Bhutan Laya Chomolhari (18 Days)

Druk Yul means 'Land of the Thunder Dragon', the local name for the country known to the world as Bhutan. It lies in the heart of the vast Himalaya and to both its west and east, rugged mountain ranges stand between it and the hill districts of India. Towering to the northwest, the stark and dramatic mountains of the Chomolhari Range form the frontier with Tibet. Very few visitors have entered this tiny Himalayan kingdom and even fewer have been privileged to trek into her high mountains. Of the few areas open to trekkers and climbers the route to the base camp of Chomolhari (7314m), the sacred mountain of Bhutan, is probably the most aesthetically beautiful. Bhutan is not just about scenery and unbelievable mountains; it is also about friendly people and an enduring and living Buddhist faith with magnificent monasteries, rich religious traditions and about a turbulent past. The great fortresses or 'dzongs' found throughout the country are mute testimony to the wars, sieges and attempted invasions in times gone by. Today the country is a stable and peaceful kingdom where the king is revered and the economy is measured in 'Gross National Happiness'! Trekking through the dense forests, walking above the tree line with the nomadic yak herders, enjoying rare sightings of musk deer and blue sheep, and standing beneath the dramatic ice peaks of Chomolhari - these all make this one of the most rewarding treks in the entire Himalaya.