Bhutan East-West Highway

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Paro

   Paro lies on a broad, flat valley floor at roughly twenty-two hundred metres in western Bhutan, which makes it the most civilised-looking place in a country of narrow gorges and steep forests. The Paro Chhu river runs through a patchwork of rice fields, and farmhouses with painted windows and carved wooden eaves sit among apple orchards, with pine-covered mountains on either side. The country's only international airport is here, and the approach, threading between peaks with the pilot flying by sight, is considered one of the trickiest in the world.

   Read the complete Paro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Paro is where the day begins. Next is Thimphu.

2. 2. Thimphu

   Thimphu is a capital city with no traffic lights. The government has decided that the lights would spoil the town's character, and at the main crossing a policeman in white gloves directs the cars with elegant, slow gestures. The city of about a hundred thousand lies in a valley at around 2,300 metres, along the Wang Chhu river, with prayer flags fluttering on the hillsides and the great white and gold dzong, the fortress that serves as the seat of government and the home of the monastic body, standing beside the river. Most buildings are built in the traditional style, with painted wooden windows and sloping roofs, as required by law.

   Read the complete Thimphu write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Thimphu comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dochula Pass.

3. 3. Dochula Pass

   Dochula Pass lies at 3,100 metres on the road between Thimphu and Punakha, and it is the first big climb eastward out of the capital. The road leaves the valley and winds up through forest of blue pine and rhododendron, in a long series of hairpin bends, to a saddle hung with thousands of prayer flags. Mist often fills the pass in the morning, giving the place a hushed, otherworldly look, and the temperature drops sharply, so a warm layer is needed even in summer.

   Read the complete Dochula Pass write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Dochula Pass. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Punakha, mostly downhill.

4. 4. Punakha

   Punakha sits at the meeting of two rivers, the Pho Chhu and the Mo Chhu, the father and mother rivers, and the great dzong of Punakha stands on the tongue of land between them, its whitewashed walls and gold roofs reflected in the water. It was built in the seventeenth century by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the founder of the Bhutanese state, and served as the capital until the middle of the twentieth century. It remains the winter home of the monastic body. Reaching it involves crossing a long wooden cantilever bridge, with prayer flags overhead, and the approach is memorable.

   Read the complete Punakha write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Punakha, about halfway. Next is Trongsa.

5. 5. Trongsa

   Trongsa is where Bhutan keeps its spine. The enormous dzong, sprawling down a ridge above the Mangde river gorge, was founded in the seventeenth century, and it is the ancestral seat of the royal family, whose first kings governed from here before ruling the whole country. Tradition says the crown prince still serves as governor of Trongsa before taking the throne. From the road, the building appears and disappears across the valley for a long time before you actually arrive, because the highway has to wriggle all the way round the hillside to reach it.

   Read the complete Trongsa write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Trongsa sits at 331 km, about halfway. Next is Bumthang.

6. 6. Bumthang

   Bumthang is not a single valley but a cluster of four, high in the middle of Bhutan, and it is regarded as the country's spiritual heartland. The main town, Jakar, lies at about 2,600 metres, and is a small place with a big dzong, the Yuedrel Tse, standing on the ridge above the town, as well as one of the country's oldest temples, Jambay Lhakhang, which is said to date from the seventh century. Other temples, such as Kurjey Lhakhang and Tamshing, hold a place in the history of Buddhism in Bhutan, and the valley is full of stories about the saint Guru Rinpoche, who is said to have meditated here.

   Read the complete Bumthang write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Bumthang comes up about 327 km into the recorded legs. Next is Trashigang.

7. 7. Trashigang

   Trashigang is as far east as the highway goes in Bhutan, and it feels like it. The town clings to a steep hillside above the Gamri river, with its whitewashed dzong, a fortress-monastery from the seventeenth century, perched on a spur overlooking the valley, and houses stacked on the slopes in terraces. It is the administrative centre of one of the largest districts in the country, and the market on weekends draws people from the surrounding villages, many wearing the distinctive dress of their communities.

   Read the complete Trashigang write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Trashigang closes the day.