Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [169]
Rescue
If you find yourself ill or injured in the mountains, don’t panic. If someone falls, take some time to assess the situation: suspected broken bones may only be bruises, and a dazed person may wake up and be quite all right in an hour or two. In most areas of Bhutan, some kind of animal, either horses or yaks, will be available to help transport a sick or injured trekker.
Sometimes either the seriousness of the injuries or the urgency of getting care will make land evacuation impractical. If this is the case, the only alternative is to request a helicopter rescue flight. Fortunately, this is a reasonably straightforward process, but once you ask for a helicopter, you will be charged for the service. Prices start at US$1500 and can go much higher, especially if weather conditions are bad and the chopper has to make several attempts to rescue you.
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OVERVIEW OF TREKS
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Rescue helicopters in Bhutan come from the Indian air-force base in Hasimara or the Indian army facility at Bagdogra airport. If there is a need for an evacuation during a trek, the guide will send a message to the appropriate tour operator. The tour operator contacts DOT to request a helicopter, DOT forwards the request to the Royal Bhutan Army and it, in turn, requests the Indian Army to send a chopper. It’s a well-organised and efficient chain of communication and a helicopter is usually dispatched within a day.
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DRUK PATH TREK
The Druk Path trek has two possible starting points. Yours will depend on what arrangements have been made with the horse owners. The traditional start is in Dambji, near a gravel pit on the eastern side of the Do Chhu at 2300m. Most groups opt to save 140m of climbing, starting at a trailhead outside the gate of the National Museum at 2470m.
The trek is usually possible from late February to June and from September to December, although snow sometimes closes the route in late autumn and early spring. Days are normally warm, but nights can be very cold and you should always be prepared for snow. Avoid the monsoon season of July and August.
It is possible to shorten the trek to four days, but to do this you must walk more than eight hours a day. With the shorter schedule you would camp at Jili La, Jimilang Tsho and Phajoding, arriving in Motithang on the morning of the fourth day. Some agents modify the Druk Path trek into a four-day trek in the reverse direction, starting at the youth centre in Motithang and finishing by hiking down from Jimilang Tsho to the roadhead at Tsaluna in the Bemang Rong Chhu valley. If you’re a masochist you can even race through the trek in a single day. An old punishment for Bhutanese soldiers was a forced one-day march along this route from Thimphu to Paro.
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THE TREK AT A GLANCE
Duration 6 days
Max Elevation 4210m
Standard Medium
Season February to June, September to December
Start Paro Ta Dzong
Finish Motithang
Access Towns Paro, Thimphu
Summary One of the most scenic and popular treks in Bhutan, following a wilderness trail past several remote lakes. Although it is a short trek, it still goes to a high altitude, making it moderately strenuous.
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Day 1: National Museum to Jili Dzong
10km / 4-5 hours / 1090m ascent
The first day is a long climb as you gain more than 1000m of elevation. The trek follows a gravel road past a few farms for about 30 minutes and then climbs steeply up a ridge on the first of many short cuts that avoid road switchbacks, passing Kuenga Lhakhang at 2640m. A further climb past cultivated fields leads back to the road and another 30 minutes of walking through blue-pine forest takes you to a big stone house at Damchena (2880m), where the road ends.
The wide trail climbs through blue-pine and fir forest to a mani (carved stone) wall in a clearing known as Damche Gom, at 3020m. It’s then a long, but not steep, climb through forests to a meadow at 3260m where it’s possible to camp. It is better to keep climbing for another hour to a camping place in a large pasture just before Jili