The power and beauty
of the mountains is more impressive on foot than from any vehicle.
Whether you take a two night trek around the Bumthang valley or walk
for three days from Thimphu to Paro or take the eight- day trek to
the base of mount Jhomolhari, the views, villages, people and experience
will be unparalleled. Awakening a dawn to the sound of the cockerel
and a warming mug of tea, trekkers at the higher altitudes are invariably
greeted by a breath- taking mountains cape. Few sites on earth can
equal the first sunlight hitting a Himalayan mountain. Trekking during
April and May in Himalayas brings the deep reds and oranges of rhododendron
blossom.Bhutan’s bountiful natural beauty can be enjoyed on
all the treks we operate.
Earlier in
the year the light is sharper but the night are very cold. In autumn
after the rainy season, the skies clear and the leaves begin to
turn yellow.
All trekkers
are accompanied by a trekking guide, a cook and usually at least
one horseman. Provisions luggages are carried by mountain horses.
With the surest footings, they lead trekking groups across the passes.
The horseman and cook usually run ahead during a trekking day. They
will have prepared a packed lunch for the hikers and will go on
to the nights resting place to set up camp.
They set up tents, cook dinner and ready the area for arriving trekkers.
When trekkers reach the campsite they are greeted with a hot cup
of tea and snacks in the dining tent. After six hours on the mountains,
no drink will ever taste sweeter. For dinner the cook will usually
prepare a buffet of dishes that are as welcome as they are delicious.
Treks vary from
three-day walks across low altitudes to the three – weeks
snowman trek that covers 356 kilometres and climbs three of the
kingdom’s highest passes. Inexperienced trekkers are recommended
to do the trek from Thimphu to Paro or vice-versa. Called the Druk
Path, it winds across the chain of mountains separating the two
valleys passing crystal lakes and offerings view across the Himalayan
Mountains outside of the monsoon seasons. More difficult treks take
in northern villages and past yakherdsmen who spend most of the
year tending to their herds high above the villages.
All trekkers
are required to strictly follow trekking rules to protect the fragile
environment at high altitudes.
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