Chelela Pass Ridge Hike
རི་བོ་ཇིཀྲུ་ཌེཀ
activityThe invigorating short trek along the mountain ridge that separates Paro and Haa valleys makes for a great day hike. Start from Chele La Pass, at 3,988 meters (13,084 feet) the highest motorable pass in the country, where the air is thin and cool, a heady initiation into the Himalayan altitudes visible to the north on clear days. From the pass it's a long steady climb up the mountain spine, where the winds from Haa valley are so stiff some days that you can lean into them and not fall over. Lining the entire path up the ridge are thousands of prayer flags in green, blue, yellow, white, and red, snapping ceaselessly in the winds to bless all sentient beings. Jutting above the tip of Paro valley, mere inches high from this distance, is 7,326 m (24,035 ft) Mt. Jumolhari, Bhutan's most sacred peak and the abode of protector goddess Jomo. Down and to the right are the white dots of Tiger's Nest temple. The elevation gain up to the sky burial spot at the top of the ridge is about 500 meters, the entire walk a botanical wonder with Himalayan blue poppies and many other flowers along the way. The steep descent from the top winds through meadows and forests of hemlock and rhododendron on the way to Kila Gompa Nunnery. Perched like Tiger's Nest on the cliffside, Kila houses around 30 n...
