Bhutan offers not only exceptional cultural interest, but also four ecosystems (subtropical, temperate, alpine and arctic). It offers amazing adventure travel opportunities! Bhutan adventure travel includes hiking, biking, whitewater rafting, and kayaking opportunities – not to mention wildlife and birding tours. Kit Parks narrates her amazing five-day trek in Bhutan and describes some amazing memories that were worth every climb. Along with her stories, she shares some helpful tips on altitude training from Alto Lab as well as using her ATA planner.

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Listen to the podcast here:

Part 2 – Adventure Travel Bhutan: Amazing Natural Beauty in the Land of the Thunder Dragon

Bhutan offers not only exceptional cultural interest, but also with its four ecosystems (sub tropical, temperate, alpine and arctic),  Bhutan offers amazing adventure travel opportunities!  Bhutan adventure travel includes hiking, biking, whitewater rafting and kayaking opportunities, not to mention wildlife and birding tours.  If you missed the Part 1 of this two part series, where I discuss Bhutanese Culture, you can check it out here.

Taktsang Tiger’s Nest

Hike to Bhutan’s Most Sacred site

Just outside of Paro, the city you fly into, is Bhutan’s most photographed and iconic landmark, the Tiger’s Nest monastery known as Taktsang.  It is perched impossibly on the side of a cliff 3000′ above the Paro valley.  Plan to stay a couple of days in Paro to acclimate before beginning your trek. This will also allow you the opportunity to hike up to the magnificent Tiger’s Nest monastery as a wonderful start to your Bhutanese adventure – amazing!!!

You can get a pretty good idea of the trek and view with this video.

Because we wanted to see the Paro Tshechu festival, we went early spring and thus missed the amazing flower display of the rhododendrons. We did get to see and smell some early bloomers such as winter daphne and double ruffled rhododenrons that were blooming at lower elevations.

FREE TRAVEL PLANNERS

Active Travel Adventures offers FREE Travel Planners for each destination we cover on the podcast. Click the box to get your FREE Bhutan Travel Planner. Plus at the beginning of each month, you’ll automatically get the Travel Planners for the podcast’s previous month’s episodes along with some cool travel tips and deals I found.

Be sure to also join the Active Travel Adventures Facebook group – it’s a great place to post your own travel adventure photos, ask questions and see what adventures the others are doing!

Here are some popular treks in Bhutan:

Community hiking on simple routes from village to village [2-4 days]:

Bumthang Culture Trek

Gangley Trek

Samtengang Trek

Nabji/Korphu Trek

Merak/Sakteng Trek

Short treks with a lot of altitude changes [3-6 days]:

Druk Trek (This is the hike I did) – March – Oct

Dagala Trek : March – Oct

Gasa/Laya Trek (Hot Spring) : Year ’round

Merak/Sakteng Trek

Endurance Treks in high mountains over a longer period of time [6-10 days]:

Jomolhari Trek : March – Oct

Rodungla Trek : March – Dec

Most Difficult [25 days]:

Lunana Snowman Trek : May-Oct

(Considered the hardest trek in the world with 12 passes between 4500-5300m and camping at altitudes between 3700-5100m).  Only for most skilled climbers as people can die on this trek.

Paddle and Cycle Bhutan

In addition to trekking, you can also kayak, whitewater raft some Class I – II or II-III+ rivers and bike!

In Bhutan, the government requires that you hire a local guide (unless you are Indian, with which Bhutan has a special relationship). Most trips can be customized although most tour companies offer pre-planned trips for your convenience, and you may have to join with others for rafting and more elaborate biking trips. The government also sets the daily tariff, which includes everything but your drinks and guide tips (and of course, also your flights and visa).

Popular Paddles in Bhutan

Most paddling can be done year ’round but you want to avoid monsoon season of June and July.

FUN FACT:  In Bhutan, rivers are ‘male’ or ‘female’.  The male rivers are fed from glacial melt and the female from hot springs.

Times listed do NOT include travel time!  Your tour company arranges for pick up.

Phochu River Rafting (male):  90 minutes of Class II-IV for experienced rafters only – no kids!  [10-14km]

Mochu River raft or kayak (female): 2 hours of Class I-II rapids suitable for kids, seniors, first timers and nature lovers

Dangme River – Hi Manas section raft or kayak:  All day gentle Class I with only a few Class II rapids.  Swimming and birding opportunities.

Overnight Dangme River – Dungsam stretch:  Several hard rapids.  One day of travel.  Camp in the lowlands of Royal Manas National Park.  Swimming and birding opportunities.

Upper Mangde River – Gushing Gateway section: 90 minutes of non-stop ClassII+ rapids.  The country’s most popular trip! Views of Royal Manas National Park.  Swimming and birding opportunities.

Lower Mangde River - Leylang Waterfall Beauty stretch: 90 minutes of constant Class III+ rapids.  Begins at the twin waterfall.  Swimming and birding and abundant wildlife viewing opportunities.

Full Day Mangde River with Pangtng community visit - Aieelaa Tshagoo section:  Constant Class III+ rapids with good recovery points. Enjoy a traditional Bhutanese meal by the waterfall.

Some of the Amazing Animals in Bhutan

Biking Bhutan

Regardless of whether you do off road biking or on road biking, be sure to use a highly reputable company with solid equipment and guides trained in repair. The roads are skinny and winding so having support vehicles for your safety is a consideration as well. No matter what you do in Bhutan, be sure to buy a good travel insurance policy, and one with evacuation coverage as the medical facilities are not as good as you would want.  The FREE Travel Planner offers more info on medical emergencies.

Bhutan Adventure Travel: Trek, Bike And Raft

“Ack,†that was me almost being trampled by some panicky, bee-stung horses near the end of my 4.5-day Druk Trek in Bhutan. It was funny then, but I think it was even funnier to Janet, who I heard laughing in the background. When I saw the horses charging, like an ostrich, I simply turned around so as not to witness my own demise. In episode 19, I covered the cultural aspects of the Kingdom of Bhutan, by far the most unusual country I’ve ever visited. In part two, I’m going to cover our actual adventure, our hike along the old Silk Road from Paro to the capital city of Thimphu, and also stunning hike up to the sacred Tiger’s Nest Monastery. We will also cover other adventure activities available in Bhutan such as whitewater rafting, kayaking and mountain biking. Welcome to the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Logistics And Bhutanese Tourist Rules

I’m glad that I thought to record the horse bells before we finished our trek that day. I think it’s funny that I had to get almost trampled on the process, but the sounds of the horse bells are one of my fondest memories of Bhutan. We were on an assisted hike but it’s the sound of the horse bells, the whipping of the prayer flags in the breeze, and the chanting of monks that are the sounds of Bhutan when I look back on it. Before we get into the actual hike, I do want to go over a couple of logistics that you need to know. Bhutan is a small country about the size of Switzerland, nestled between China and India in the Himalayan Mountains. To get there, I first flew to Bangkok. There’s a huge time difference between North Carolina where I live and Asia. I arrived several days early to adjust my body clock. This gave me a chance to explore Bangkok, a place I’d never been to. To get to the only international airport in Bhutan, your tour company can route you through Bangkok, Singapore or India.

Bhutan requires that all non-Indian visitors hire a local licensed guide for their entire visit. Your guide company is going to make your flight arrangements, arrange your visa and arrange to pick you up at the airport. They are going to transport you and be with you for the entire trip. The government sets a minimum per diem tourist fee that’s all-inclusive except for drinks and tips, your visa and flights. You pay the same whether you are camping or staying in a three-star hotel. You could pay an upcharge to stay in a more luxurious hotel as we did on our last night in Paro where we stayed in the five-star exquisite Zhiwa Ling Hotel, handcrafted in the exacting Bhutanese tradition. It’s a stunner and it’s ranked by National Geographic as one of the most unique lodges in the world. Pretty much all tours in Bhutan are custom, whether you are a party of one or two or a group of eight like ours. Your tour company can help guide you on activities based on the time of year you’re traveling and what you’d like to see or do.

Pay attention to the weather averages and be sure to review them with your tour company. Links and recommendations can be found on the free Bhutan Travel Planners that you can download off the website or you’ll get it automatically in a monthly added newsletter. Bhutan has an amazing culture so be sure to allow time to explore it. They also have some amazing wildlife. If you’re into animals or birds, Bhutan is a great place to check out particularly in central Bhutan. I went with a group of hikers, so we obviously want to hike. We timed our visit to land in Paro for the Tshechu Festival. This is one of the most popular festivals in this region. For the festival, the region turns out in its finest national dress and the masked monks dance to tell the stories of their history. The costumes are incredible. Staying a couple of days in Paro allowed us to acclimate to the altitude before our main hike. The Paro region is over 7,000 feet, which is high for a sea level gal like me. On our second day, we did the two to three-hour trek up to Taktsang, otherwise known as the Tiger’s Nest. This is one of Bhutan’s most sacred spots and of the iconic photos you’ll see. Whenever you Google Bhutan, Tiger’s Nest is going to pop for you.

The Tiger’s Nest Monastery is incredibly perched up on a cliff about 3,000 feet above the Paro valley. It’s an architectural marvel. It is said that Guru Rinpoche flew to the spot on the back of a tigress and then meditated in a cave for three years, three months, three days and three hours. He emerged in eight reincarnate forms and the site became holy. You may remember Guru Rinpoche from the last episode on the culture of Bhutan. He was the Lama who brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the eighth century. It’s a beautiful hike up the mountain to Tiger’s Nest. I was amazed at how some of the older local people were able to even do the trek. You are after all climbing up some pretty significant elevation, about a 3,000-foot elevation going for the day. About halfway up, there is a rest area with a beautiful view of Tiger’s Nest. Here, you can catch your breath, have coffee or tea or even a buffet lunch. They have a little restaurant and a little patio outside overlooking Tiger’s Nest up above.

In colder weather, you can also warm up by the woodstoves in the café. On the outside deck overlooking Tiger’s Nest, they cleverly reused soda bottles to make prayer bottles. They would cut out parts of the curve parts of the bottle to catch the wind and make them spin around. Like the prayer flags, these soda sculptures capture the well wishes for all sentient beings. The wind carries these colorful good wishes out to the world. Further up the mountain, you come to a scenic overlook. This is a great place to take a selfie with Tiger’s Nest in the background. It’s also a great place to take a quick break before the final push up a lot of stairs to the monastery. In all monasteries in Bhutan, shoes, sunglasses and hats must be removed. In this particular monastery, backpacks and bags are stored for you, but you leave the shoes and hat outside. You are going to need to wear long sleeved shirts and pants. I would also recommend wearing or bringing along a pair of socks so you’re not walking barefoot in the monastery. Locals are required to wear their national dress, which is colorful and beautiful. The men wear a billowy jacket over a skirt that covers the knees and the women wear a more fitted jacket over a long skirt. You can see photos on the Zhiwa Ling Hotel website.

Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take any photos inside of the monastery. I’ll have to try to explain what they look like on the inside. There is an altar in front of the main Buddha, but depending on the temples, there could be hundreds of Buddha figures or paintings throughout the temple. There is a meditation and ceremonial sitting area for the head monk, and sometimes mats for other meditating monks. Believers bring food and money to leave for the Buddha. The walls are usually murals of Buddha and symbols painted in the Thangka Buddhist tradition. Students learn to paint in this exacting style at technical school. Bhutanese are not bashful when it comes to color. The paintings and dress are riotously colorful. Upon entering a temple, a practicing Buddhist will prostrate themselves before making an offering in any of the monasteries. In one of the temples we visited, the wooden floors where the people would kneel in prostration were carved out by the hundreds of thousands of knee imprints over the course of centuries.

Temples are often dark, sometimes lit only by butter lamps and a window. The smell of incense hangs in the air. Sometimes, you’ll see a monk meditating on the floor while a group of tourists visit or locals come to pray. I kept wondering how on earth can they concentrate with all of these people wandering about and talking and what not. When I caught my first close up look at Tiger’s Nest on that overlook, I said that as far as I was concerned, if I went home then, my trip to Bhutan was worth it. Tiger’s Nest is truly an amazing site to behold. I hike for pretty, so I don’t mind a hard climb as long as there’s a nice reward at the end of the journey. Tiger’s Nest is by far the most magical structural reward I’ve ever received for my efforts. Hiking up the mountain to see Tiger’s Nest was a great warm up for our big hike as well. My group of eight hiked a trail called the Druk Trek. Druk means dragon and this trek is the old trade route to the mountains from the capital city of Thimphu to Paro where the airport is. You can do the trek either direction. It is a much more difficult trek if you go from Thimphu to Paro as that first day would mean a dramatic climb higher.

A lot more people will suffer altitude sickness because it is steep so quickly. The way we did it coming from Paro is much more gentle for our first day’s climb. It minimizes any chance of altitude sickness and let you get your bearings a little bit. In the beginning of our trek up to around 9.000 feet or about 3,000 meters, the winter daphne is in full bloom. This is one of the more fragrant shrubs on the planet, so its perfume was a welcome addition to the trail. Other early bloomers on the trail included double red ruffled rhododendrons and lilac primrose. I trained for this hike with an altitude trainer called Alto Lab, although most of my hiking partners didn’t do anything special to prepare for the higher altitudes.

One my hiking buddies had recommended the Alto Lab. He is a performance athlete and he uses it for training for altitude as well as for indoor activities. I live at sea level, so the best I could do to train is to look ridiculous hiking around my neighborhood with increasing the weight on my pack each week. Training for other treks, I have been known join a gym to hike on an inclined treadmill with my pack. On this trail, the Druk Trek, I am hiking the lower altitude mountains with the views of the greater Himalayan Mountains in the background. Our highest elevation was under 14,000 feet or about 4,200 meters.

When touring Bhutan, pay attention to the weather averages and be sure to review them with your tour company. Share on X

On the first day, I felt pretty good all day, but I could feel the altitude whenever we had an ascent. However, a husband and wife team in our group is not feeling well throughout the whole morning. They ended up turning around and returned to Paro at lunchtime, feeling sad to end their trek that they had been planning for a whole year. At the time, we all thought they were sick from altitude sickness, but now I’m not so sure and I’ll explain. You would not believe the production involved to get our group across this trail. We were doing a supported hike, which means that we did not have to backpack or carry our tent, equipment, or food. All we had to carry was our clothing needs for the day and water. They even provided and carried the snacks. No matter the weather, I always carry an emergency bag plus my thermal jacket and rain jacket because if you get wet, sometimes you get chilled even if you are in a warmer climate. Because of the altitude on this trek, I also carried rain pants, thermal mittens, a wool hat and waterproof gloves. In Bhutan, I used all of them often in the same day.

Five-Day Trekking Adventure In Bhutan

Since I wasn’t carrying my gear, who was? The bells. It turns out that our group of eight hikers needed a support team of fourteen horses and a team of six, not counting our wonderful guide, Chimmi. We had a lead horseman and his two assistants, plus a cook and his two assistants. I’m going to fondly and forever associate Bhutan with the clanging of the horse bells. We were all pleased at how well the horsemen took care of the horses. You hear, particularly in Nepal, how not just the horses but sometimes the guides are not well taken care of. On the first day, we arrived at camp at around 4:00 PM. Our team had beat us so our full-sized tents were already set up and ready for us. My single tent was tall enough for me to stand up in, maybe bent over a little bit but still tall enough to stand. It had a footprint that I’m going to guess about 6×8 foot, which is significantly larger than my own tent at home.

I said I was going to challenge my cootie queen issues and use the pro-offered tour company sleeping bag instead of bringing my own. I’m happy to report that the sleeping bags were new and of good quality. Not only that, but they gave me a real pad instead of my noisy and smaller blow up Thermarest one. To top it off, they overlaid the pad with a large oriental rug. It not only added some insulation from the cold but eliminated the slipping off the pad issue I often have when I can’t put my gear. Plus, I got a full-sized pillow and a real blanket. It turns out this was a supported glamping trek. Glamping, if you are unfamiliar with the term means, glamour camping. Not only did the horsemen set up our tents, they also set up a large cooking and a dining tent rigged with battery operated lights. They set up two small private zip up latrines, which were tents atop deep dug pits in the ground for our waste, and one of the tents had a portable toilet seat.

When we arrived at camp the first day, we first had tea. In Bhutan, you drink a lot of tea. I went to my tent to read and rest. About twenty minutes later, I suddenly felt nauseous. I started thinking maybe I was lightheaded, then I started feeling a little bit better. A couple of minutes later, I got to get out of this tent right now. I was violently ill multiple times and felt so sick that I crawled back to bed and eventually fell asleep without dinner. Unbeknownst to me at the time, two others in my group had the same issue at virtually the same time. That made the tally of five out of eight of us sick. Since the three new sickeys happened at almost at identical times when none of us has had an issue all day with the altitude, I believe that we got some food poisoning at the hotel buffet at breakfast or at dinner the night before. Fortunately, the sickness for the three of us passed by the morning, but we were all weak from our exertions.

I have often wanted to test myself to see what I’m made of under extreme stress or hardship. While I can’t say I was truly tested on day two hiking up that mountain feeling as weak as I was, I think it’s the closest I’ve ever come to being truly tested. All I wanted was to see the campsite and rest. Unfortunately, Janet, another hiker in our group, started feeling nauseous about an hour or so into day two’s hike. It’s bad enough to hike when you are weakened from being sick. I cannot imagine hiking that day feeling nauseous. If it were me in her shoes, I think I would be able to say that on that day, I was tested. I do not know how she managed to make it. Kudos to you, Janet. By the end of day two, six out of eight of us had been sick.

Frankly, I can’t tell you whether day two was pretty or not because all I wanted to do is to get it over with. The night before, we had hail and rain which turned into a snow fall of about an inch and a half. We also enjoyed a full moon that night. I remember going to the latrine in the middle of the night to get sick. I was not well enough to care to grab my camera to capture the absolutely gorgeous new fallen snow on our campsite all in the full moon. It was stunning. As lousy as I felt, I could still appreciate the beauty. As the sun melted the snow the next day, our path became a muddy mess, especially because all of the horses had trod on the trail ahead of us. Day two wasn’t the favorite hiking day of my life. We finished ten kilometers of day two at an altitude gain of about 1,115 meters or about 3.500 feet. Again, I want to congratulate Janet on that. I don’t know how she did it.

On day three, our tummies were unsettled but we were still no longer sick. We had slept below the Jele Dzong monastery. We climbed the hill and poked in for a peek before beginning the day’s hike. We went to a lot of monasteries and each one is unique. This one was particularly serene as it was so remote and therefore quieter and we were the only visitors. On day three, we were starting to see the Himalayan range, glimpsing it between mist and clouds. Our third day was a beautiful trek. While trekking along, we looked up and suddenly there was a herd of yaks with a few of their babies. After a little bit, the yak herders came looking for them. The weather wasn’t cooperating, so we made the executive decision to take a lower trail rather than climbing ever higher in the snow. At our elevation of about 12,000 feet or 4,000 meters, we had seen snow and hail each day. We were not going to climb higher with the accordingly higher depths of snow.

That night, our camp was overlooking a stunning lake. That’s when I found out that in addition to the tall mountains, all lakes are sacred to the Bhutanese. I’m not sure if it’s Bhutanese or all Buddhists. I apologize if I’m getting some of my interpretations of what I did learn wrong for any of the Bhutanese or Buddhist reading this. All I know is that the Bhutanese do not swim in their lakes, fish for the large trout in them or make loud noises around lakes. Once again that night it snowed, creating a picture-perfect setting along the lake and the mountains. When I say snow, we are not talking blizzards snow, we are talking cute fairyland snow where it was quite pretty. I posted a great photo of our camping the snow at ActiveTravelAdventures.com/bhutanadventure.

Gratefully, there is one other piece of equipment that came with our camping gear. Each night, the cook would boil water and fill up a hot water bag to help keep us warm. We could put those hot water bottles in our sleeping bag and keep us nice and toasty. On night three, it was pretty darn cold and I’m not sure I would have been able to sleep without that delightful bag. In fact, I’m going to add one of those to my car camping gear. They are wonderful. They still had a bit of warmth left in them in the morning. Sometimes the horsemen let the horses graze freely and other nights they were tied up. I’m not sure what determined which nights the horses got the privilege or not, I never figured that out. On night three, the horses could graze and there was one outside my tent neighing a little bit. The next thing I knew, the horse seemed to be spraying my tent violently much like I would imagine a 1,000-pound tomcat could.

Realizing that I know nothing about horses, even I could figure out after a few minutes that a massive horse could not possibly spray that much. It dawned to me that the odd noise I was hearing was the horsemen brushing the snow off my tent to prevent its collapse under the weight. That reminds me of a night that I spent in Tanzania where it was 90 some odd degrees outside and I hear a noise outside of my tent that sounded like somebody stepping on thin ice. Some people don’t sleep well at altitude. I had no problem whatsoever, which is funny because I do have sleep issues at home. Once my tent had been brushed off, I quickly fell back asleep for the remainder of the night.

Altitude sickness is not something you can predict. A physically fit athlete can have issues while a couch potato may not.Altitude sickness is not something you can predict. A physically fit athlete can have issues while a couch potato may not. Share on X

On day four, our last full day of trekking, we reached our highest altitude of 4,220 meters. At the peak, the area was full of prayer flags, as is typical for any high pass or bridge that can carry the well wishes for all sentient beings with the wind. Prayer flags are printed pieces of fabric mounted to a long string that have mantras and blessings printed on them. The image of prayer flags is something I will associate fondly with my visit to Bhutan as they are ubiquitous to this Buddhist nation. I brought one home and I have it hanging in my porch and I absolutely love how the breeze captures it. Another thing you see a lot, albeit if not on the trail except at the monastery where we spent night four, is prayer wheels. A prayer wheel is something even illiterate people can use to get the same blessings and the good karma as the literate. A mantra is spoken internally whenever you spin the prayer wheel in a clockwise direction. Sometimes it’s a single wheel. In that case, it’s usually a large and colorful. Other times, it’s a series of wheels. You can see photos these charming icons at ActiveTravelAdventures.com.

On day four, we are above tree line and periodically we get a glimpse of the magnificent massive range ahead of us. On our trek, we don’t climb any of the super high mountains. In fact, no one climbs them. It is forbidden as the tallest mountains in the Himalayan range in Bhutan are considered sacred so it cannot be defiled by climbers. Climbing those kinds of mountains is beyond my capabilities anyway, so I’m content just to see them. As it is, I feel the altitude we are at. I have now climbed over 1,500 feet higher than my previous best, Chirripo in Costa Rica from episode 15. I feel the thin air but thus far do not suffer any signs of altitude sickness to my great relief. I think maybe that Alto Lab thing has helped me after all. However, my friend Els, one of the two who did not succumb to food poisoning does feel the effects of the altitude. For the first time, she is not the leader of our pack but instead is lagging in the rear. Our guide, Chimmi, who has done this trek seven times is also feeling the effects of the altitude on this leg of the trip.

Altitude sickness is not something you can predict. A physically fit athlete can have issues while a couch potato may not. Sometimes, someone who has never had a problem may find, like our guide, that this time they do. Els hikes all the time in mountains much higher than me and for some reason and whatever the combination was, that day was not working for her. The best thing to do in altitude is to hike slowly. Go slow to allow your body to adjust. If you are able to take it, take ibuprofen to minimize any headaches and drink plenty of fluids. In the case of severe altitude sickness, you need to get down lower immediately. Usually, all altitude sickness symptoms go away as soon as you reduce your altitude, or as your body adapts. Severe altitude sickness is not something to be messed with, so don’t be a foolish hero if you should show any kind of severe signs. In Costa Rica on Chirripo, I had a minor issue with mild headache, but had no problems on this trip except I was sucking whenever we were climbing. Nothing too bad at all though.

One thing to consider if you do decide to do this trek, you need to decide whether you want to see the festival which is usually in March or April. The date of which is determined by the lunar calendar. Try to time it to hit the dwarf rhododendrons in full bloom in late spring. That is going to depend on how early spring hits the area. The mountainside above tree line is covered in these dwarf rhododendrons in pink, white and purple. I could tell it will be stunning and I’m sorry I missed it as they are budding up when we there in early April. If you time for the blooms, you would probably also miss the cold and snow if you go a little bit later than we did. I went at the change of season which is naturally going to be a little bit more predictable weather-wise. That extra month or two allows spring to stabilize a bit. You want to make sure you go before the monsoon season starts in mid-June through mid-September. October would be another good month to go. Take advantage of your tour companies now. You should choose a suitable time to visit.

Our last night in the mountains, we stayed on the grounds of a monastery. I had gotten so hooked on a memoir of an American woman who moved to Bhutan to teach English called Beyond the Sky and the Earth by Jamie Zeppa. I was resting in my tent reading when some of the others went to explore and got to see the monks playing football, soccer to me. That had to be a sight. One of our group was invited by a monk to watch them do the evening prayers. Lucky you, Dean. I’m sorry I missed that but I would recommend that book if you are interested in Bhutan. I found that it helped my Western mind wrap my head around the whole Bhutanese culture a bit. On our fifth and final trekking day, we headed on a steep downhill down to the capital city of Thimphu. Going down that steep hill, I was glad we were going downhill on our last day rather than trekking uphill. Remember, go Paro to Thimphu, not vice-versa. We saw a couple doing the opposite direction and I’m sure they were suffering for it. This will also save you a little bit of travel time because you are actually landing in Paro, which is the start of the trek.

Even though we rarely saw other trekkers on the trail, we often saw their horse entourage. Whenever the much faster horses were coming, we were supposed to get on the mountain side as opposed to the cliff side. In case the horse knocked us down, it wouldn’t accidentally push us off the mountain. Because I associate the horse bells with this trek in my trip, as we neared the end of the trail, I thought it would be cool to record the horses as they passed us. Like I said, whenever we heard the horses, we hug the mountain side and I did. There was this small path behind me that looked like occasionally a horse or wildlife might parallel the main trail, but I wasn’t worried about it. What I didn’t know is that the horses had disturbed a bee or hornet’s nest, so they were all agitated and scared. When I hit the record button, little did I know that I was about to record what could have been my final trampling. Happily, none of us got hurt and we did get a good laugh at me almost recording our crushing. An hour later, we were safely off the mountain and we were greeted by those who got off the mountain early due to sickness.

Our welcome included a tablecloth covered table that we were going to have tea and cake. The rain soon started to fall so we quickly headed to van with our driver, Tashi, who we could always count on to get us safe and sound to the windy roads. We faced illness and almost all kinds of weather Mother Nature could throw at us, yet we were still glad that we made the trek. It’s hard to decide whether to choose to see the rhododendron blooms which would be absolutely stunning or the festival which is one of the coolest and unusual things I have ever seen. You are going to have to pick one depending on what your priorities are. You can also do what I planned on doing which is to do it again and hit the other one that I did not do the first time around. The weather was not the greatest on our trip, but it wasn’t a hindrance and the snow was pretty. It was only one or two inches so it made everything look fresh and pristine. It wasn’t overly cold. It was just there.

The Druk Trail itself, while challenging, is not overly difficult. If it weren’t for the altitude, I would call this trek a three, or four at times, out of five. Because of the altitude, I’m going to give it a four and for some people that might even well be a five. It’s going to make about all of us suck wind. The Druk Trek is not the only long-distance path. There are eight other trails that you can choose from. Some are challenging, including the most difficult trek in the whole world, the Snowman’s Trek which is way far out in my league. It’s quite a dangerous trek that I would not recommend for anybody that I know. For less strenuous hiking, you can also do a cultural trail and hike from village to village. Dochula Pass, one of the scenic overlooks on our way to a village called Punakha, we ran into some trekkers who did a different trek, the Jhomolhari Trek. This trail is the beginning part which is safer but still an endurance trek part of the aforementioned Snowman’s Trek. For experienced long-distance trekkers, this might be an option for you.

Other Bhutanese Trek Paths And Activities

In addition to hiking, you can add some whitewater rafting and/or kayaking to your visit. If you are staying in the Paro/Thimphu region, you can choose the Mochu River with its gentle Class I with an occasional Class II rapids. This river is suitable for kids, seniors, first timers, and bird watchers who want to look out for the rare white bellied heron. You can choose the more popular and more rigorous and exciting Pho Cchu river run, with Class II to IV rapids. On both of these, you are going to raft to where the two rivers meet at the seventeenth century Punakha Dzong, the Palace of Happiness. This is a fort cum monastery that also is the King’s winter office. If you want to see even more wildlife and jungles and even spend the night in a jungle camp, head to central Bhutan. There are many paddle options on the Mangde and Dangde rivers with a variety of calm or exhilarating runs. You can see a list and description at ActiveTravelAdventures.com/bhutanadventure.

On the upper Mangde river, you’ll get breathtaking views of the Royal Manas National Park on the right with a chance to see rare Bengal tiger, the cool looking golden langur, a gold colored primate with shockingly fanned out facial hair that looks like it stuck its finger in a socket, rhinoceroses, water buffalo, hundreds of species of birds such as the popular hornbill, plus elephants. If that’s not enough, on the left, you pass a typical Khengpa village settlement. If you can, go for the all-day paddle which runs the lower Mangde through the jungle. If that’s not cool enough, it’s a rollicking river of exhilarating Class III plus rapids that’s going to keep your blood pumping all day. A good family trip with kids would be the half day Dangde River that is pretty calm with only a couple of Class II rapids. On this river, however, you can opt for a three-day trip with an overnight stay in a jungle camp. My sister, Terry, and I did a jungle stay in Costa Rica and it was a highlight of our trip. On the Dangde River too, you are going to see the Royal Manas National Park with its beautiful flora and amazing animals.

Besides hiking, there are other thrilling activities you do in Bhutan like whitewater rafting and kayaking. Share on X

On all paddle trips, indeed all Bhutan trips, you’ll want to avoid monsoon season which comes in the summer. Otherwise, most rivers can be run year-round, although you are going to get cold in the winter on the river near the Palace of Happiness. Like most places, it seems spring and fall is the best time to visit. Sometimes, it is time consuming to get to the rivers so a trip listed as all day may mean it takes a day to get back and forth for an hour and a half run. However, you do get to see the beautiful countryside, so it’s not bad, but it’s something you need to be aware of when you plan your trip. If trekking and paddling aren’t enough, with all of the hills and mountains in Bhutan, not to mention the extraordinary cultural opportunities, you can also cycle Bhutan. Whether you prefer road cycling to cities and villages or off-road mountain biking, your tour operator has got you covered.

Most trips have you cycling about 40 to 50 miles per day and it includes some cultural stops. Depending on the trip that you take, you can climb and descend 1,000 feet per day and others are maybe 3,000 feet per day. On either, you want a good level of fitness, but make sure you are frank with your tour company about your capabilities. They can provide you with a bike or you can bring your own. For a small country, because of the rugged terrain, it can take a long time to get around. You may want to choose to concentrate on one area of the country. For example, on this trip, I did the Paro-Thimphu region. Next time I go, I’m going to go to the central area so I can visit and paddle around Royal Manas National Park. I want to go see the animals and the birds as well as the jungle.

Active Travel Adventure’s Travel Planners And Affiliates

The Bhutanese government sets a minimum daily tariff. Sometimes the adventure tour companies are going to be higher than the set per diem, but your tour operator is going to review this with you. You cannot book a flight or get your visa until you book your visit with a certified Bhutanese tour guide. My recommendations can be found on the free travel planner for Bhutan. The travel planner lists not only my recommendations, but links to weather, state department recommendations for travel and safety in a particular country, budget, who the trip is suitable for. It also includes any particular cultural notes, such as for Bhutan, appropriate dress, a currency converter link, language and communication difficulty rankings, plus a translator link when available, and a recommended itinerary and plus much more.

Active Travel Adventure does not accept any advertising so that it can give you unbiased recommendations. I do, however, seek out companies that I know and trust for my recommendations. With some of them, I have arranged a partnership where at no additional cost to you, if you use my links in the website or in the Travel Planners, I might get a small commission. These commissions help defray my costs of keeping the podcast and the website going. I would like to ask you if you are going to book or buy something I recommend anyway. Please show me a little love and use my links on my pages. It does help and I’m grateful. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to listen to part one of my Bhutanese coverage. It is episode 19. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the amazing and mysterious Bhutan and we will plan to visit before the rest of the world discovers it. You’ll find the people friendly, the landscape and wildlife are incredible, and the culture beyond anything you’ve ever seen.

Be sure to share this episode with a friend. It’s the best way for others to find out about the Active Travel Adventures podcast. I’d be grateful. One other thing, I want to do some interviews before and after of people that I have never gone on an adventure trip. I see from the survey that many of you have never traveled and you’re still thinking about dipping your fingers into it. If you are one of those people, please reach out to me at Kit@ActiveTravelAdventures.com or hit the contact us button on the website. I’d love to talk to you and interview you for a future episode because I would like to see the before, the things that you are worried about and go a little bit about that and then interview you when you get back from your trip. Let’s take a look and see what that’s like. I think that would be cool. If you fit bill, please reach out to me and let’s get that started.

In the meantime, in our next episode, we are heading to Europe to northeast Italy to visit the magnificent Dolomites. It’s considered by many to be the most beautiful mountain range in the world. Our internationally well-traveled guest describes her adventures there as the perfect trip. She says it was a perfect mix of action, culture and food and I can’t wait to share it with you. I’ll be back with Annie’s Dolomite adventure. Until next time, adventure on.

Important Links:

• episode 19 – previous episode
• Zhiwa Ling Hotel
• ActiveTravelAdventures.com
• Alto Lab
• ActiveTravelAdventures.com/bhutanadventure
• episode 15 – previous episode
• Beyond the Sky and the Earth
• Travel Planners
• ActiveTravelAdventures.com/19
• Kit@ActiveTravelAdventures.com

• Here’s How »

• activetraveladventures.com
• Active Travel Adventures Facebook Page
• Active Travel Adventures Facebook Group
• Active Travel Adventures Twitter
• Active Travel Adventures Instagram
• Active Travel Adventures YouTube
• Kit Parks LinkedIn