Trekking expedition · 7 nights
Druk Path trek
Paro to Thimphu the old way, over the ridge and past the lakes.
Overview
The Druk Path follows the ancient route between the Paro and Thimphu valleys along a high ridge of rhododendron, juniper and small alpine lakes. Five days of walking with camps between 3,500 and 4,100 m, a ruined dzong, yak pastures and, on a clear morning from Phume La, Jomolhari and Gangkar Puensum. It is the kingdom's most approachable trek and a fine introduction to walking at altitude.
Fitness and altitude
- Expect four to six hours of walking a day with 500 to 800 m of ascent on the longer days; a good level of hill-walking fitness is enough.
- The trek reaches 4,200 m at Phume La; two nights in Paro beforehand are built in to let your body adjust.
- Walk regularly for two months before departure, ideally with a daysack and on uneven ground, and break in your boots.
- Days can be wet in the shoulder months and cold at the lake camps; good waterproofs and a warm layer matter more than speed.
- Tell us about any heart, lung or altitude history at booking so our guide can plan the pace around you.
Camps and support
Four nights in full-service camps at Jele Dzong, Jangchulakha, Jimilang Tsho and Simkotra Tsho, each with sleeping, dining and toilet tents set by the crew before you arrive. The nights before and after are in a lodge in Paro and a boutique house in Thimphu.
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
8 days, loosely held.
Every day can bend. This is the shape we would start from.
Your guide meets the aircraft and the lodge is twenty minutes away. A walk along the river and an early night at 2,200 m to begin the acclimatisation.
Stay: Paro Valley Lodge · placeholder name
The climb to Taktsang is the best acclimatisation walk in the country, three hours up to 3,100 m and back by lunch. The afternoon is for Rinpung Dzong, a gear check with your trekking guide and meeting the crew.
Stay: Paro Valley Lodge · placeholder name
The trail leaves from above the National Museum and climbs steadily through blue pine and apple orchards to a ridge camp just below the ruined Jele Dzong at about 3,480 m. Four hours, most of it uphill, with the Paro valley opening behind you. The dzong's small temple is still tended by a single caretaker.
A gentler day along the ridge through thick rhododendron that flowers red and pink in April. Yak herders' huts appear in the pastures and the camp at Jangchulakha sits at about 3,770 m with Jomolhari sometimes visible to the north. Four hours of walking.
The path crosses rocky ridges and dips into a bowl holding Jimilang Tsho, the sapphire lake, famous for its giant trout and its stillness. Camp beside the water at about 3,870 m, with the evening cold and very clear.
Past the small lake of Janetso and along a high trail with dwarf rhododendron and yak pasture on either side. The camp is at Simkotra Tsho at about 4,110 m, the highest night of the trek, beside ruined stone shelters and a lake that catches the last light.
A short climb to Phume La at about 4,200 m, where on a clear morning the view runs from Jomolhari to Gangkar Puensum, then the long descent through Phajoding monastery and its hermitages to the top of Thimphu. Your driver waits at Motithang; a hot shower and a boutique house follow.
Stay: Thimphu Boutique House · placeholder name
A morning at the Buddha Dordenma and the Memorial Chorten if time allows, then the hour's 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 $3,050
per person · 7 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 $5,200
per person · 7 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 $9,800
per person · 7 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 Druk Path trek.
Tell us when and who. We reply with a first sketch within two working days.