Chomolhari Trek

As your flight nears Bhutan you will have some great views of the Himalayas including the sacred Mt. Jomolhari (7326m) and Jichu Drake (6662m). From the airport, we will be taken to our hotels followed by a visit to Rinpung Dzong, built-in 1646 and now home to the district Monastic Body and government administrative offices of Paro Dzongkhag. We will then head to Kyichu Lhakhang, the oldest temple in the country and to Ta Dzong (fort) that was once a lookout tower but is now the National Museum. The museum has a wide variety of ancient paintings, weaponry, traditional costumes, and handicrafts.

This morning we trek for around 2 hours to Taktsang (Tiger's Nest) Monastery, Bhutan's most famous monastery. Guru Rinpoche (Buddhist sage) is said to have flown on the back of a tigress to meditate in a cave where Taktsang Monastery is now situated. We will stop for a lunch break at a café halfway up the mountain. The monastery is situated on the edge of a steep cliff about 900 meters above Paro Valley. After having explored the monastery we head back down to the valley floor. We will stay overnight in Paro.

Today the trail begins at Drukgyel Dzong at 2,580 meters on a wide downhill trail. We then climb slowly up through terraced farms growing millet. We then come to some apple orchards and forests. The valley then widens before arriving at the army post of Gunitsawa (2,810m). This is the last stop village before the border with Tibet. Just above Shana (2,870m), we come to a good overnight campsite in the fields that are surrounded by trees.