Laya Gasa Trek

Fly to Paro above the scenic Himalayan ranges down below. As you arrive in Paro airport, a representative of our company will pick you up and escort to your hotel for check in. Freshen up and enjoy your lunch for a sightseeing journey ahead. First of all, you will be escorted to Ta dzong museum, a treasure of many historical and religious antiques and art crafts. Next we head to Paro Rinpung dzong and then to Kichu Lhakhang. Kichu Lhakhang is one of the oldest temple of Bhutan. Last we head to visit the ruins of Drugyal Dzong, an old fortress and stay at the hotel for the night.

Today is an exciting day as we will visit the famous – Tiger’s Nest monastery in Paro. It is a beautiful monastery perched on the top of a cliff, in a dramatic location. We should hike up to the monastery for one to one and half hours until we reach the monastery. From the cliff, you can get some spectacular views of Paro city as well. The monastery lies on the place where the great Guru Rinpoche had flown in the back of a tigress and meditated in a cave. After visiting the monastery, you will be escorted to some important visiting sites in Paro if you weren’t able to visit it in day 1 due to time constraints. You can then enjoy rest of the time on your own.

Early in the morning, we visit Drugyal Dzong and visit the ruins of fortress and walk downhill until we reach a wide trail. From here, our trail ascends up gently through the well paved path along the rice and millet farmlands. Leaving the farmland, we enter into the apple orchards and forested area. Slowly the valley widens up and you reach an army camp in Gunitsawa. Further we walk until we reach our camping site in Shana.

Leaving Shana, we follow the path of Paro river – Pa Chhu that ascends and descends down through the laush forests of pine, fir and rhododendron. We cross a bridge over the left side of the river and again climb up through the rhododendron forests. We cross a bridge again to reach our camping site in Sio Thangthangka at an altitude of 3750 meters.

We leave our camp at Sio Thangthangka and ascend up to an army camp. From the camp, we follow a river above the tree line with the magnificent views of mountain peaks in the backdrop. We rest at a yak herder camp and enjoy our lunch, we further continue our journey ahead with a walk into a valley until we reach our camping site in Jangothang at an altitude of 4050 meters. From this point, you can admire the magnificence of Mt. Jumolhari and Jichu peaks.

Today, we follow the streams on our way for half an hour until we cross a bridge. After that we start our climb up with astonishing views of Jumolhari peak, Jichu Drake peaks and Tshering gang on our sight. With these wonderful views on sight, we walk towards a valley and climb up to Ngye la pass that lies at an altitude of 4830 meters. Appreciating the wonderful views of mountains from the pass, we descend down to our camp at Lingshi. We stay at our camp for the night.

Today is the shortest walking day of our entire trip so you can take it easy- slowly and steadily. We continue through our trail until we reach our camp at Chebisa.

Leaving Chesbisa, we walk through a pastureland, pass the grazing yaks, yak herders and their camps to a pass – Gobu La. From the pass, we descend down rejoicing the views of astonishing mountains and the valley down below. We continue our walk until we reach our campsite in Somuthang where we stop for the night.

Today we start early as the route can be quite strenuous. Today we cross Jerela pass at an altitude of 4600 meters. In the late afternoon, the weather can turn windy and stormy hence advised to cross the pass within the noon. From the pass, we descend down to Tsharijathang valley. On the way, we can see herds of Takins, the national animal of Bhutan. We continue walking until we reach our camp site in Robluthang.

Leaving our campsite, we head towards Lemithang. Lemithang is a beautiful place in Laya district where you can observe people who are typically dressed in their traditional attire. You can notice the long pointed bamboo hats on the head of people that is the distinctive feature of costume worn by people here. While in Lemithang, you can enjoy your time exploring the valley and interacting with local people. Stay at your camps in Lemithang for the night

We leave Lemithang and walk downhill along a river valley that narrows down as we go deep into it. Our trail further leads us to the western side of the Laya village. Upon our arrival in Laya village, we stay at the camps set for us in the village.

We spend our day exploring the village of Laya. We explore the natural aspect of the village along with the traditional lifestyles of people. It is much fun to be here and explore the unique aspects of life. You will feel how modernization is flaming and the village is just out of reach but in so much peace and liveliness. We stay at our camps in Laya for the night.

We leave Laya and continue through the trail that undulates up and down along the river valley. As we march ahead towards Koena, we will be blessed with some astounding views of freely flowing rivers, waterfalls, hills and valleys. We stop at our campsite once we reach Koena.

From Koena, we follow our trail that heads to Babela pass. We crosss this pass at an altitude of 3740 meters and descend down to our campsite in Gasa which is very close to the Gasa Dzong. We stop at our camps for the night.

Today, we will have a wonderful time in Gasa. After breakfast, we head towards Gasa Tashu where there are many hot springs. We can just have lunch and relax in the hot springs at Gasa Tashu. Amongst the hot springs in Bhutan, Gasa Tashu is the most popular hot water springs in Bhutan.

After a relaxing day in Gasa Tashu, we climb up through the hills and passes, forests, villages and farmlands to Gasa dzong. It is a beautiful dzong that is attached to a valley wall offering a fantastic view of the dzong. After visiting the dzong, we walk towards our campsite in Geon Damji where we stay for the night.

Our trail continues to descend down. We drop down through the forests, agricultural lands and vegetation areas to Tashithang. As we walk down, we pass Mochu river and vegetation areas with few animals like monkeys and others. As we reach Tashithang, we relax at our campsites in Tashithang.

We initiate our journey with a short and last walk of our trekking journey. As we reach the motorable road, we jump into our vehicle that will drive us down to the Punakha valley. At Punakha, we visit the Punakha dzong. After the visit, we drive towards Thimpu, the capital city of Bhutan. Upon arrival, we stay at our hotel in Thimpu.

Today, we drive for around two hours to reach Paro. We stay at a hotel in Paro for rest of the time.

Concluding the trip, you will be escorted to the airport in Paro for your journey ahead.