Chomolhari Trek

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

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

Leaving Shana, we follow the Paro river (Pa Chhu), ascending and descending through lush forests of pine, fir and rhododendron. We cross a bridge over the left side of the river and climb again 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 to an army camp. From the camp, we follow a river above the tree line with magnificent views of mountain peaks in the backdrop. We rest at a yak herder camp and enjoy lunch, then continue our journey 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 is set aside for acclimatization. As you are already at higher elevation, this is a must. You can hike for three to four hours today with four different options: a hike to the ridge offering fantastic views of Jichu Drake, a hike towards the end of the valley, a hike towards the main valley towards Jumolhari, or a hike to the Tsophu lakes. After the hike, you return to camp for overnight stay.

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

Our trail ascends to a white chorten right above the camp to a ridge and continues south deep towards the Mo Chhu valley. At this height, we see a barren valley right in front of us. We then cross a river and climb steeply to Yeli La pass for two hours, getting magnificent views of mountains from the pass. Leaving the pass, we descend along a small stream to our camp at Shodu.

Once again, we follow a path along the Thimpu river. We descend through alpine forests of fir, rhododendron and juniper with wonderful views of cliffs and waterfalls along the way. Our trail then ascends gradually to the Barshong dzong at an altitude of 3600 meters. We stay at our camp near the dzong for the night.

We further descend through forests of fir, birch and rhododendron to Thimpu Chu. We then follow the river, ascending and descending through the forests and traversing a steep cliff to Dolam Kencho. We further climb up to our camp at Dolam Kanchu and stop there for the night.

We further descend to Dodena where we will be picked up by a vehicle. We drive towards Thimpu. Upon arrival, check into the hotel and stay there for the night.

Concluding our journey, you will be driven to Paro and escorted to the airport for your journey ahead.