Trans Bhutan Trail set to reopen after 60 years, offering adventurers a 403km journey across the mountain kingdom’s rich ancient history
- The Bhutan government and a Canadian organisation worked together to rebuild the trail, which had been in a state of disrepair for six decades.
- Communities have created a network of high quality accommodation along the trail to make it ready and appealing for adventurous tourists and locals
Captivating, mysterious and seemingly idyllic, that’s Bhutan. The landlocked Himalayan kingdom at the roof of the world is on many an adventurous traveller’s bucket list of destinations.
As with most Asian countries Bhutan has been all but sealed off to international visitors for almost two years now because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many would-be travellers are waiting in anticipation of the country opening its doors to the outside world once again, which is expected to happen sometime between March and April 2022.
While the borders were sealed off there was a great deal of back-breaking physical groundwork being undertaken by the Tourism Council of Bhutan and the Canada Bhutan Foundation, who were ably helped by some 900-plus pandemic-furloughed workers.
Their task begun just before the pandemic struck, and that was to restore the historical and long lost route of the Trans Bhutan Trail. At the same time the remote local communities and regional governments along the way came together to create a network of high quality accommodation along the trail to make it ready and appealing for adventurous tourists and locals.
“It’s not often you can hike a historic trail that was used for millenniums by royals, monks, and traders,” Canadian tour provider G-Adventures, which is helping to promote the trail, says on its website. “In fact, it’s been 60 years. Until the 1960s, the Trans Bhutan Trail was the only real way to traverse the mountain kingdom of Bhutan before it fell into disuse.”
Bhutan is a land quite unlike any other, and it has always shunned mass tourism, which has made it something of a premium destination. Ironically, its sustainable high-end tourism model has now become one that many other countries around the world are seeing as an unexpected future ideal and even necessity. Bhutan is also the only carbon negative country in the world, and visitors are required to spend a minimum of US$250 a day in order to visit.
It is hoped that the trail would be a major boost to tourism in the country when international travel restarts. The “newly recreated” infrastructure is not only geared towards regular trekkers, it is also pitched firmly at trail runners and mountain bikers.
The full-length trail is 403 kilometres and runs east- west across the country passing mostly through remote countryside. Despite this remoteness the new accommodation options on the trail make it well-enabled for those who want to travel light and in style. This makes it a more attainable challenge when compared to some of the more extreme treks promoted in Bhutan.
The trail has been around in some form or another for thousands of years, and was once the only passable route across the county. It was also part of the road and trail network that once made up the historic Silk Road trading route between Asia and the Western world.
In the 16th century the trail connected many Dzong (fortresses) and rural communities, and was also a popular Buddhist pilgrimage route between Tibet and sacred religious sites in west of Bhutan.
In the 1960s the first national highway traversing the country was built, and thus the old trail fell out of favour. Consequently, it gradually sunk into a state disrepair and neglect. Along with that decline a rich slice of ancient Bhutanese history became all but lost to the encroaching undergrowth of decay and progress.
During the past two years the workers were put to task with restoring the trail and with helping to create the new facilities along the way. Some 10,000 stairs and 18 major bridges were rebuilt during this time.
The full route crosses almost the entire country along the way between Haa and Trashigang and it is due to be officially opened by the King of Bhutan in March.
Independent budget travel has never been a thing in Bhutan, and that looks unlikely to change any time soon. Even so, the tourism powers have worked to create a number of serviced itineraries along the route, which should help to make planning much easier for those who do wish to follow this trail in a custom and more free way.
The authorities have also teamed up with G-Adventures, who are highly respected for their ethical and sustainable approach to adventure tourism. G will be launching two hiking trips on the trail starting in May 2022.
Trail running on this route and in Bhutan will be nothing new; centuries ago messengers called Garps would run ultra marathon distances between the numerous Dzongs on the trail, and in more recent times events such as the Thunder Dragon Marathon have been battled out on nearby trails.
Mountain biking is also well established in Bhutan, although needless to say it doesn’t quite date back to the era of the Garps. Many bikers from around the world come here to ride the steep and hallowed trails and roads of Bhutan.
The country and its challenging rough roads and trails also play host to the annual Tour of the Dragon, a 255km mountain bike marathon race widely considered to be one of the toughest single-day mountain bike races in the world.
Should the world be in a better place by late summer, and the Covid-19 pandemic under control, these races may be staged in September.
Bhutan may not be the cheapest place in the world to visit, but there is definitely something special about the kingdom. Taking a hike, a ride or a run along this route would truly make for the challenge of a lifetime and be a fitting way to boost your own “gross personal happiness” after the past two years of turmoil.
