Mystic Bhutan: the Druk Path Trek

The Druk Path is the classic western crossing: five trekking days from Paro to Thimphu along the ridges above both valleys, camping beside high lakes at 3,880 and 4,110 metres. It is not technical,…

Length: 10 days, 9 nights
From: ₹3,92,000 per person
Pace: Active
Stops: 7
Best months: April to May, October to November

The route

7 stops over 10 days

Paro
Jele Dzong
Jangchulakha
Jimilang Tsho
Simkotra Tsho
Phajoding
Thimphu

Four nights camping between 3,480 and 4,110 metres
Trout-dark Jimilang Tsho, glass-still by six in the evening
Phume La at 4,210 metres, Gangkhar Puensum to the north-east
Taktsang climbed first, as acclimatisation done properly
A hot-stone bath in Thimphu for ruined legs

Day by day

What actually happens

Length: 10 days
Stops: 7
Pace: Active
From: ₹3,92,000

1L D

Paro

Arrive Paro, kit check

Land at Paro and let the altitude do its work: 2,235 metres feels like nothing until you climb a staircase. Your trek leader joins you at the hotel to look over boots, layers and a down jacket for camp, since nights above 3,800 metres drop below freezing even in May. Afternoon by the Pa Chhu, then an early dinner of red rice and kewa datshi.

Night: Tenzinling Resort, Paro
2B L D

Paro

Zuri Dzong ridge and the museum

An acclimatisation day spent walking rather than sitting. The National Museum occupies Ta Dzong, the round watchtower above Rinpung Dzong, and from there a steady hour climbs to Zuri Dzong, built in 1352 and the oldest in the valley. The ridge gives you the whole Paro valley and, if the cloud lifts, Jomolhari. Drukgyel’s rebuilt ramparts at the head of the road before dark.

Night: Tenzinling Resort, Paro
3B L D

Paro

Taktsang as a rehearsal

Taktsang today, and a good rehearsal for what follows: 900 metres of gain to 3,120, done slowly with a stop for tea at the cafeteria. Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived here on a flying tigress; the buildings gripping the granite date largely from 1692 and were restored after the fire of 1998. Down by mid-afternoon, then a hot-stone bath in a Paro farmhouse.

Night: Tenzinling Resort, Paro
4B L D

Jele Dzong

Trek day one: Paro to Jele Dzong

The trek begins behind Ta Dzong. Seven kilometres and a thousand metres of climbing take four to five hours, first through blue pine and then across open pasture; camp sits below the ruined walls of Jele Dzong at 3,480 metres. Yaks graze the slope with their bells clanking. Below you the Paro valley fills with cloud and, after dark, with scattered lights.

Night: Jele Dzong tented camp
5B L D

Jangchulakha

Ridge walking to Jangchulakha

A ridge day: ten kilometres, four to five hours, mostly above 3,700 metres, through rhododendron and dwarf juniper. Yak herders’ camps appear on the slopes, with black tents, dogs and churns of butter. Watch for Himalayan monal, the male’s plumage like spilled petrol, exploding downhill when startled. Camp at Jangchulakha, 3,770 metres, with Jomolhari on the skyline if the afternoon stays clear.

Night: Jangchulakha tented camp
6B L D

Jimilang Tsho

Down to the lake of trout

Eleven kilometres and about four hours, climbing to a shoulder near 4,000 metres before dropping to Jimilang Tsho, the Sand Ox Lake, known for trout said to grow large and never be taken. Camp on the shore. Blood pheasants scratch about the edge of the dwarf bamboo, and the water goes completely still around six, holding the ridge upside down.

Night: Jimilang Tsho lakeside camp
7B L D

Simkotra Tsho

The high camp at 4,110 metres

The high day. Eleven kilometres past Janetsho, over rocky moraine and dwarf rhododendron, to camp beside Simkotra Tsho at 4,110 metres. Ruined stone shelters and long lines of prayer flags mark the crossings. It gets properly cold once the sun drops behind the ridge, so: thermos, down jacket, soup and chilli-cheese in the dining tent. The stars at this height are absurd.

Night: Simkotra Tsho tented camp
8B L D

Thimphu

Phume La, Phajoding, into Thimphu

Out of camp early. The trail crosses Phume La at 4,210 metres, with Gangkhar Puensum far to the north-east and still unclimbed, then descends past the monasteries at Phajoding and through 1,700 metres of blue pine into Thimphu. Fourteen kilometres, five to six hours, hard on the knees. A hotel room, a long shower and a cold beer in the capital feel earned.

Night: Le Meridien Thimphu
9B L D

Thimphu

A soft day in the capital

Tashichho Dzong opens to visitors after five, when the civil servants go home and the light turns the whitewash apricot; before that, the Memorial Chorten, the market by the Wang Chhu, and an archery match at Changlimithang if one is on. Book a hot-stone bath for the legs: river stones heated in a fire, artemisia in the water, an hour of doing nothing.

Night: Le Meridien Thimphu
10B

Thimphu to Paro

Chuzom confluence, departure

The last morning. Down the Wang Chhu to Chuzom, where three stupas in Bhutanese, Tibetan and Nepali style guard the meeting of the rivers, and on to Paro in a little over an hour. Departure formalities are unfussy and the terminal is small. Take-off is steep, and the mountains stay on your right for the first ten minutes.

Night: Departure day, no overnight