Jomolhari trek

Arrival

We were to meet our guide on 3rd May 2013 by noon. We decided to go to Paro Dzong and the national museum before he arrived. Our trekking guide picked us up at 3 pm from Pato "town". Our destination was the camp site near the river at Gounitzava.. Normally the camp for the night is at Shana, but we decided to camp at Gounitzava as the there was another group at Shana. It was drizzling when we arrived. It rained heavily during the night. It’s a good sign if it rains during the night; normally it means clear skies in the morning. Despite the heavy rains during the night, our tent remained dry. Our Guide was not so lucky. We were also amazed by the logistics of the trip. There were a total of 5 staff (a cook, a cooks assistant, our guide, and two horsemen) and around 8 horses.

Day 1 / Distance :23 Km

Camp Gounitzava (Alt - 3300 mtrs) to Camp Thangthangka (Alt - 3600 mtrs).

Camp Gounitzava

We started trekking at 7:30 am. The trek is quite scenic and remains below the tree line. The trek crosses the river at numerous places. There is an army check post where the trekking permit has to be presented. The trek is not difficult, and the ascents are quite gentle. Parts of the trail are blocked by trees so that horses from other campsites cannot escape – these are quickly cleared by our guide. Towards mid-day the trail bifurcates. The trail to the left leads to border towns in Tibet. This route is used by traders to bring in Chinese products from border towns in Tibet. Tibet is 2 days away on this route. This trade, though illegal today, has been happening for centuries. Goods are transported across the mountain on horseback or on yaks. Had lunch beside the river. Saw many colourful birds. Reached our campsite by 4:30 pm. Today is one of the longest days of the trek, if not the most difficult. This was the only day in our trek when it did not rain.

House with a view

Day 2 /Distance :19 Km 
Camp Thangthangka (Alt - 3600 mtrs) to Camp Jangothang(Alt - 4015 mtrs).

Camp Thangthangka has a “proper” camp site enclosed by a log fence. There is a tent made out of yak hair within the camp perimeter. Today's trail is considerably shorter but the ascents are steep. We started trekking by 7:30 am to clear blue skies. By noon the skies had become cloudy. The trek leads to Soi valley and the village of Dangochang

Camp Jangothang

. While approaching Soi, we were greeted by hailstorm. Fortunately the downpour did not last too long. Dangochang is well above the tree line. Dangochang has a few government institutions and a few shops. There is primary school (until class 3), and boasts of 12 students. Beyond class 3, the destination of choice for pupils is Paro. The area in-and-around Dangochang hosts approx 120 people. We reached Jangothang by 1 pm. Jangothang is also called Jomolhari base camp. The term "base camp" is a misnomer as scaling of any mountain is not permitted in Bhutan. As per local belief, the mountains are the abode of the gods and climbing them would be sacrilegious.  The south face of Jomolhari lies in Bhutan and the north face is in Tibet. It is possible to scale the northern face of Jomolhari from Tibet but is extremely challenging and recorded ascents from Tibet are very few . Near the camp site is the dilapidated remains of an old stone masonry fort. This was built by the Bhutanese kings to repel Tibetan invasions. Experienced intermittent hail all night. Jumolhari is named after a local girl Jumol who apparently incited the locals to rebel against an oppressive king. It is rumoured that the fort in ruins belonged to this king.

Jomolhari base camp

Day 3/ Day trek

Camp Jangothang(Alt - 4015 mtrs)

Today is altitude acclimatisation day. Woke up to cloudy skies. The sun beat down on the clouds and cleared the clouds from the sky. I could see a puff of smoke in the valley below, smoke like from a domestic chimney. As I watched the “smoke” began to spread. Little did I realise that it was clouds rising from the valley below. Soon visibility was down to zero. It took half hour for the clouds to rise above Jangothang. Today’s day trek is to the source of Paro river. We decided to walk from the mountain behind the camp. Started the trek by 8. The ascent is steep and the altitude makes it appear more difficult. There are excellent views of the valley below. After 30 minutes of trekking we saw a group of Himalayan Griffons in the midst of a feeding frenzy. Beside them was a herd of blue sheep. Himalayan Griffons are majestic birds with a wing span of over 1 meter. In the ages gone by, carcass of babies and young children would be taken to the desolate mountain tops. The congregation would light a fire and then leave the carcass unattended. The Griffons would see the smoke and use it as a homing beacon to fly in from all directions. This practice of “sky burial” has almost died out today

Himalayan Griffon

       We continued the trek to the glacier lake at the foothills of Jichu Drakye. Intermittent hail was always playing spoilsport, but it was generally good weather. Jichu Drakye glacier, like almost all other glaciers, is a shadow of its former glory. Climate change is believed to be responsible for retreating glaciers. Jichu Drakey is considered to be one of the most beautiful peaks in the whole of Bhutan. On the way back to the camp we spotted a large furry marmut. We waited near its burrow for a good while but it would not come out. Finally we gave up and continued on our way. Reached the camp by 1:30 pm. In the evening we were met by the Park director at our camp. He briefed us about the natural park and the various conservation programs. As the former head of tiger conservation in bhutan he told us that there are about 150 large cats in the wild in Bhutan. He believed that this was the right population that can be safety accommodated in the wild without conflict with humans.

Camp Lingshi

Day 4 / Distance :18 Km

Camp Jangothang(Alt: 4015 mtrs) to Camp Lingshi (Alt: 4010 mtrs)

Woke up to clear skies. Had wonderful views of Jomolhari. Started trekking at 7: 45 am. The ascent gradient increased once we cross the river. Soon Jomolhari and Jichu Drakey were no longer visible. We were walking in a desolate valley. Ahead of us was the second highest point on the trek, Nyle la pass (4870 Mtrs). By 10:30 we were in the middle of a hailstorm. We crossed Nyle la pass in the hailstorm. It is quite common that the pass gets closed due to heavy snowfall, as it happened a couple of days ago. We were quite lucky to cross the pass. After the pass most of the days trekking for the day is downhill. 

Lingshi fort

Hailstorm was our companion for the rest of the day. By evening everything around us was draped by snow. We stopped at an army camp to ask for directions. It is certainly does not build confidence when the guide asks for directions in the midst of hailstorm and in fading sunlight. We were walking together and we lost contact with our guide. We continued walking until we reached a “Y” in the road. I told my companion to wait at the fork and walked ahead. From the vantage point, I could see that the guide was waiting for us below the mountain. It was 4:30 pm when we touched base. Our camp was covered by snow and ice. Never felt so happy to have a cup of tea.

Day 5 / Distance : 22 Km

Camp Lingshi (Alt: 4010 mtrs) to Camp Shodou (Alt: 4080 mtrs).

Woke up to a very cold, but ice free morning. In the distance was Lingshi Dzong. This dzong (fortress) is the administrative headquarters of the sub-district of Lingshi. The nearest road from Lingshi is 2 walking days away!! We started our trek at 7:50 am. Today is the highest point on the trek, Yeli La pass at an imposing 4930 mtrs. The ascent side was completely covered in ice. My shoes offered poor grip on the ice and my guide had to (literally) lend me a hand to walk on ice. Without his help I would have not made it to the top. The views from the top were spectacular. The descending face of the mountain was completely ice free (thankfully!!). We saw a spectacular ice-melt-fed lake that was pristine – felt like taking a swim but time and temperature held us back.

Yeli la pass

       As we started descending weather took a turn for the worse. We were caught up again in a hailstorm. As we descended hail gave way to rain. The trail had become muddy and slushy. The trek descends to below the tree line. Reached camp by 4: 45 pm. Today was arguably the toughest day of the trek. Our guide had to prod us along to trek faster as we has concerned about fading light and trekking in the dark. We reached our camp to see a nice fire going we were happy to be warmed up by the fire and to have our clothes and bags dried. We were also welcomed with a warm bowl of noodle soup (Konka as it is called in Bhutan). At night we noticed that our tents had water seeping into them – our party luckily had an extra tent to spare and pitched one for us rather quickly. We were fortunate to have a backup tent as without one we would have had a sleepless, wet, and cold night.

 

 Day 6 / Distance : 16 Km

Camp Shodou ( Alt 4080 mtrs) to Camp Barshong

Commenced the trek at 7: 45 am. The trek follows the river for a while. Then starts its ascent into the mountains followed by the descent into the river. The trail is below the tree lined all day. We noticed lots of people planting trees to prevent land-slides from recurring. On our way down from Barshong Dzong, we ran into a herd of Yak coming up hill. We had to run for cover up in the hills to avoid being trampled by the Yak. We had lunch on the hillside right below Barshong watching the yak herds and their herdsmen clamor up the hill. We reached our camp by 3 pm. By now we had got used to the routine of clear mornings and precipitation in the evenings. Today was no different with the exception that the party decided to fell a 30 ft dead tree to provide firewood for a nice fire that kept going all evening. Dried in the shadow of the fire.

Day 7 / Distance: 15 km

Camp Barshong

Camp Barshong to Dodna.

The route initially follows the river. Then the quickly ascends through the Rhodendron jungle and then descends again into the meadows of Dholam Kencho. It would have been our camping site if we had chosen a more leisurely pace. We ascended again into the Rhodendron forest. Our guide pointed out to us the shrub that is used to make poisoned arrows. We stopped at the ruins of the spectacular Barshong Dzong. It was alleged to have been ruined by fire. However, in its heyday it probably provided a vantage point into the entryway towards Thimpu. A road is being built to this dzong and the dzong itself will be re-built in the next 5 years. The trekking isn’t as tough as the previous days but is still hard on account of the slippery conditions and the mud. We slip several times, thankfully we are not injured. We also meet several people walking up from Dodina or Thimpu who speak English who are in search of the Caterpillar that is supposed to be an Aphrodisiac. We reach the rough road and the car picks us up and we meet the rest of our party near the Dzong in Dodina. We are greeted with biscuits and tea. Drove down to Thimpu and stayed in a hotel overlooking the national stadium. I have new respect for hot water and the miracle called indoor plumbing. 

• Paro Thimpu trek 

• Bhutan 

• Jakar

Jomolhari base camp