Remote Himalayan treks for adventurous travellers
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With long-haul package holidays to once-exotic places like Thailand and Mexico now commonplace, finding a destination that still invokes awe from work colleagues and friends is tricky. But at least one country will mark you out as an adventurer – Bhutan.
The Himalayan kingdom is an “extraordinary place”, says Anna Ford in The Sunday Telegraph. Until recently, it was closed to foreigners – the first road into the country wasn’t built until 1960. This means it has “the least-trodden trekking routes in the Himalayas, taking you to hidden villages, and an enlightened people who worked out a sustainable lifestyle in the 14th century and have seen little reason to change”, says Chris Haslam in The Sunday Times. There’s also plenty of flora and fauna to see – two-thirds of Bhutan is national park.
This is the Himalayas, so there are no casual strolls, but tour operators offer trips to suit your fitness levels. The Druk Path is a “short trek”, says Condé Nast Traveller. But “it still goes to high altitude, making it moderately strenuous”.
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For the more ambitious, Himalayan Kingdoms (01453-844400) offers a 40-day ‘Complete Lunana Snowman Trek’ with 28 days’ trekking across a route that “only a small handful of Westerners have ever managed”. The trek reaches heights of 7,314m before heading into Bhutan’s most remote district, Lunana – so secluded even the King of Bhutan has never visited.
If that sounds too much like hard work, don’t worry – a newly-opened hotel has plenty to offer. Taj Tashi has been named one of Condé Nast Traveller’s Hot Hotels for 2008. The luxury 66-suite hotel is located in the centre of Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu. Try to book one of the “spacious corner suites on the fourth floor [as they] have the best views”.
In the past, food has been a let down in Bhutan. Local fare tends to prove too much for Western palates due to the love of chillis – arrive in autumn and the roof of every house is covered with them, drying in the sun. However, Taj Tashi’s restaurants offer Bhutanese cuisine as well as good Continental and Asian restaurants, so if after one night experiencing the local taverns it is all too much for you, you can retreat to the hotel. (For more on the Taj Tashi call 00 975 2 33 66 99.)
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