The Trans Bhutan Trail (TBT) is more than a walking path. This 250-mile (403km) hiking trail crosses through the heart of Bhutan from west to east, starting in the Haa Valley, and finishing in the town of Trashigang, above the Drangme Chhu river. The route is of enormous cultural significance.
Bhutan is the last Himalayan kingdom. Known as the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’, it is tucked into the high mountains of the Himalayas, bordering India and Tibet. Folklore runs deep here. This a country of flying tigers, yetis and Buddhist prophecies. The Trans Bhutan Trail has run through the mystical fabric of this country for centuries, with a history reaching back to the 15th century.
We are in the Eastern Himalaya, and we have a very fresh, very lush forest environment. We have 72% forest cover...
“The Trans Bhutan Trail is an ancient trail,” says Karma Lotey, who was born in Trongsa, in central Bhutan, and is now a destination expert on adventure travel in the country.
For hundreds of years, Karma explains, the Trans Bhutan Trail was a crucial lifeline that connected people across the high mountains and deep valleys of Bhutan. It was once the principal form of communication here. Monks would walk the route to spread Buddhism, merchants would travel it for trade, royal messengers would transport letters along it and the king himself would have walked the TBT route to meet and unite the people of his kingdom.
Those who walked this landscape - of terraced paddy fields, deep valley towns, wide rivers and mountains - hundreds of years ago would have traversed an unspoiled, wild place which, in truth, has not changed much since.
“Bhutan is particularly pristine when you come hiking in the mountains,” says Karma, noting that tourism has only been active in the country since 1974.
“We are in the Eastern Himalaya, and we have a very fresh, very lush forest environment. We have 72% of forest cover at the moment, and our constitution decrees we should always have at least 60% forest cover in the country."
This is a country which measures success not by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but by Gross National Happiness (GNH). Bhutan also operates a “high value, low volume” approach to tourism which keeps the footfall from, and impact of, tourism deliberately low. “We are not looking for mass tourism,” Karma says. “We are looking for tourism with quality.”
After the construction of Bhutan’s first national highway in the 1960s, the Trans Bhutan Trail fell into disrepair, but in September 2022, after six decades of being shut, the route officially reopened, thanks to a royal restoration initiative.
“His majesty the King wanted to revive the trail,” says Karma, “because we cannot lose such an important historical trail. They worked during the pandemic, and it re-opened properly in 2022.”
Gross National Happiness was in mind when the decision was made to restore the TBT. The aim is to distribute tourism and benefit rural, remote communities.
The scenery of the Trans Bhutan Trail is incredible diverse. One day you could be walking through broad-leaf forest or crossing a suspension bridge along a raging river, lined by prayer flags fluttering in the wind; the next, you could be hiking through knee-deep snow on a Himalayan mountain pass.
All in all, the Trans Bhutan Trail passes through nine dzongkhags (districts of Bhutan), 27 gewogs (villages) and rolls over 12 mountain passes, including the snow-covered Dochula Pass, above 3,100m (10,170ft) and one of the highest points on the route, the Pumola Pass at 3,994m (13,104ft), near Bhutan’s capital of Thimphu. Herders from Punakha historically brought their cattle here in the summer to avoid the heat of the lower valley. The TBT also runs through two national parks, Jigme Dorji in the west and Phrumsengla in central Bhutan.
The early stages, in the Haa Valley, remain some of the most intriguing.
“The Haa Valley is close to the Tibetan border, and it remained closed to tourism for a long time,” Karma says. “It very unexplored. There’s a lot less infrastructure there. There is an important ridgeline hike, and there is a pass called the Chele La Pass, which is around 4,000m (13,123ft). You go all the way up and on a clear day, again - the Eastern Himalaya vista, high mountains like Chomolhari (7,064m/23,175ft) and Jichu Drake (6,989m/22,930ft), that border Tibet, they're all visible from that path.”
Spirituality is the essence of Bhutan, and ancient monasteries and temples are dotted around the country; often on high mountain tops or perched on cliffs.
The Tiger's Nest is on a sheer cliff above the valley floor...
“Spirituality and spiritualism is really important in the day-to-day life of all of us Bhutanese,” says Karma. “The national religion is Buddhism, of course. It’s part and parcel of the way of life in our country. When guests visit, there are many temples to visit and mindfulness meditations that you can go and do.”
Paro Taktsang, better known as the Tiger’s Nest, is the most famous monastery in Bhutan. It is suspended on a cliff, 3,120m (10,236ft) above the Paro Valley.
“The Tiger's Nest is on a sheer cliff above the valley floor," says Karma, "and there's a waterfall that falls off that cliff. Before you go into the temple you cross a ravine - so it's very different to anything most people have experienced anywhere else in the world. It’s the most spiritual place in the Buddhist world.
“All of our parents and grandparents will try to go there at least once in their lifetime. It's become all the more famous and sought after because it's difficult to get there. You have to dedicate one full day. It is a very satisfying journey."
Bhutan is often described as a “living museum”, with shrines and monasteries like this dotted all over the country, often in the most audacious of places. There are almost 400 cultural sites dotted along the Trans Bhutan Trail.
The whole route can take anywhere from 28-40 days to walk in total. “You can do it in phases,” says Karma. “You can walk it in bits and pieces - like the Druk Path.”
The Druk Path is a section which runs 34 miles (54km) from Paro to Thimphu.
“We go all of the way up into the mountains and come across undulating valleys, then there are glacial lakes and fantastic mountain views,” says Karma. “Sometimes you come across yak herders and highlanders, and wild, very endangered birds like monal pheasants. It is a very interesting trek; very beautiful, and in a short span of time you get up very high, up above the tree line and go to the meadows and visit some of those really beautiful glacial lakes.”
Myths and realities often blur in Bhutan, and another section of the Trans Bhutan Trail which exemplifies this is the ‘Trail of the Divine Madman’ - which follows the story of the an eccentric monk called Drukpa Kunley. He is said to have chased a powerful demon from Dochula to Chimi Lhakhang.
“This was a man, back in the 15th century, who had come all the way down from southern Tibet because of a prophecy,” says Karma. “It’s said he shot an arrow from Tibet and by destiny, it landed on the ladder of a place in Punakha, and our guests can go there and visit it.” Walking through the town of Chimi Lhakhang, you will notice that all the buildings are covered in images of phalluses.
The story goes that Kunley dispelled a demon, in the form of a dog, by hitting it with what is locally called ‘Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom’ - i.e. his erection.
Penises are thus used to dispel evil spirits here, and to encourage fertility.
“If you go to that village in the Chimi Lhakhang area, every home has a phallus painted on the walls," says Karma. "There are wooden phalluses hanging from the roof; the souvenir shops sell nothing but phalluses. It's a fascinating place."
This is just one example of the obscure, creative Bhutanese legends you will find along the Trans Bhutan Trail. There are hundreds more - stories of ‘garps’, who would run faster than the wind to deliver crucial royal messages, and of walkers who would be confronted by mythical monsters on the route and have to flee.
It is these fables and folklore that make the TBT more than a walking path. The Trans Bhutan Trail is a walk through the history and heritage of Bhutan.
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