Dagala Thousand Lake Trek

Fly to Paro, Bhutan, on Druk Air or Bhutan Airlines, the national airline of Bhutan. If you get a seat on the left side of the plane and the weather cooperates, you may have spectacular views of the high peaks of the eastern Himalaya, including Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and Kanchenjunga—five of the highest peaks in the world—as well as peaks in Bhutan such as Jhomolhari, Jichu Drakye, and Tsering Kang. 

After visa formalities at the Paro airport, your guide will meet you and drive you into town for lunch. Afterward, transfer to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, set at 7,725 feet in the Wang Chu Valley.

• Visit National Memorial Chorten: The building of this landmark was envisaged by the third king, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, as a monument to world peace and prosperity. Completed in 1974 after his untimely death, it is both a memorial to the Late King (”the father of modern Bhutan “) and a monument to world peace. The paintings and statues inside the monument provide a deep insight into Buddhist philosophy.
• Evening visit Tashichho Dzong the impressive fortress which houses the secretariat building, the throne room of His Majesty the King and various government offices. It is also the summer residence of the Chief Abbot and central monk body. Witness the Flag lowering ceremony before you enter the Dzong. Overnight at Hotel in Thimphu.(Hotel)
• Later Drive to Kuenselphodrang where world’s tallest Buddha Statue (169 feet) sits overlooking the Thimphu Valley. Enjoy the spectacular view of Thimphu city.

Overnight at Hotel in Thimphu

You will begin the day by driving from Thimphu for about 45 minutes to the beautiful Genekha Village from where your trek starts. The village is famous for producing masutake and chantarelle mushrooms.

You will walk over mule path, through terraced fields and coniferous forests rich with alpine flora and plenty of birds. You will then descend down to the river and after two hours of gradual uphill climb you reach the huge rock platform at 3350m, which offers a picturesque view of the valley. After another two hours of trekking you will reach your campsite at Gur (3,290m), amidst abundance of wild flowers. 

Overnight At The Camp Site

12KM | 6 HOURS | 1010M ASCENT | CAMP ALT 4300M 

While trekking across the ridges, one enjoys the beauty of the rugged mountain vegetation. Today’s trek is amidst flowers, wild asparagus (in spring) and large meadows, which freshens your mind. Weaving through tiny streams, you will climb gently through scattered birches and rhododendrons to arrive at Pagalabtsa pass (4,250m) marked by huge cairns. From the pass, you will have spectacular views of Kanchenjunga (Sikkim) and most of the Bhutanese Himalayan peaks. Descending from the pass one will view whole Dagala range meadows and yak herders camp. Lunch at nearby yak herder’s camp. You will descend into the Labatama valley and then ascend gradually through the valley passing some yak herder huts till you reach Utsho Lake (4,300m) where golden trouts are in abundance. Our campsite is right next to the lake.

Overnight At Camp.

You will spend the day exploring any one of nearby lakes such as Relitsho, Hentsho, Setsho and Jagetsho Lakes. These lake are full of trouts and your trekking leader will tell you mystic stories about these lakes. Lunch by the lakeside with spectacular view around can be a memorable experience. After lunch, you can also attempt to climb the Jomo peak at an altitude of 5,050m. Return to camp by dusk and prepare for the next day.

Overnight at Camp

Exploratory halt at Labatama

8KM | 5-6 HOURS | 220M ASCENT | 520M DESCENT | CAMP ALT 4000M 

You will walk along the western side of Dalatsho up to a saddle at (4520m) from where you have a majestic view of the prominent Himalayan peaks such as Everest (Nepal), Kanchenjunga (Sikkim), Masangang, Tiger Mountain, Tsendagang and Jichu Drake in Bhutan. From the saddle the path descends, passing some yak herder huts to Doccha Chuu River. You will follow the river for a while, staying higher up on the slope until you reach Panka. Here the Himalayan monal peasants are common sight, besides yaks and horses. We will camp at Panka (4,000m).

Overnight At Camp

14KM | 8 HOURS | 180M ASCENT | 1540M DESCENT 

Today, you will be crossing several passes, each one more impressive than the other. Different varieties of Blue Poppy (June-July) and mountain birds can be found on the trail. Lunch at the point, where one trail leads to Talakha and other to Wangduephodrang. After lunch, an hour’s gradual climb brings you to the last pass, Tale La (4180m) from where the views of Dagala range and Thimphu is superb.

Overnight at Hotel in Thimphu 

Drive to Paro and hike the famous Tiger's Nest:

• Tiger’s Nest (Taktsang)

Today you will be hiking to one of the famous sites called as the Tiger’s Nest (Taktsang) perched at 900m above the Paro valley.

It is a pilgrimage site which the Bhutanese try to visit at least once in a lifetime. It is believed that Guru Rinpoche flew on the back of a tigress from eastern Bhutan to this site and meditated in a cave here for 3 months, hence its name, ‘Tiger’s Nest’. The site, which has long been regarded as the sacred place, was visited by Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century. The Lhakhang of the present monastic complex dates from 1692. The main structure was severely damaged by fire in 1998, but with the help of the local people and the government it has been put back to its glory.

The hike can be broken down into various stages.

The first stage is the trek to the cafeteria (where lunch will be served later today) which is situated on a rocky outcrop across a ravine from the monastery. This leg of the trek takes approximately 45 minutes to 60 minutes, depending on your level of fitness. At the Cafeteria we can stop for some tea or coffee and biscuits whilst pondering the journey ahead and looking at the monastery I the distance above us.

The 2nd stage of the walk is from the cafeteria to the lookout opposite of the monastery. This leg takes close to one hour. At this point some may be content to snap photos and return to cafeteria.

The next stage is the trek/climb down the 475 steps in the cliff face to the bottom of the ravine which crosses over a stream and a waterfall before the path again ascends another 300 odd steps to the entrance of the monastery.

Once here we should be able to enter into the monastery and view the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated.

• Visit Kichu Temple on your way back to hotel, one of the oldest temple build in 7th century by Emperor Songtsen Gampo of Tibet in his mission to built 108 temples in a day through his miraculous power over the Himalayan ranges in order to suppress a giant ogress and to spread the Buddha Dharma.

Overnight at hotel in Paro 

Our team will drop you to the airport ans bid you farewell.

END OF TOUR