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TREKKING THROUGH TIME: BHUTAN, 2002
Unique Bhutan is one of the most exclusive and rare destinations
in the world, lying just south of Tibet, east of Nepal, with Sikkim
to the West. Mystery surrounds Bhutan's distant past, dating back
to the 8th century. With pristine rivers, towering crags, green
hills, and magnificent snow-peaked mountains, land-locked Bhutan
is filled with Buddhist myths and legends.
Isolated and remote, it is not difficult for travel in this Himalayan
kingdom. While India greatly influenced Bhutan in early days, eventually
Tibet's influence grew after the introduction of Buddhism somewhere
between the 2nd and 7th centuries.
The Bhutanese are committed to preserving their culture and limit
the number of tourists. Bhutanese respect their land; approximately
72 per cent of the country is in forests -- of fir, mixed conifers,
rhododendrons and over 600 species of orchids.
On October 6th, a small group will travel to this enchanted land
for a combination of trekking, monastery visiting, and history gathering.
Our guide will be Gary McCue, naturalist and Tibetologist who wrote
the book, Trekking in Tibet. We have traveled before with Gary and
deeply respect his knowledge of Tibet and Bhutan -- their history,
language, religion and culture. Gary began leading groups into Tibet
in 1983 and is highly respected for his leadership.
October is a most desired time to trek Bhutan with temperatures
around the mid-seventies F. Our total trip days, including travel
from the U.S. is 19 days.
THE ITINERARY
| Oct 7,8
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Fly
from USA to Bangkok. |
| Oct
9 |
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Fly
BANGKOK to PARO. Arrive Paro around 10:30 am . Paro offers
the calm of the beautiful landscapes, scenic villages and
historic buildings. It will take at least an hour to complete
the visa and custom formalities. |
| Oct
10 |
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Sightseeing
in THIMPHU, the capital of Bhutan. Thimpu lies in a wooded
valley, sprawling up a hillside on the west bank of the Thimpu
Chhu. We will walk the main streets, viewing the traditional
architecture.
PM: Drive to Cheri Gompa, hike about one hour through the
forest up to this historic 15th century monastery. |
| Oct
11 |
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Full
day hike to one of the monasteries in the forested hills above
Thimphu, pack lunch. |
| Oct
12 |
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Visit
Saturday market in Thimphu, famous for its handicraft, weavings,
and religious objects. Thimpu is the main market for both
the Bhutanese and the tourists. We lunch in Thimphu. PM: Drive
to Paro, transfer to hotel, if time we'll have a stroll through
the village in Paro. Paro Dzong (dzong means monastery) is
one of Bhutan's most impressive and well known dzongs and
represents true Bhutanese architecture. |
| Oct
13 |
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Dayhike
in mountains above Paro, pack lunch |
| Oct
14 |
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Start
trek, from Paro (7200') to Shana (9200') 5 to 6 1/2 hours of
walking. From our hotel in Paro we drive for about a half
hour to the end of the road, at a ruined fortress called Drukgyal
Dzong (8000'), where the horseman and our trek staff will
sort out our gear and load the horses. We begin our trek walking
along the Paro Chu river, past cultivated fields and small
villages in a valley rich with birdlife and colorful butterflies,
until we reach our first camp, at the forest's edge at Shana.
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| Oct
15 |
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Shana
to Thang Thanka (11,750') 7 to 8 hours of walking We follow
the river in a heavily forested valley, passing only the occasional
isolated farm house. Along the way we'll come to a trail junction
where a paved path leads over the mountains to Tibet. Before
the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, this was one of
the main trade routes between Bhutan and Tibet. This crossing
is no longer officially open, yet smugglers still ply this
route, sneaking past an army post by hiking over the mountains
at night! Our route continues along the river, giving us occasional
views of the Chomolhari massif on our way to a meadow camp
in the forest. |
| Oct
16 |
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Thang
Thanka to Jongo Thang (Chomolhari base camp; 13,100') 5 1/2
to 7 hours of walking It's worth getting up early for the
sunrise on Chomolhari (23,995'), Bhutan's second highest mountain.
From camp our walk continues in the forest for about an hour,
then we begin ascending into a beautiful alpine valley, passing
Tegethang, a winter pasturing area for yaks. There's a good
chance we'll see plenty of these handsome mountain cattle
as we climb to the head of the valley to base camp, which
is situated at the foot of Chomolhari. Beside our camp are
the ruins of an old fortress, which was once an important
defensive outpost for Bhutan against invasions from Tibet.
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| Oct
17 |
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Rest
Day / Optional Dayhike toward to the foot of the glacier spilling
off Chomolhari. |
| Oct
18 |
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Jongo
Thang to Soi Yaksa (11,500') 7 to 8 1/2 hours of walking From
Chomolhari base camp we begin the climb to the highest point
on our trek, passing a series of stunning mountain lakes to
reach Botey La (15,800') pass. If the wind is calm, this is
a wonderful spot for a rest, and a chance to photograph the
spectacular mountain panoramas. As you walk today, keep an
eye out for herds of blue sheep grazing on the steep slopes.
From Botey La we descend into the valley of Soi Yaksa, another
region used for wintering yak. We'll camp by the river, one
of the upper tributaries of the Paro Chu. |
| Oct
19 |
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Rest
day / Optional dayhike to visit small villages of yak herders. |
| Oct
20 |
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Soi
Yaksa to Tongbu (11,800') 6 to 7 1/2 hours of walking The trail
crosses the river and begins a gradual climb through a birch
and rhododendron forest to Tongbu La (13,100'), the first
of the final two ridge crossings. From the pass we descend
into a spectacular high open pasture area called Tongbu. |
| Oct
21 |
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Tongbu
to Shana (9100') 5 to 6 1/2 hours of walking. Our route ascends
Men La (13,100'), the final ridge of this trek, then we drop
back into the main valley of the Paro Chu. We'll probably
camp in the same spot where we stayed our first night. |
| Oct
22 |
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Shana
to Drukgyal Dzong; 3 to 4 hours of walking; drive to Paro
It's an easy, downhill stroll along the banks of the Paro
Chu to finish where we started, at Drukgyal Dzong. We load
up the vehicles and drive back to Paro. We'll stay in a hotel
for two nights |
| Oct
23 |
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We
hike several hours up to Bhutan's most famous temple, Paro
Taktsang, the "Tiger's Lair" cave retreat of the Indian Buddhist
master, Guru Rimpoche. The main temple over the cave was destroyed
in a fire several years ago, and is currently being rebuilt.
However the adjacent temples are still intact, so it's still
worth visiting this amazing site. |
| Oct
24 |
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A.M.
Fly from Paro - Bangkok; afternoon and evening in Bangkok |
| Oct
25 |
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Fly
to USA
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| COSTS: |
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| Group
of 5-7 |
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$5500.
land |
| Group
of 8-10 |
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$4800.
land |
| Group
of 11 plus |
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$4350. land |
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Leah Krawetz Travel in Minneapolis has found flights to Bangkok
in the range of:
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Minneapolis-Bangkok
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$1192.** |
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San
Francisco-Bangkok |
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$
810.** |
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Chicago-Bangkok |
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$ 948.** |
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**round
trip coach fare via Tokyo
Additional $730. per person airfare from Bangkok to Bhutan
on Druk Air, Bhutan's national carrier.
A $1000. deposit will be needed from group participants by
August 10. Final payments would be due in late July. In mid
July, Gary will also need to receive $730 from everyone so
we can secure seats on the Bangkok-Paro-Bangkok flights (your
reservation is not reserved until you pay!).
For
more information contact:
Marilyn Mason
505.820.6306
info@marilynmason.com
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