Adventure in the land of Thunder Dragon

How many of you know of Bhutan? Recently, this small Himalayan country was in a lot of news due to the Indian Army’s standoff with their Chinese counterparts on Doklam (a strategic plateau in Bhutan). The fact is Bhutan is India’s most friendly neighbor and it is surprising we know so less about this country. Early this year while I was doing some research for my yearly “Big” Himalayan Trek, I came across some relatively unknown treks in Bhutan – a land very less known to Indians. Among them "The Jumolhari Trek" got my attention mainly because of the type of landscape , weather condition , availability of my fellow trekkers and the time period I had in mind ( May-June ). Even though there are a few travel agencies conducting adventure and cultural tours in Bhutan, but the information available is relatively less and this is one of the reasons I want to share my experience via this post so that more and more people get an opportunity to visit this beautifully preserved country.

 Day 1: Entry to Bhutan

Even though Bhutan has an international airport (Paro International Airport) we opted to fly till Bagdogra Airport (West Bengal) and from there travel by road to Paro, the starting point of our trek.
Please note here that one can fly directly into Bhutan from new Delhi and Kolkata. It takes approximately takes 5-6 hours by road to reach Jaigaon, a small border town on Indian side. The other side of Jaigoan and separated by an open gate is Phuntsholing – a small yet busy border town of Bhutan. It is also the gateway to this amazing Himalayan country. Indian tourists do not need to stamp their passport, but there were several formalities at the immigration office including getting travel and trekking permits from the Government officials. If I remember well, it took over an hour to get all the papers in place at Phuntsholing. Once done we set out again on our journey to Paro which is another 6 hours by road. Unlike many of the roads in Indian Himalayas, the roads in Bhutan are well maintained and we spent most of our time looking out of the windows and admiring the natural beauty of this little known country. We reached Paro in the evening and directly checked in a hotel already booked by our travel agent. We were dead tired and after a quite dinner went to bed excited about the next day.

Streets of Paro (Bhutan)

Paro International Airport

Day 2: Exploring in and around Paro

After a good night sleep I woke up early. To my surprise , my trek guide was waiting for me at the hotel reception. After a heavy English breakfast , we set out for a tour around Paro. Our first stop was the local Paro market where we saw the locals buying and selling fruits , vegetables and spices. The Bhutanese people really love chillies, as I could find a small market dedicated for chillies – different types of them. Chillies form a major part of the local cuisines. I found the locals very friendly and always smiling.But then I recalled reading somewhere that Bhutan tops the chart for the “Hapiness Index”. In short, Bhutanese people are the happiest people on earth.

Next stop was The Rinpung Dzong, which was built by the founding father of Bhutan, Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1646. Today, this fortress houses the Administrative seat of the district of Paro and the district Monk Body with about 200 monks. The central tower (Utse) of the fortress is one of the most beautiful in Bhutan with its superb woodwork. We spent the whole morning exploring the various corners of Ringpung Dzong.

In the afternoon, we visited Kyichu Lhakhang, built by the Tibetan king, Sontsen Gampo in the 7th century. It is one of the oldest and most sacred shrines of Bhutan.It was amazing how the Bhutanese people have preserved their cultural heritage and are so proud of it. We also tried some local cuisines at one of the popular restaurant in Paro.

Archery being the national game of Bhutan, locals practice it on holidays

Paro Saturday Market

Darts being sold at Paro Market

Let us try some local cuisine ( It was very spicy) 

Day 3: Hike to Taktsang (also known as the Tiger’s Nest Monastery)

I personally feel and many would agree, Taktsang (also known as the Tiger’s Nest Monastery) is the most popular tourist attraction of Bhutan. I was informed by our trek guide that hiking up to Taktsang would be a good warm up for our upcoming Jumolhari Trek. Taktsang is a 300 years old Buddhist Monastery built near Paro at a height of 3120 m.It is believed that Padmasambhava an 8th-century Indian Buddhist master flew to this location in Bhutan from Tibet on the back of a tigress. This monastery is dedicated to the famous Padmasambhava. The hike was quite exhausting, especially because of the rapid altitude gain. Throughout the hike we were presented with some breath taking view of the Paro Valley and we returned back to our hotel by late afternoon.

The famous Tiger’s Nest Monastery

On the way to Tiger’s Nest Monastery

Day 4: Enough of site seeing, the real deal starts now!

We started early morning by a van to Drugyel Dzong ( the starting point of our trek).Here we were introduced to our trekking party of guide, cook and a few horsemen. After a brief meeting about the route , weather condition and ration we set out for our trek. Our destination – Shana , where we set up our first camp. I remember the trail being very scenic between paddy terraces. We could see a few villagers working in their paddy fields. Soon we reach an army post and the terrain suddenly changes. The trail follows the Pachu River upstream surrounded with thick Pine forest. Since it was the beginning of monsoon, everything was wet and muddy. One of the guides told that flow of the river is far too much for this time of the year indicating heavy rain. We were not very surprised as we had already checked the weather forecast for the next few days during our stay in Paro and frankly speaking it did not look very good. After 6 hours of hike we reached Shana (16 KM from Drugyel Dzong), a beautiful camping spot to rest for the night. That night it poured heavily as we spent most of the evening in our tents playing cards and sipping hot soup.

The trek starts from Drugyel Dzong

River Pachu flowing through dense green forest (on the way to Shana) 

Dense Forest on the way to Shana

Day 5: It’s again a bright day for a hike! But then…

I woke up to a bright day in contrast to the day before. Amazing how weather changes in the Himalayas. After a power packed breakfast we set out for our next camp, Soi Thanhthangka , at a distance of 19KMs.

I felt that this trek just gets more and more physically challenging every day. But nothing can dampen our spirits. Soon we were ascending through pine, oak and spruce forests. Due to the heavy rain the whole forest was wet and green. I came to know from the guide that Bhutan is the only carbon Negative country in the world with more than 70% forest cover overall. Isn’t that simply an amazing fact to be proud of in this age where countries are struggling to keep up with the havoc caused by pollution and deforestation? On our side, to give company was the Pachu River which seemed like flowing with some kind of vengeance. We were gaining altitude very rapidly and the first signs of that was evident when one of our members started complaining of severe headache. Luckily, the rain Gods were merciful and we had only light drizzle until we reached a bridge across the Pachu River, a perfect place to break for a hot lunch here. But just when we started feeling great, the rain was back and this time with fury. I have never seen such a heavy rainfall so far even though I was born and brought up in the hills in North Eastern part of India.

We took a decision to continue hiking along the river as it was no use waiting for the rain to calm down. We had to go ahead, we had to climb up as we were in the middle of both the camps. I remember it was a struggle to keep anything dry. Once again we crossed the river and reached our next campsite Soi Thanhthangka at a height of 3749 m (12,300ft) above sea level. While we were happy that we reached the camp site, we heard some confusion among the horsemen. One of the horses had accidently eaten some poisonous plants on the way, near the camp site, and is sick. It was very painful to see the horse men trying hard to save the young horse. It passed out late in the evening leaving us all with a heavy heart. That night no one spoke much, it was a reminder that Mother Nature is not always gracious. We offered our prayers for the departed soul that night.

On the way to Soi - Green is the word

A Local horseman carry his child on horse back

One of the many bridges we crossed across the Pachu River

A trekker's hut and our camp site at Soi

We had a separate tent for fire place and guess what , its made of Yak wool which is supposedly water proof 

A welcome rest on the way to Soi

Day 6: Soi To Jangothang

Next day we woke up early to find that we were almost sleeping in a pool of water accumulated due to whole night down pour. Our trek guide was making some temporary drainage to drain the rain water from the tent area. I too joined him while one of the horsemen handed me a cup of hot tea. Luckily the Sun was out and all of us were again cheerful and looking forward to our next destination – Jangothang. After having breakfast we started up climbing gently. River Pachu was again by our side but this time we were slowly moving away from it. I always find it amazing to see the vegetation changing gradually as we move higher and higher. Huge trees get replaced by bushes and shrubs as we climb higher. The whole landscape changes so to say, this time it’s a different view all together. We saw glimpses of nearby snow covered peaks. After almost 2 hours of hiking we reached an Army Camp of the Royal Bhutan Army. Our trek guide had already acquired permits for us to trek in that area   , while we took a short break just outside the army camp, he went to show the permit to some guards at the check posts. We later came to know that since it’s a border area (with China), both Indian Army and Royal Bhutan Army patrols this area frequently.

After another 2 hours of hike we reached Jangothang camp which is situated at a height of 4050 m above sea level. This camp site is on a huge valley and we could see herds of yaks in patches across the valley and the nearby mountains. There were a few yak herders’ camps as well and we were served hot lunch in one of them. This place was simply mystical with an old fort like structure in shambles nearby. Further away, though the visibility was not so good, we could see the gigantic Mt.Jumolhari (7320 meters) and Mt.Jichu Drake (6900 meters). They looked splendid even from far away.

As soon as we settled down in our camp (we did not pitch tent and planned to stay in one of the hearders’ camps), it started pouring again. In the evening while we were sipping hot tea, the trek guide informed us that it will be dangerous to climb any further. The next segment of our journey includes crossing over the Yale la pass (4950 meters), and due to heavy rain there are landslides all over. He mentioned that it would be highly dangerous to climb the pass and there are changes of falling off the cliff due to wet and loose soil. The team was confused and divided in views – while some of us adventure junkies wanted to continue but most of the team members were of the opinion that we should halt for a day at Jangothang. By late night it was decided that we stay one more day at Jangothang and take a call the next day on whether  continue or not. And it kept on pouring the whole night.

Trekker's Hut and camp site at Jangothang

Our camp site at Jangothang

Old fortress at Jangothang

Mesmerizing view of Mt.Jumolhari (7320 meters) from Jangothang

Day 7: Visit the Tshophu Lake

Today was a rest day for us so we had two options: either hike around the valley and return to the camp by late afternoon or we simply relax at the camp site. I choose the former and set out towards Lake Tshophu. The hike to Tshophu was a relatively short (2 hours) but strenuous one as we climbed up higher and higher and at a rapid pace. Soon we could view our camp site at Jagothang from top. The whole landscape has changed. There were hardly any vegetation and it was covered with patches of snow. There were signs of landslides and rock falls everywhere as we carefully reached the Lake Tshophu. On the way we also took shelter from the rain in a yak herder’s tent. This the first time I saw these gigantic yaks from so close.

Once we reached the lake we were speechless- the beauty of this hidden lake cannot be explained in words. I have posted some pictures below for everyone to get an idea of what I am talking about but believe me my pictures did not do real justice in capturing the real beauty of this lake (one of the reason being the fact that it was raining and taking out camera was not recommended  J  )

After taking half the round of the lake (for 2 hours or so) we decided to head back to Jagothang. I really wanted to stay near the lake and was in no mood to return. Such was the intoxicating beauty of the place. However, after another 2 hours hike we returned back to our camp. The weather had turned bad again and it was pouring heavily. That evening I was disappointed when it was decided by majority that we are returning back to Paro the same route as it is simply not wise to continue up through the Yale la pass. I have learnt from the past treks that, treks are no individual sport, it’s the team that matters at the end of the day and even though I was not very amused by this decision, I decided to stick with the team’s decision and return to Soi the next day.

Gigantic Mt.Jumolhari (7320 meters) on the way to Thopsu Lake

On the way to Thopsu lake

The serene Thopsu lake 

Some Yaks on the way to Thopsu Lake

Day 8: Major Tom and his stories

Weather was just getting worse as the rain did not stop like the other days and we started off for Soi in heavy shower. The struggle was to keep anything dry. Since we knew the route well by now and it was downhill we reached the camp site at Soi by afternoon. Luckily of the local heard men had made a fire and all of us gathered around the fire place to warm ourselves. Suddenly a whole platoon of Indian Army Para Troopers also arrived and started pitching their tents. One of them, Major Tom came up to us and requested if he could join us at the fire place. We welcomed him with some tea and he started telling about his experience of Bhutan. He said that it was a wise decision by our team to return back. Even his team lost a couple of horses due to several landslides en route the Yale La Pass . This heavy down pour had forced him and his men to abort their patrol mission and return to their base. That evening was more about listening to interesting stories from Major Tom.

Trying to keep warm

Look what popped out from the hills - A Marmot

Day 9: Walking downhill is no piece of cake

Next morning when we woke up, to our surprise, Major Tom and his platoon had already left. Our guide informed us that we will directly climb down to Drugyel Dzong by bypassing Shana. He said he knew an alternate route which is 22 km downhill. We started around 9 am from Soi to Shanna. We did not expect much that day, but soon we realized that climbing downhill is no piece of cake especially if everything is wet and slippery. As expected, our good friend, rain was back again. By this time, I should say we got quite used to heavy downpour. The same river we crossed a few days back had turned totally wild. At some places we could see the river over flowing. We could see some of the make shift bridges were washed away by the gushing river. We were totally exhausted when we reached Drugyel Dzong around 5 pm. We realized that our trek had come to an end. We bid good bye to our guide and horse men without whom we would not have got this wonderful opportunity to hike through these mountains. Truly, Bhutan is an amazing country with some breath taking places. To me personally, Bhutan is like a wonder land yet to be explored. Looking forward to more such treks in Bhutan…….

 

The Team 

Some travel Tips on Bhutan:

1. Carry your passport (not mandatory for Indian travelers but recommended)as ID.
2. Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines have regular flights from New Delhi, Kolkata and Bagdogra.
3. You can also reach Bhutan by road in our own vehicle (via Jaigaon/Phuentsholing border)
4. Indian currency can be used in Bhutan.
5. Bhutan is the only country where sale of cigarettes and tobacco is illegal. Tourists are allowed to bring in their own stock by paying 100% custom duty at border check post. However, do not smoke in public as it may hurt local sentiments..

 "Contest entry for The Adventurer Blog Contest November 2017 by Bikat Adventures"