high mountain valleys and passes.
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