KE Adventure

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Trekking the High Passes of Lunana

Bhutan`s toughest trekking holiday
High and wild trekking across 5000 metre passes
Unclimbed Gangkar Puensum
Punakha and Thimpu dzongs
`Explore More` - the finest adventure holidays on the planet

This is Himalayan trekking at its very best, crossing several high passes (up to 5300m) during the course of a long and continuous traverse of the little-known Bhutanese region of Lunana. Starting out in the Punakha Gorge, the exotic forest scenery is a foretaste of the tremendous variety of trekking conditions that will be experienced on this exciting, once-in-a-lifetime trip. We make a gradual ascent to the village of Laya (4000m), close to the Tibetan border, before heading east on our high-level route into the lost world of Lunana. Highlights include, encounters with cheerful villagers and breathtaking mountain panoramas, culminating in close-up views of remote Gangkar Puensum (7541m), the world's highest unclimbed peak. If you are looking for a supreme trekking adventure, in a high mountain wilderness which sees very few foreign visitors, then this is definitely for you.

This trip is one of our ‘Explore More' range of outstanding adventure holidays which we are running in conjunction with our friends at Allibert and Hauser (France and Germany's leading adventure travel operators). The trips we have chosen for this range are undoubtedly some of the finest adventures on the planet. They are also ‘specialist' and will appeal to those who have ‘been there, done that' in many parts of the world and are now looking for something new. The cosmopolitan nature of the groups will be an important part of the Explore More experience!

Trip Guide

This trek does not include any particularly difficult terrain. The route follows generally good paths - there are no glaciers to cross and there is no scrambling involved. However, the itinerary has been paced to suit experienced trekkers looking for a very challenging trip and the emphasis is on seeing as much as possible of Bhutan, and on exploring as much ground as possible. This is an intentionally ambitious programme to trek into and out of a very remote region, cut off from the rest of the world for 9 months of the year. Another factor which has to be considered and one which contributes to the difficulty of the trip, is the altitude of the trekking route. There are several passes of over 4500 metres (14,750 feet) and 2 of these are over 5000 metres (16,400 feet). Due to the remoteness of this trek a degree of flexibility with regard the itinerary is needed as the route may need to be adapted if conditions intervene. What's more, for a continuous period of at least a week we will be camping above 4000 metres (13,100 feet). These challenges should be judged as positive attractions to someone looking for a real trekking adventure.