Druk Path Trek

Short but unforgiving climb out of the Paro valley, gaining nearly 1,200 m on the first day. The trail starts beside Ta Dzong (the National Museum, around 2,300 m) and zigzags up through blue pine and rhododendron, with breaks at small chortens dressed in prayer flags. Camp is set up in meadows just below Jele Dzong — an isolated 15th-century hilltop fortress, mostly ruined now but holding an intact lhakhang. On clear afternoons the first views of Mount Jomolhari (7,326 m) open up to the north, a hint of what's to come.

Stay:

Tented camp

Meals:

L/D

Distance:

7 km

Altitude:

3480 m

Higher into yak pasture country, traversing along an open ridgeline with the high Himalayan range on the horizon to your right. Most of the day is above the treeline now — alpine meadow scattered with yak herder summer camps, where you may be invited in for butter tea (worth saying yes). On clear mornings the full Bhutan Himalaya skyline appears: Jomolhari, Jichu Drake, Tserim Kang. Watch for Himalayan monals — Bhutan's national bird, with metallic blue-green plumage — and blood pheasants in the rhododendron edges.

Stay:

Tented camp

Meals:

B/L/D

Distance:

10 km

Altitude:

3770 m

Cross a 4,150 m ridge in the morning — the highest point of the day — then descend gradually past two small alpine lakes to camp on the eastern shore of Jimilang Tsho. The lake is famous for its giant trout, said by local lore to grow over a metre and a half long (the truth is closer to 60 cm, but still impressive). Afternoon free for lakeside walks or photography; on still evenings, reflections of the surrounding peaks on the water are extraordinary. Bring a head torch — the night sky here is one of the cleanest you will see anywhere.

Stay:

Tented camp

Meals:

B/L/D

Distance:

11 km

Altitude:

3870 m

Pass two more sacred lakes today — Janetsho and Simkotra Tsho — both believed by locals to host lake spirits, with strict no-fishing tradition observed by the herders. The trail wanders through high meadow, granite outcrops, and patches of wind-stunted rhododendron, with frequent yak herder camps along the way. You will likely share trail with herders moving stock between summer and winter pastures, leading to inevitable hot-tea stops (your guide translates). Camp at Simkotra Tsho, with the trek's highpoint coming tomorrow.

Stay:

Tented camp

Meals:

B/L/D

Distance:

11 km

Altitude:

4110 m

The trek's high point. A steady morning climb to Phume La pass at 4,210 m, where on a clear day Jomolhari and Gangkar Puensum (Bhutan's highest peak at 7,570 m, and the world's highest unclimbed mountain) lay across the northern horizon. From the pass, a long descent through yak meadow into the Phajoding Monastery complex — a cluster of more than ten temples and meditation retreats clinging to the steep slope above Thimphu. We camp on the meadow just above the main monastery; in the evening, you may hear monks chanting from the lhakhang as the lights of the capital appear in the valley below.

Stay:

Tented camp at Phajoding

Meals:

B/L/D

Distance:

10 km

Altitude:

4210 m

Three- to four-hour descent through blue pine forest, dropping 1,800 m into the capital. The trail joins a forest road about halfway down — you can transfer to vehicles for the last stretch, though most groups prefer to walk all the way for the satisfaction of arriving on foot. Hot showers, real beds, and a celebratory dinner at one of Thimphu's restaurants of the group's choosing. The contrast of returning to electricity, traffic, and crowds after six days on the high pasture is part of what makes this trek memorable.

Stay:

Hotel in Thimphu

Meals:

B/L

Distance:

4 km

Altitude:

2400 m