Trekking

Bhutan’s trekking is not about summits. The mountains here are closed to climbing by law, out of respect for the deities said to inhabit them. What you walk through instead is the country between the valleys: yak pasture, rhododendron forest, passes with prayer flags and long views.

What supported trekking means

You carry a daypack. A cook, camp crew and pack animals move ahead and set up. Tents are pitched, meals are cooked properly, and there is hot water in the evening. It is closer to a moving camp than to backpacking.

The honest requirement

Five to seven hours of walking on consecutive days at between three and four thousand metres. No ropes, no glacier, no technical skill. But altitude does not care how fit you are at sea level, which is why every trek we build begins with acclimatisation days in the valleys.

Afterwards

A hot stone bath. River stones heated in a fire until they crack, dropped into a wooden tub with artemisia. It is the traditional answer to a week of walking and it is better than anything a spa will offer you.