Jomolhari Trek & Bhutan Cultural Tour

Our Bumthang Owl trek begins with a scenic flight to Paro. This flight offers magnificent views of the Himalayas. Further, the flight to Paro gives an astounding view of the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest (8,848.86m/29,031ft). Moreover, landing in the Paro Valley is a perfect entry into the world of Bhutan. You can feel its pure air and a sense of serenity. Besides that, you can witness the fields of green and brown covering most of the valley floor. Here, you can also see hamlets and isolated farms dot the landscape.
After some refreshments, we will begin our Paro sightseeing tour.

Our sightseeing trip starts with a visit to Paro Dzong. Paro Dzong is the Fortress of a Heap of Jewels. So, the full name of Paro Dzong is Rinpung Dzong. It is one of the finest models of traditional Bhutanese architecture. This structure is a large dzong- a Buddhist monastery and fortress. Paro Dzong is also listed as a tentative site in Bhutan’s Tentative List for UNESCO formation. Further, resting beyond Paro Dzong is its watchtower renovated in 1968 to house the National Museum.

It is an unusual round building, built in the shape of a conch shell. Also, its displays include an inspiring combination of ancient and modern thangkas (Buddhist paintings) as well as fearsome festival masks. Besides that, we will also visit the Kyichu Monastery, via the Drugyel Dzong ruins. Kyichu Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Bhutan. It was built in the 7th century by the Tibetan King Songsten Gampo. After exploring these astounding sites of Paro, we head back to the hotel. But, on our way back, you’ll cross Nyamai-Zam. Nyamai-Zam is a traditional wooden covered bridge that spans the Paro River. We will spend the first night of the Bumthang Owl trek in Paro.

After breakfast, we will hike to one of Bhutan’s most revered pilgrimage sites, the Taktshang Lhakhang. Taktshang Lhakhang is popularly known as the Tiger’s Nest Monastery. We can also drive (around 25 minutes) to this site. The trek offers panoramic views of this sacred monastery resting precariously on a steep rock face.
The hike from the base to the cafeteria will take at least 90 minutes along well-maintained trails. We will stop here for a rest. It is about another hour’s trek from here. We trek through the charming landscape to reach the monastery, which clings to a vertical rocky cliff. And it is nearly 900 m/3,000 ft above the valley floor. Moreover, Tiger’s Nest is a holy Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site.

It is because Taktsang Palphug Monastery is one of the thirteen Tiger’s Nest caves in historical Tibet in which Padmasambhava practiced and developed Vajrayana. The legend has it that Guru Rinpoche, father of Mahayana Buddhism, came to the Paro Valley more than a millennium before on the back of a tigress. He meditated for three months in this cave.

After a spiritual visit to the sacred Taktsang Palphug Monastery, we hike down.

On our return, we will again stop at the cafeteria for lunch. Then we descend to the base of Ramthanka. So, the return hike needs around two hours. In the evening, you can relax in a traditional hot stone bath. We will spend another evening in Paro.

Today, we will start our trek to Shana after breakfast. We will first drive from Paro to Drukgyel Dzong. Drukgyel Dzong is a ruined fortress built in 1648 to control the northern route to Tibet.
From Drukgyel Dzong, we will start our trekking journey. We will leave the road behind and follow the Pa Chhu River. We will walk through rich farmland, passing traditional farmhouses and the tiny settlements of Mitshi Zampa and Sangatang. Then, we will reach the army checkpoint at Gunitsawa. We continue our walk and finally arrive at Shana Zampa. We will spend the night at Shana.

Today, we will have a long journey from Shana to Thangthangkha. The path from Shana passes through the river valley with pine and rhododendron forests. We will then enter the Jigme Dorji National Park.
Further, after crossing through woodland and many streams, we will witness a fantastic view of Mt Jomolhari. We continue our walk, making our way to the meadow campsite.

Finally, after around 6-7 hours complete walk we reach the campsite. We will camp in a meadow with a stone shelter at an elevation of around 3860 m. We will spend a night at Thangthangkha (campsite).

Leaving Thangthangkha, today we are trekking to Jangothang. It is not a long trekking day, but there will be a significant elevation gain as we walk above the tree line. From the camp, our trail ascends for a while until you reach the army camp.
We will then follow the river above the tree line. On the way, we will be enjoying the stunning view of the surrounding peaks. We further have to through a very muddy section of the trail. We also pass a mani stone wall and enter yak country. Here, we will see the local yak herders tending the yaks.

Continuing the trekking, we walk past the yak herder settlements of Soe and Takethang.

Typical crops grown here are potatoes, barley, and turnips. We will then trek over a plain and up a stream bed to Dangochang village. We will then reach the campsite in Jangothang. It is at an elevation of 13,254 feet (4040 m). From Jangothang, the views of Mt. Jomolhari and Jitchu Drake are excellent. We will spend a night at Jangothang.

It is a day of acclimatization. You can rest in the camp if you have signs of altitude sickness or explore nearby places. But the best way to acclimatize is to hike to the Jomolhari base camp.
We will spend our acclimatization doing a four-hour hike to the Jomolhari base camp. There is almost no trail to the base camp, but we will climb on an open slope until you see Mt. Jitchu Drake (26989 m/ 2,929 ft). We will further scramble up to 4,895m/ 16,059 ft (higher than Mt. Blanc). The view of Mount Jomolhari is astounding.

Besides that, if you are lucky, you may see rare Himalayan rhubarb, griffon vultures, blue sheep, golden eagles, and the exceptional blue poppy.

Jomolhari Base camp is flat grassy land with an old ruined fortress on a hillock underneath the large Jomolhari and Jitchu Drake. After spending some time at the base camp, we hike back to Jangothang. We will spend another night at the Jangothang campsite

We are leaving Jangothang today. After breakfast, we will follow the trail through streams for half an hour. We will then cross the bridge to the right side. Continuing the trek, we climb up the ridge and enjoy astonishing views of the Jomolhari, Jitchu Drake, and Tsherim Khang mountains. After enjoying the scenery, we will walk through the wide-open valley.
On the way, we will come across herds of blue sheep. We will then have a moderate climb up to the Nyele la pass (4,800 m). From here, you will have breathtaking views of Mt. Jomolhari, Jitchu Drake, and Tsherimgang, all of them rising beyond 7,000m. We will then gradually descend to the campsite from Nyele la pass. Here, we cross by some of the yak herder’s tents, made from yak wool.

These tents are used by herders while traveling to various pastures for their yaks.

Further, we come down into the Lingshi basin. Lingshi basin is a beautiful U-shaped valley. We will get a splendid view of Lingshi Dzong on clear days from here. Moreover, at the north end of the valley, you can see the Tserimgang and its glaciers rising. We finally reach the campsite is next to a stone hut. We will spend a night at the camp.

We will leave Lingshi after breakfast. We will follow the trail that climbs towards a small white Chorten (monument) on a ridge above the camp. We then turn south up the deep Mo Chhu valley.
The trail here stays on the west side of the treeless valley. Continuing the trek, we steadily climb a short distance above Mo Chhu. The trail then crosses the river and climbs steeply for two hours to Yeli La (4820 m/ 15,813 ft).

From this pass, we can witness the magnificent views of Jomolhari, Gangchen Ta, Tshering Gang, and Masang Gang on a clear day. Besides that, we descend alongside a stream to a shelter. We continue downstream to a camp at Shodu (4100 m/ 13,451 feet). It is a meadow with another Chorten. We will spend a night at Shodu.

After breakfast, we will continue our trekking journey. From here, we will return to the tree line. Today’s trail follows the Thimphu River. We will be descending through rhododendron, juniper, and other alpine forests.
On the way, we will have stunning views of the cliff-facing rocks and waterfalls. We can have some rest at the riverside. We will then follow the trail that gradually ascends to ruins beside the river. It also includes the ruins of Barshong Dzong. Today, we set the camp at an elevation of 3,700m/12,139 ft. We will spend the night at the Barshong campsite.

From Barshong, we follow the trail that descends gently through a dense forest of rhododendron, birch, and conifers. The trail then drops steeply to meet Thimphu Chhu. We will continue our trek through the left side of the river. Then we will climb over the ridges and descend to the side stream.
We continue trekking then it traverses a cliff to Dolam Kencho. Dolam Kencho is camp pastureland at 3,600m/11,811 ft elevation. We will spend a night at Dolam Kencho.

After breakfast, we will leave Dolam Kencho and start trekking. From Dolam Kencho, we continue to follow the Thimphu Chu through the dense rhododendron forest. The trail then emerges into pastureland. After a few hours’ treks, we climb to a mountain meadow at around 3428 m, over a small pass. We will finally reach Dodona, where the vehicle will be waiting to collect us.
From Dodona, we will drive to Thimphu.

Thimphu was once a rustic village sitting in a broad of fertile river valley. Thimphu is a beautiful town made up of just three lines of shops. Besides that, Thimphu is also the only capital in the world without traffic lights.

Today, we are leaving Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, and driving to Paro. The trail to Paro follows the Pachu River. We will reach Paro after around 2hours drive. But before leaving for Paro, we will have a Thimphu Sightseeing tour. We will walk around the National Memorial Chorten.
It was built in 1974 in honor of the late King. Additionally, this was a temple initiated by the Third Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck as a protection from the negative elements of modernization, further as a monument to world peace. But it was completed by the Royal Queen Mother as a memorial Stupa for the Third King who passed away in 1972.

The Memorial Chorten is an awe-inspiring monument with its golden spires shining in the sun, its bell tinkling in the wind, and a continuous procession of elderly people surrounding it. Other than that, we will visit Zilukha Nunnery. Here the nuns meditate and practice Buddhism. We will further visit the Folk Heritage Museum. This museum is committed to joining people to the Bhutanese rural history through the exhibition of items and artifacts used in rural households. We will move toward the Textile Museum.

Here, the art of traditional weaving is still kept alive and protected through exhibitions and has a good collection of old textiles. They are rich in colors and design. We can also visit Handicrafts Emporium. All types of Bhutanese handicrafts are made and sold here.

On the Thimphu sightseeing tour, we will have a short drive to Paro. We will stay overnight in Paro.

It is the last day of the Jomolhari Trek & Cultural Tour. After a splendid 13 days in Bhutan, today you will fly back to your homeland. We will transfer you to the Paro International Airport 3 hours before your flight.