Pumula is at an altitude of 3400 mts. The day hike to Pumula starts at an altitude of 2300 mts and rise gradually rises for almost 1000 mts before we reach the pass. Pumula trail was an old trade route between the valley of Thimphu and Paro. In the olden days the royal messengers did this route from Paro to Thimphu or vice versa in a day. Today for a good hiker it might take nothing less than 16 hours to complete the route from Thimphu to Paro.
On the Pumula day hike we are not going to Paro but to the highest peak as seen from Thimphu.
We start our hike from the base of the mountain through dense forest. The trail is gradual and the path is clear of debris with the constant beating of horse hooves that pass the route at least thirty forty times during trekking season in Bhutan (good trekking season last for six months). Covered with tall trees on both the sides apart from the different coniferous forests, there is hardly any view on this route till we reach Pumula.
At a good pace it takes almost two and half hours to reach Pumala. From is a good spot for lunch. Pumula has a huge stupa and a small clearing a perfect place to rest and refresh.
After lunch you can hike for two hours to the highest peak as seen from Thimphu. The highest peak is about 4000 mts. From here you will be able to see the surrounding mountain ranges and the last camp site on the Druk path trek when starting the trek from Thimphu. The village of Tshaluna clear from this peak. The downhill hike to the start point takes about two hours.
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| Wild flowers in a meadow |
3 comments:
It a great post. i search for that and got your site in Google. I also loved Bhutan a lot. It is one of the best city in this world know for their culture and heritage.
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Sounds like really interesting day hiking. We have a group Visiting Paro, Thimphu and Punakha for 8 days. I was thinking about good day hike from Thimphu and found your blog. So does the highest hill around Thimphu has a name or it is just called Pumula hike ? I hope the ridge top offers the best view of the Himalayas, does it ?
IS this the best hiking around Thimphu ?
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