As an extension of the beautiful Laya Gasa Trek, the Snowman trek will lead you further into higher altitudes of the Himalaya. And you will spend 26 days in total completing this trek, which starts from Drugyl Dzong in Paro, and traverses along Tibet border and ends at Nika chhuzam in Trongsa. Undoubtedly the most difficult trek in Bhutan, the Snowman trek is a great challenge for even experienced trekkers and adventurous explorers, considering its high altitude, long duration and distance. However, the trek will be a treasured gift of lifetime experience. Apart from the challenges and wonders of the Himalaya, coming across the remotest and highest Mountain settlement, LUNANA is another experience.
Trip Facts
INSURANCE
Package does not include insurance of any kinds, and that you are required to obtain separate coverage from your home country before your trip begins.
Upon arrival in Paro, you will be greeted by our representatives and then transferred to your hotel. After lunch, drive to a higher point above Paro valley for a wonderful view and then to visit the Ta Dzong or watch tower, now the National Museum of Bhutan. You can enjoy the sight of remarkable Rimpung Dzong below, a 17th century structure overlooking the valley in full command. This building is an ancient fortress and is the center for civil administration and religious government in the Paro valley. Walk down to visit the massive Dzong yourself. From the Dzong, you can walk down to the road head crossing a traditional wooden bridge. From here, you will be taken to Kichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest and the most sacred shrine in the country. In the evening, you can stroll in Paro town. Overnight hotel in Paro.
After breakfast, hike to Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest) Monastery, Bhutan’s most famous monastery, which stands at 3180m gives you acclimatization for the next day’s trek. According to the legend, it is believed that Guru Rimpoche, the 8th century Spiritual Master, flew to this location on the back of a tigress to meditate. Explore the Monastery and hike back to Paro. On the way, visit Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan.
The trek starts from Drugyal Dzong at 2300m with a downhill walk on a wide trail. The trail climbs gently traversing through well-maintained rice terraces and fields of millet. The route later enters an area of apple orchards and forests. Soon the valley widens and you reach Gunitsawa village where you pass the army post. The campsite is on the opposite side of the river, not far from Gunitsawa. Camp at an altitude of 2850m.
This is a hard day as the altitude gain is above the limit. You will come across the first bridge enroute from Tibet to Bhutan that was used by the travellers once upon a time. The trail climbs steadily through beautiful thick forest consisting mainly of, Oak, Rhododendron, Bamboo, Fern, Birch, Fir, Larch, Maple and Blue Pine. The route has lots of small rises and drops with a vision of amazing snow-capped Jhomolhari on the north. The hard day of walking comes to an end at Soi Thangthanka camp, which is in a big meadow.
The view of Jhomolhari fades away as you leave the camp and into the forest on the way towards the Army camp. Late in spring, Blue Poppy (Bhutan’s national flower) has been spotted. The Military camp has Bhutanese and Indian army personnel guarding another pass to Tibet. The trail takes you through some remote villages and you might be invited into one of the houses for a cup of famous butter tea. After crossing the settlements, the summits of spiky peak JitchuDrakey, Tshering Kang and Jhomolhari appear to get closer. Cross a bridge and suddenly the irresistible snow-and-ice- covered east face of Jhomolhari appears, with its massive 3200m- high wall of granite, marble, and quartzite. You have reached Jhomolhari camp at 4200 m.
Rest day at Jhomolhari camp will help with acclimatisation as most people will feel the effects of ascending 1800m in three days. There are some good day hikes from the camp, and it is important to hike so that you will acclimatize. Follow the standard trek rule: trek high, sleep low.
It is a long climb to reach the first high and very windy pass of this trek, Nyile La pass (4830m). From the pass, you can get the views of overpowering mountains covered with snow, Jomolhari (7314m), JichuDakey (6989m) and Tshrim Gang (6789m). The route descends from the pass leading to a viewing point from which Lingshi Dzong can be seen in its full glory; a powerful, solitary structure in the middle of an enormous wilderness. Further descend, you camp at Tshazhethang. You can relax in the camp or walk around.
Perched on a hilltop with breathtaking views of green hills, meandering rivers and magnificent peaks is the Lingshi Dzong. For centuries, Lingzhi Dzong was a way station for Buddhist pilgrims. It was also a defence fort against Tibetan and Mongol invaders. Climb up to the hill and visit the Dzong. Today is an easy day filled with pleasant walks through villages and yak herders’ camp. After lunch, a short walk will take you to Chebisa, a charming little village adorned with a beautiful crystal clear waterfall. You will camp by the side of a stream at an altitude of 3850m.
You will begin your trek with a steep climb up a ridge to Gogu La pass (4500m) which will take nearly four hours. It is common to spot rare blue sheep on the rocks near the top of this pass. After the pass you will make a descent in your route where you will pass through rhododendron bushes to a lunch stop. In the afternoon you will continue to walk along the trail with scattered ascents and descents. After crossing the stream, walking through rhododendron forests and yak herders camp, we arrive at Shakepasa at 3980m. After this point, you will be climbing steeply up to the northern side of the valley and passing by a few yak herder’s camp. We will then arrive at our camp located beside a stream at an altitude 4250m.
Our route takes us directly upwards this morning, traversing grassy slopes and windswept hills to the Jare La. Blue sheep and lammergeiers can often be seen here. Once at the gap, marked by flags and several cairns we can look expansively across to the adjacent valley and our next pass, the Sinche La. The trail winds down through rhododendron, spruce, cypress and birch towards a broad valley floor where yaks may be seen grazing. This may well be our first encounter with the people of Laya who differentiate themselves by wearing the distinctive woven conical hats with a spike in the top and colourful beads draped around the back. Their 'mobile accommodation' as with all high altitudeherders in this part of the world, is in heavy woven tents, usually made from yak wool. We trek several hundred metres in height up the opposite side of the valley to our camp in a hollow at Robluthang.
It is a long climb unto Shingela pass (5010m). The view of the mountains from the pass is stunning. As you descend, you will see an impressive terminal moraine and a glacial lake at the foot of the valley. Below the moraine, you cross the Kango Chhu and soon reach the Lingmithang campsite. The peak of Gangchhenta towers over the campsite even though it’s quite a distance away.
In the morning you wake up with a superb view of Gangchhenta peak in front of you. The walk to Laya is very pleasant with not much to ascend and descend. You will pass through a damp forest, crosses a river coming from Tiger Mountain and then finally arrives at Laya village, the second highest settlement in the country, at altitude of 3850m. In the west of the village, you will have
Some time to relax is most welcome after the exertions of the past few days. Explore Laya village and go visit any of the houses around. Hospitality is a big part of Bhutanese tradition. Even to a perfect stranger, traditional Bhutanese hospitality is extended and a cup of tea and Chang (local, wine) is always offered. You will notice that the people in this valley are very interesting especially their attire. Women in particular have very conspicuous attire, wearing conical bamboo hats decorated with turquoise and silver ornaments.
The trek leads down to the Lunana trail junction and then climbs to hilltop with good views over the Mo Chhu and the Rhodo Chhu. The trail follows Rhodo Chhu valley, first through mixed conifers and then through rhododendron, above the tree line. From top of large rockslide, there is a view of the glacial valley and a massive glacier on Tsenda Gang (7100m). Our camp is at Rodophu at 4160m just beyond a wooden bridge across the Rhodo Chhu river.
We gradually ascend the slopes of dwarf rhododendrons, and once this is achieved, trek on through another small valley of alpine pastures to a small pass, Tsemo La (4905m). We descend and traverse around some slopes to be rewarded with a line of snowy peaks, with GanglaKarchung (6395m) the highest. Our camp at Narethang is on grassy slopes, surrounded by glaciers, moraines and a few small alpine lakes. The Glacier at the base of GanglaKarchung is some meters away from the camp and through out the night we can hear some glacier piece and rocks falling.
Today you will be climbing Ganglakarchung Pass at an altitude of 5120m. From the pass, the views of Kangbum (6530m), Tsenda Gang (7100m), Teri Gang (7300m) and Jejegangphu Gang (7120m) are superb. You will descend through massive moraines to the edge of straight cliff with views of glacial hanging from Teri Gang that forms two turquoise-colored lakes at the base. The lake towards the left outburst in 1961 and caused flood downstream in Punakha destroying the Mochu Bridge. Descend through a steep path to the U-shaped valley following the Tangchu stream towards right to arrive at your camp at 4350m.
Your trail passes through the junipers woods following Tangchu River on the left with amazing sight of waterfalls. After a gentle climb out of the valley, you will be making a steep ascent to Woche Village, the first settlement in Lunana region at an altitude of 4350m. The Woche village marks the beginning of the Lunana region and above the village, you will see tomorrow’s route to Ledhi.
Start climbing up the Woche valley and cross a small stream to go over a moraine. You will then descend to a wooden bridge across Woche Chu River and climb up past a clear glacial lake to reach Keche La pass (4650m) with magnificent views of nearby mountains including three-prong peaks of Jejegangphu Gang mountain. The trail descends through Thaga village at 4050m and further down to the valley floor of Phochu river.) Walkalong the Phochu River for a while then after a short climb you will arrive Lhedi village consisting of a school, Basic Health Unit and a wireless station.
The trek is slightly easy today, following the north bank of Phochu River passing through several small farms and then reachingChuzo Village (4090m).Visit Chezo Dzong. Keep walking further on the trail along the riverbed until you reach Thanza village at 4250m.
You have two optional activities for today. You can either visit the Thanza village or explore nearby glacial lakes. Thanza Village is virtually untouched, medieval-like society. Most people wear clothes they make by hand, weaving and dyeing their own material. They fashion their own unique hats, boots and and jewelry. Their homes are built from stone walls, hand-hewn wood shingles and clay mortar. They survive on grains battered with yak meat and cheese from the lower valleys. Optionally, you can hike through small moraine rocks to clusters of Raphstreng Tsho and Thorthormi Tsho. These lakes are the source of Phochu River of Punakha, which caused a flood in 1994 due to moraine outburst. The view of 7100m Table Mountain (locally known as Zongphu Gang) is superb as it forms 3000m high wall of ice and snow behind Thanza Village.
You will climb to a large boulders hill towards south of Thanza and after few hours of easy walk, we reach Danji (4500m), which is a summer grazing ground for the yaks. At Danji, you may also see herds of blue sheep grazing on the meadows. From Danji, we climb few hundred meters up to the top of the ridge, which offers excellent views of surrounding mountains. Walking for another 20 minutes, will reach at the junction of trails leading to Gangkar Phunsum and Tshochena. We take the trail to the right that leads to Jaze La pass. The Jazela pass, which is at 5200m, offers majestic views of surrounding mountains in all directions. From the pass, the trail descends through snow-capped peaks and lakes to Tshochena 5000m
We follow the shore of a blue-green lake and then climb to a ridge at 5150m, which offers panoramic views of snowy peaks in 360-degree. From here, the road and the microwave tower at Dochu La can also be viewed in far distance. The trail goes up and down over a small, rounded hill. We then pass a glacial lake and reach Loju La pass (5170m), which is a yak pasture with many crisscrossing yak trails. We take a trail that crosses a small saddle-like hill at 5120m to a wide glacial valley. We descend further down to Jichudramo camp (5050m) – this is the highest campsite on our entire trek.
We will climb through a moraine path to the picturesque Rinchen Zoe pass (5350m), which divides Phochu and Mangdechu basins. The Gangkar Puensum (7520m), the highest mountain in Bhutan can be seen from this pass. Further, the demarcation between the forests and the barren high-altitude areas are remarkably seen from here. Descending through a broad marshy valley with strings of lakes, steep face of moraine and yak pastures, we reach Tampe Chu, which is amidst rhododendron and Juniper forests. We camp at Thongsa Thang (4400m) some distance away from Chukarpo.
We descend following the right bank of a river to a Galapang yak pasture at
4025m. We will then climb steeply through forests of junipers and silver firs until we reach Tampetsho. The trail to Tampetsho follows a stream to a beautiful clear, turquoise-colored lake, which is set like in a bowl surrounded by steep ridges. We will camp at end of the lake at 4320m.
Today, we will climb steeply to the Tampela Pass (4600m). The sight of blue sheep on the mountain slopes above trail is common here. We then descend to the Omtsho Lake. The legend has it that, in 15the century, the famous saint Terton Pema Lingpa miraculously discovered a treasure from this lake. The trail goes toward the shore of the lake and reaches its outlet marked by the prayer flags and then descends steeply pass a waterfall to a small lake. The trail finally meets the left bank of Nika Chu River. After some time, we reach to a large open area close to the confluence a major tributary flowing from east. We will then cross a wooden bridge and walk along mixed forests to reach Maraothang (3620m), which is a wide-open area with yak herder’s camp and your last night camp.
Day 26: Maraothang - Nika Chhu Zam
The last day of the trek goes gradually downhill through mixed deciduous and bamboo forests. We further descend through forests and pastures connecting to large grassy area overlooking the motor road and Sephu Village (2650m). Your car will be waiting here to transfer you to Wangdue. Overnight hotel in Punakha.
Day 27: Punakha – Thimphu
Today you will drive to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. En route visit Punakha Dzong, which is stunningly situated in between the male and female rivers like an anchored ship. Then drive to Thimphu via Dochula pass. Check into hotel on arrival. After settling in, drive to Kuenselphodrang where the 169ft giant Buddha statue sits. It is supposedly the largest bronze statue in the world. You can spend some time exploring and clicking pictures. Evening is at your leisure. You may explore Thimphu town on your own. Overnight hotel Thimphu
Day 28: Thimphu to Paro (depart)
After breakfast, you will drive to the airport. Our representative will bid you farewell.
