Moderate Trekking and Cultural Touring

Bumthang is extraordinarily beautiful, even for Bhutanese. Its four high valleys are covered in forests that embrace small monasteries, chortens, traditional stone houses, and markets. Elevations on treks stay below 12,000 feet, and each day's walk is steadfastly unhurried. After a couple of days in Paro we drive to Thimphu's crafts centers and temples, and then over the splendid Dochu La & Chelila Passes to Tongsa and Jakar, the Bumthang Valley's main village. This is Bhutan's most sacred valley, hallowed 1,200 years ago by the visits of Padmasambhava (the great Buddhist master, called Guru Rinpoche or the Precious Teacher). Our four-day trek will take you through forests and farmlands, over trout streams to remote villages in which the rest of the world's last couple of centuries are dim and not particularly enticing rumors. Few treks offer such a deep look into Bhutan's delicate and charming daily life. (Our fall itinerary coincides with a centuries-old festival in a remote village where you will be welcomed as honored guests.)