BHUTAN - Chomolhari and the Yale La

Pioneering trekking in the 'Land of the Thunder Dragon' - The unspoiled Basingthang Valley - Chomolhari and Jitchu Drake - Taktsang Monastery - the 'Tiger's Nest'

6 nights hotels and lodges, 9 nights camping, 10 days DEMANDING trekking, max. altitude - 4900m / 16,075ft. All meals included

demanding

Young monks at Kurjey, Bhutan - Colin Prior

North of the tiny Bhutanese capital of Thimpu, the pristine Basingthang Valley provides a route through Himalayan foothills to the high peaks on the border with Tibet. This superb trek makes an exploration of this rarely-visited area and includes the chance to trek to the summits of a number of 4500 metre (14,760 foot viewpoint hills. At the head of the valley, we cross the spectacular Yale La (4700m /15,416ft) and have fantastic views of the imposing spire of Jitchu Drake. Trekking on yak-herding trails, this part of our route is pure magic, as we head south towards the Paro Valley through a high alpine world with isolated villages and stunning views of nearby Chomolhari. KE groups have rarely encountered other trekkers on this excellent circuit, which guidebook-writer Francoise Pommaret considers to be one of the best treks in Bhutan. The October departuree visits the Thimpu Festival.

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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The trip pages are only a brief summary of the details available within our trip dossiers. It is important that you read the full day to day description and further information for this trip before making your booking.
Download a dossier for BHUTAN - Chomolhari and the Yale La