|
Itinerary:
| |
| |
Day 01 Arrive Paro (By Druk Air) –
Start Monday or Thursday.
The flight into Paro on Druk Air, is a befitting introduction
to the spectacular beauty of the Kingdom in the Himalayas.
In clear weather, magnificent views of the world’s
highest peaks give way to the lush green Paro Valley
as you land. Your Bhutanese escort will greet you on
arrival, then drive you the short distance to the hotel.
Overnight at Kychu Resort. In the evening, we assemble
our bikes in preparation for the start of our journey.
As time permits we can start with a short warm up ride
within the Paro valley. Altitude of Paro: 2250 m.
Day 02 Paro - Thimphu
After breakfast set out on our first day’s biking,
to Thimphu from the hotel or Drukgyel Dzong (upper part
of Paro Valley). Today’s ride is 75 kms. With
the first 35 kms to launch being fairly easy to get
everyone into the swing of things, a mixture of rice
fields and forests of conifer. After passing the confluence
of Thimphu and Paro rivers, the valley turns into a
narrow gorge before widening out at Namseling, and soon
the quaint suburbs of Thimphu begin to appear. Thimphu
is the capital of Bhutan and is the only large settlement
in Bhutan. Thimphu has a special charm and it is fascinating
to sit and watch a gathering of local people in the
town square, wearing their traditional dress, and going
about their business in a typically unhurried Bhutanese
way.
Overnight at Hotel Druk.
Altitude of Thimphu: 2250 m.
Day 03 Thimphu
Today we spend our day sightseeing or biking to Dodina,
upper valley of Thimphu. Overnight at Hotel Druk.
Day 04 Thimphu - Punakha
We breakfast in anticipation of the bike ride that lies
ahead of us. After the previous day’s warm up,
we tackle the 23 kms and 800 metre climb to the first
pass, the Dochula at 3050 m. We leave the forest plantations
around Thimphu and enter temperate forests, with abundance
of rhododendron and magnolia. Lunch is served on the
pass, which is festooned by many prayer flags and a
large chorten. This pass often offers a magnificent
panorama of the Eastern Himalayas. We descend along
a series of switchback bends to the fertile valley Punakha
at 1350 metres, over a distance of 42 kms. The road
passes through leafy temperate forests and then through
a semitropical zone, eventually arriving at Punakha,
Bhutan’s old winter capital; spend some time looking
around its magnificent Dzong built in 1637. Punakha
Dzong is still the winter home for over 1000 monks.
We further bike to Wangdiphodrang at our hotel Dragon
Nest. Altitude of Wangdi: 1350 m.
Day 05 Wangdi – Gangtey
“The Central Road”, across the Black Mountain
was completed 17 years ago, and it brought about great
changes to the people in central Bhutan. It is now possible
to drive the 129 kms from Wangdi to Tongsa in 6 hours
(2 days biking), although the road is quite often blocked
by landslides during the monsoon months from May to
September. The road is flat for the first 10 kms from
Wangdi and then begins its gentle climb over the Black
Mountain, just beyond the valley of Tikke and a bridge
across the river. This is the first big climb of the
trip, almost 1500 m over the 40 kms from the bridge
to the junction of a side road to Gangtey, a few kms
beyond Nobding. For those with energy to spare, a further
500 m of ascent up this rough jeep road leads to a small
pass overlooking the beautiful valley of Phobjikha,
which is one of the few homes of the Black necked Cranes,
which migrates here from the central Asiatic (Tibetan)
plateau in November. A short 300 m or 16km descent leads
into this valley and to the small village of Gangtey,
whose houses are clustered around the monastery. Altitude
of Gangtey: 3000 m.
Day 06 Gangtey
Within the magical Valley of Phobjikha we have a day’s
biking the jeep and off road trails that have only felt
the knobby tyres of a mountain bike a few times in it’s
long history. River crossings, forest trails and rolling
open landscapes make this a rare & special day of
the two week itinerary.
Day 07 Gangtey – Tongsa
We load the bikes into the support vehicle for the short
climb back to the pass, or as group abilities determine
it can also be cycled before we tacled the superb “off
road” descent to the main road. Heading eastwards
once again, we continue our climb for 14 kms to the
Pelela Pass (3300 m). This pass is traditionally considered
the boundary between the west and east Bhutan. If the
weather is clear the Himalayan ranges can be seen, particularly
the peak of Chomolhari (7314 m) to the west. Pelela
pass is the second of our “five big passes”
and by now we should be getting used to the climbs.
Another amazing descent follows, 1530 metres, almost
all the way to Trongsa. We take our lunch at Chendebji,
a magnificent Stupa built in Nepalese style to fight
the demon of the valley. We then enter Trongsa district
and follow a dramatic section of the road, curved into
a side of the cliff , high above the Mangde Chu. The
scenary is beautiful – old rich forest as far
as the eye can see, and with Trongsa Dzong visible 20
kms away, at the end of the valley. After so much down
hill riding , beware of the 300m climb into Trongsa
village- it can catch you out! Overnight at Tourist
Lodge. Altitude of Trongsa: 2200m.
Day 08 Tongsa – Bumthang
After breakfast we go out to view the impressive Tongsa
Dzong, ancestral home of the ruling dynasty. In olden
days the Dzong commanded the passage between east and
west Bhutan. We visit the Ta Dzong, and ancient watch
tower, above the main Dzong which has an interesting
display of Mongol armour.
The road climbs rapidly through a series of hairpins
out of Tongsa and there are great views back to the
Dzong and across the valley. After passing through cultivated
fields for a while, we re-enter the forest and at a
distance of 29 kms from Tongsa we reach the Yotongla
La Pass at 3400 m. Descending to a low point of 2600
metres at a village called Chumey, the scenery is once
again totally different as we enter the wide open Bumthang
Valley. After a short climb to the Kiki La Pass, we
turn a corner for a great descent to Jakar. From 20
kms away we can see Jakar Dzong, high above the village.
Overnight at the Swiss Farm House.
Altitude of Bumthang: 2600 m.
Day 09 Bumthang
Full day sightseeing of Bumthang valley on bike or car.
Explore some of HMB’s secret off-road trails.
Overnight at the Swiss Farm House.
Day 10 Bumthang – Ura
The climb to our fourth pass, the Ura Shelthangla Pass
is 2900 metres, and involves almost 40 kms of biking.
The Ura valley, on the far side, is the highest of the
Bumthang valleys. Extensive sheep pastures line the
road and just before the pass there is the magnificent
view in clear weather of Bhutan’s highest peak,
Gangkar Puensum (above 7500 m). We descend from the
pass by long loops, through pastureland and fields to
Ura village. We stay at one of the farm houses of Ura.
If you have time and energy, have a look at the monastery
of Sombrang in the village. Altitude of Ura: 3000 m.
Day 11 Ura – Mongar
Bhutan’s highest pass! After a short descend to
a bridge, we start climbing immediately to Thrumsing
La (3800 m). The ascent, over 30 kms, is quite gradual
and the scenery stunning as we pass through dense forests
of conifer and rhododendron. The climb is actually split
into two parts as there is a minor pass on the way to
the Thrumsing La and a short descent to a bridge across
a river. The pass marks the boundary between Central
and Eastern Bhutan and is the last of our high altitude
climbs. We have lunch on the pass, before setting off
on what must rank as one of the most enjoyable and beautiful
descents in the biking world. From the pass, the road
plunges 3200 m to the valley floor at 600 m. The whole
descent, over 85 kms, passes through dense conifers,
then a mixture of deciduous and conifer woodland, before
entering the semi-tropical zone at an altitude of around
1800 m. Bamboo and array of rare plant life lies the
sides of the road, but no doubt everyone will be too
involved in the dizzying descent to notice ! The 20
kms between Sengor and Namling has the reputation for
being the most hair-raising section of the road across
Bhutan, but it is just perfect for mountain bikes. When
out of the side of a cliff, and above a vertiginous
drop for most of the way, this is the most exhilarating
part of the trip. By the time we reach Limithang, the
temperature would have risen considerably and we feel
as if we have arrived in the tropics. After 5 hours
and 85 kms of downhill, most people will be speechless.
We load our bikes into the support vehicle for 27 kms
climb to the small town of Mongar. It is the first town
that is built on a mountainside instead of in a valley.
The valleys in Eastern Bhutan are usually little more
than river beds and mountain slopes that rise abruptly
from the rivers and flatten out as they approach their
summits. Overnight at Shengor Lodge. Altitude of Mongar:
1600 m.
Day 12 Mongar - Tashigang
Another great descent in store for us today, but we
have a further 18 kms of climb to the Kori La at 2450
metres, the first of two more minor passes. The road
then descends rapidly through corn fields and banana
groves and after 10 kms reaches the start of the famous
hair-pins at Yadi (1500m). Twenty kilometers of interminable
bends later we arrive at a bridge across the Sheri river
at 600m. This has been the second longest descent of
the trip, a sparkling 1850 m.! We then take a very pleasant
ride along the side of the Gamri river for 30 kms to
the bridge and check post below Trashigang. A steep
8 kms climb finishes off quite a hard day’s biking.
Over night at Tourist lodge. Altitude of Tashigang:
1100 m.
Day 13 Tashigang – Khaling
We have reached the most easterly point of our journey
as the road now heads south for 85 kms to Khaling. The
road ascends rapidly through a series of hairpin bends
out of Tashigang and there are great views of the valley
below. After passing through Kanglung College we reach
the Yonphula pass at 2450 metres. We then descend rapidly
to the quaint village of Khaling (2100 m). Overnight
Camp.
Day 14 Khaling – Samdrup Jongkhar
The road descends rapidly for about 120 kms through
dense tropical forest with an abundance of mixed conifer
and bamboo till Dewathang. A few kilometres beyond the
village lies the frontier check-post and a few kilometres
beyond that, at the precise point where the mountains
and the plains meet, is the small frontier town of Samdrup
Jongkhar. We cycle to the border gate for celebratory
photo and then return into town for lunch and repack
our bikes for the journey home. Overnight at the hotel
in Samdrupjonkar.
Day 15 Samdrup Jongkhar – Gauhati (Departure)
After the exit formalities on the Indian side of the
border, continue for four hours by road to Guwahati,
the capital of Assam. From here we bid you farewell
at Guwahati airport.
|
| 
| 
