Trekking expedition · 10 nights
Jomolhari trek
To the foot of the sacred mountain, and over two high passes to Thimphu.
Overview
Jomolhari rises to 7,326 m on the Tibetan border, and the camp at Jangothang sits beneath its north-east face with the mountain filling the sky. This is the classic route: up the Paro Chhu to the base camp, a rest day among the yak herders and blue sheep, then over Nyile La and Yeli La, the latter at 4,930 m, and down through Lingshi and the Thimphu valley's wild upper reaches. Eight days of walking, properly remote.
Fitness and altitude
- Six to eight hours of walking most days, with two passes close to 5,000 m; you should be comfortable with long hill days carrying a daysack.
- The rest day at Jangothang (4,080 m) is for acclimatisation and is not optional; the passes that follow depend on it.
- Train for three months before departure with back-to-back long walks, including some at whatever altitude you can reach.
- Nights at the high camps drop well below freezing in spring and autumn; a four-season sleeping bag and down jacket are essential.
- Our guide carries a pulse oximeter and a first aid kit and will turn the group around if altitude sickness appears; helicopter evacuation insurance is required.
Camps and support
Seven camp nights at Thangthangka, Jangothang (two nights), Lingshi, Shodu, Barshong and Dolam Kencho, with full dining, kitchen and toilet tents and a crew that is always ahead of you. Two lodge nights in Paro before the trek and one in a boutique house in Thimphu after it.
A licensed trekking guide and a full support team (cook, horsemen, pack animals) are required by regulation for every trek in Bhutan. We arrange all of it.
Day by day
11 days, loosely held.
Every day can bend. This is the shape we would start from.
Met at the aircraft steps and settled in a lodge above the valley. A walk to Kyichu Lhakhang in the afternoon and an early night at 2,200 m.
Stay: Paro Valley Lodge · placeholder name
The climb to Taktsang at 3,100 m is the perfect first altitude day, back in time for lunch. The afternoon brings a gear check with your trekking guide and the first sight of the crew and horses.
Stay: Paro Valley Lodge · placeholder name
A drive up the Paro valley past Drukgyel Dzong to the army post at Gunitsawa, where the trail begins beside the Paro Chhu. The path climbs through oak and then conifer forest, crossing the river on wooden bridges, to a meadow camp at about 3,610 m. Six to seven hours, and the first cold night.
The forest thins and the valley opens into yak pasture with stone herders' houses and the first view of Jomolhari ahead. Camp at Jangothang, about 4,080 m, beneath the ruins of a small fortress and the full north-east face of the mountain. Five hours, with the breath noticeably shorter.
A day for the body to catch up with the altitude, spent on a gentle walk up to the twin lakes of Tshophu at 4,380 m, where blue sheep graze the slopes and the mountain stands over everything. Back for lunch and an afternoon of reading, tea and watching the light move on Jomolhari.
The long climb to Nyile La at about 4,870 m, with Jomolhari and Jichu Drake behind and the Lingshi valley ahead. The descent is gradual to a camp below Lingshi Dzong, perched on its hill at about 4,010 m. Seven to eight hours, the hardest day so far.
A morning visit to the small white dzong, then the climb to Yeli La at about 4,930 m, the highest point of the trek, with a last view of the border peaks. The trail drops steeply along the Jaradinthang Chhu to a camp at Shodu at about 4,080 m. Eight hours, and the sense of having crossed something.
The river carves a gorge and the path follows it down through rhododendron and bamboo, past meditation caves and a waterfall, to the ruined dzong at Barshong at about 3,710 m. Five to six hours, with the forest returning around you.
A day of ups and downs along the Thimphu Chhu, through dense forest with the river loud below. Camp in a clearing at Dolam Kencho at about 3,290 m, the last night under canvas.
A final morning down to the road at Dodena, with the monastery of Cheri on its hill across the river and the first farmhouses of the valley. Your driver waits with the vehicle, and a hot shower in Thimphu is half an hour away.
Stay: Thimphu Boutique House · placeholder name
A quiet morning in the capital, the Buddha Dordenma if time allows, then the drive to the airport. Your guide waits until you are through the doors.
Inclusions
What is in the price, and what is not.
Included
- Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) for every night in Bhutan, including camp nights; the fee funds free healthcare, education and conservation and is what keeps the trails as empty as they are. Verify against https://www.bhutan.travel before launch.
- Bhutan visa fee and visa processing, arranged by our Bhutanese partner operator. Verify against https://www.bhutan.travel before launch.
- Licensed trekking guide throughout. A licensed trekking guide and support team are required by regulation for every trek in Bhutan; this is not optional and we would not want it to be. Verify against https://www.bhutan.travel before launch.
- Trek cook and kitchen crew, serving three hot meals a day and tea at every pause.
- Horsemen and pack animals (horses or yaks at altitude) to carry camp, kitchen and your duffel; you walk with a daysack.
- Camping equipment: sleeping tent, dining tent, kitchen tent, toilet tent, foam mattress and camp chairs; sleeping bags on request.
- Private driver and private vehicle for every road day, including transfers to the trailhead and from the trail's end.
- All meals in Bhutan, on the trail and off it.
- All monument, museum and dzong entry fees on the non-trekking days.
- Accommodation in Paro and at the trail's end as described.
- Airport transfers in Paro.
- Your dedicated Dzong House specialist, from the first message to the day you fly home.
Not included
- International flights to and from Paro (we book them for you at cost; Paro is Bhutan's only international airport).
- Travel insurance with high-altitude trekking and helicopter evacuation cover, which we require for every trekker.
- Alcoholic and soft drinks beyond water, tea and coffee at meals.
- Tips for your guide, cook, horsemen and lodge staff (we will suggest a range).
- Personal trekking gear, boots and clothing; a kit list follows your booking.
- Personal items, laundry and anything of a purely personal nature.
Pricing
Per person, sharing, all-in.
Every figure below includes the Sustainable Development Fee (100 USD per adult per night) and the 40 USD visa fee. Fees verified as of 2026-10-14.
Comfort
From $4,200
per person · 10 nights · SDF included · visa fee included
Full-service camping with licensed trekking guide, cook and crew; warm three-star hotels before and after. SDF and visa fee included.
Premium
From $7,000
per person · 10 nights · SDF included · visa fee included
Larger standing-height tents, thicker mattresses, hot washing water and a dedicated camp host; boutique hotels before and after. SDF and visa fee included.
Ultra luxury
From $13,000
per person · 10 nights · SDF included · visa fee included
A private camp with heated dining tent, camp shower and a chef; the finest lodges before and after, helicopter transfers where useful. SDF and visa fee included.
Prices shown in your selected currency are approximate conversions from USD. Children and Indian nationals pay a different SDF; we adjust the quote accordingly. Verify fees at https://www.bhutan.travel.
Route
Where the road goes.
Map placeholder
Paro → Thimphu
An interactive route map (Mapbox / Google Maps) slots in here.
Stays on this journey
Where you will sleep.
Placeholder names until partner agreements are signed.
Begin
Begin the Jomolhari trek.
Tell us when and who. We reply with a first sketch within two working days.