Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [114]
Dragon’s Nest Resort (Map; 480521; nest@druknet.bt; s/d from Nu 1400/1700; ) This trusty place is on the west side of the river, 4km below Wangdi and diagonally across from the new town. The spacious rooms overlook the river and are safely away from the nocturnal canine hullabaloo of the town. The hot water takes time to kick in so let it run for a while before you call for help. The restaurant staff seem to be in a competition to see who can ignore the guests the longest. Apparently our waiter won.
Kichu Resort (Map; 481359; fax 481360; s/d Nu 1650/2400) In Chhuzomsa, 8km east of the town, this tranquil hotel has 22 well-appointed rooms in a lovely landscaped garden overlooking the rushing Dang Chhu. The son of the resort’s owners is a rinpoche (title given to a revered lama) and so the restaurant serves only vegetarian food. Ask for a riverside balcony room and pack insect repellent against the sand flies.
Hotel Tashiling (Map; 481403; fax 481682; s/d Nu 1200/1500; Dzong Lam) This place sits somewhere between a tourist and local hotel, with 16 pine-walled rooms and strings of meat drying from the balconies. It’s a decent option if for some reason you want to stay in the town.
Eating & Drinking
The Black Necked Crane Hotel (Map) is a decent local-style place for a lunch of Nepali-style dal bhat (rice and lentils). The Tashi Topgyal Hotel (Map) is run by a friendly family and has simple food. The Dema Hotel (Map) has overstuffed chairs and a sofa so you can relax with a beer and watch the world pass by the front window.
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WANGDUE PHODRANG TO PELE LA
61km / 1¾ hours
The beautiful drive east to the Pele La offers access to central Bhutan and the Phobjikha valley, known for its winter population of black-necked cranes. The pass itself takes you over the Black Mountains, the boundary between western and central Bhutan, before dropping down to Trongsa.
Leaving Wangdue Phodrang, the road traverses bare hillsides high above the Dang Chhu. The large building far below the road, alongside the river, is a jail.
By the time the road reaches Chhuzomsa at the confluence of the Pe Chhu and the Dang Chhu, 8km from Wangdi, it is level with the river (Chhuzomsa means ‘meeting of two rivers’). There are a few shops and a charming lhakhang here, and the Kichu Resort (see left) lies below the road on the idyllic banks of the river.
Just beyond Chhuzomsa is a ropeway that climbs 1340m in 6km to Tashila. The ropeway is primarily used to carry goods up to the village and to bring logs back down the hill, but it makes two special trips daily to carry people. Passengers sit in an open wooden box and dangle high above the trees for 45 minutes (if there is no breakdown) to the top. The price is Nu 60 for locals and Nu 250 for tourists, who are only allowed to ride in cases of emergency. The Gangte trek Click here passes the top of the ropeway, and some tired trekkers declare an emergency and ride down from Tashila.
At Tikke Zampa, 4km past Chhuzomsa, the road crosses to the south bank of the Dang Chhu and begins a long climb to the Pele La. You may see horsemen here waiting for their trekking groups to arrive. A further 10km and you’ll see a superbly located monastery on a hillock to the left. The valley gets steeper as the road ascends along the edge of the valley, following a spectacular, and occasionally frightening, route. In many places the way for the road has been blasted out of the side of the cliff and the road hangs high above the deep forests of the valley below.
The road detours frequently into side valleys, passing the Phama Hotel at Kalekha (or Khelaykha), the end of an interesting hike from the Phobjikha valley (Click here). From here it’s 12km to the village of Nobding (2640m), and then another 7km to Dungdung Nyelsa, where there are