Trek through the forbidden

kingdom of Bhutan- the last

Shangri-La
From 10 march17 to 19 march17, I undertook a trekking trip to Bhutan
organised by the adventure club of IIT Kanpur. Here is an account of the
50 km Druk path trek between Paro and Thimphu cities of Bhutan that
we completed in which we not only enjoyed the scenery of pristine
Himalayas, but also got to see the traditional culture of the small
Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Epilogue
Adventure club is an active club of IIT Kanpur engaged in organising different
adventure sports activities like Treks, Bicycling trips, wall climbing etc. It is the
year 2017 and the adventure club of IIT Kanpur is celebrating its 25 year journey
since its founding in 1992. As part of its activities the club organised four treks of
different difficulty level to be done in March mid-semester break Kanchenjanga
base camp and Goecchala in Sikkim, Druk path trek in Bhutan and Sandakphu
trek in West Bengal. Right from when I joined IITK as a Masters student in the
year 2015, it was my desire to go on a trek, but the hectic schedule of IITK
academics disallowed me from doing so. In my fourth semester of Masters
course, i had completed my course requirements and only thing left to do was
my Masters dissertation. Hence, I had enough time on my hands to attend the
stringent conditioning session organised by adventure club which is a mandatory
requirement for going on trekking. Conditioning entails getting up at 0545 hrs
and going to PE ground where the participants are made to run 8 rounds of the
ground and made to perform a slew of exercises designed to prepare the body
for Trekking until 0745 hrs. As part of conditioning, participants also have to
complete three cross-country runs of 5 kms, 8 kms and 10 kms respectively
within the stipulated time. I was able to attend most of the conditioning sessions
and qualify for the Bhutan trek.

Part 1- The long but eventful journey in the Indian Rail

Before departing from the campus for different treks, we were given a list of
essential items that we had to carry for our trek. Much of the time before
departing was spent in arranging the different items like High-ankle trekking
shoes, Winter clothing, Rain poncho etc. Rucksacks, Rations and sleeping bags
for the trek were provided by the adventure club in the morning the day before
departing from campus and in the evening our bags were checked to see if we
had packed all the essential items.
Finally in the afternoon of 10th March, 65 students going on different treks
departed from the campus to Kanpur central station to board the Sikkim
Mahananda Express which runs from Old Delhi to New Alipurduar Jn.. I was
apprehensive about the kind of journey that I was going to have. The only friends
I had for the journey were my classmates Ashish bharti and Karan Ramchandani.
Ashish was going to do Bhutan trek with me but karan was going on
Kanchenjunga base camp trek. The sticking points with me were that we were
going through sleeper class- travelling sleeper class through Bihar and Bengal
can be a harrowing experience as it is crowded with passengers and lacks many
of the essential amenities like clean toilets, charging points etc., another
apprehension I had was regarding passing time with other students who were of
different courses and I wasnt acquainted with them. But regardless of my fears, I
boarded the train at 1800 hrs (the train was already 4 hrs late ).

65 students of IITK occupied the two bogies of sleeper class. Me and my friend
Ashish got to share the compartment with four fellow students- Arunothia, Vikas
and Ishita who were UG students and Divya who was a PhD student. A few
minutes into the journey there was awkward silence but this was soon broken as
we introduced ourselves and got to know that we all were going to be part of the
Bhutan trek. The rest of the evening was spent playing the word game Contact
and intermittent strolling through the compartments to check out what other
guys and girls were doing. In every other compartment- I could see one game or
the other being played. For the dinner, Club co-ordinators had packed veg
paranthas from Hall 9 canteen of IIT, which we gobbled up quickly as we were
very hungry. This endless session of games and baqar went on late into the night
when due to the prodding and complaints of fellow passengers who were getting
disturbed by the noise were making, we went to sleep.

Sleeping was a challenging experience as there was a shortfall of 14 seats, some

girls were made to share berths and some boys slept on a makeshift bed made
out of rucksacks and sleeping mats. The next morning we woke up to find the
train still moving at a snails pace. It was stopping at almost every big-small
station and we got off at every such station to stretch our legs which were weary
after a long journey.

It was the day when counting of votes was happening for UP elections 2017. For
two months before the result day, election campaigning for UP vidhan sabha
elections had captured the national narrative. It was a bitterly fought election
and everyone in the train was following the results through internet. It was one of
the topics of baqar in the train that day.

On the stoppage at Patna station, most of us got out to savour the Bihari dishes
and tasty dairy items of Sudha dairy( the dairy brand of Bihar Government). It
was Holi time and some miscreats threw Dung and water on those who were
sitting on window seats.

While passing through the beautiful Ganga Bridge in Barauni district, our fellow
student was robbed of his mobile while taking picture of the beautiful ganges
river. It is a popular modus operandi followed by such gangs in bihar. We pulled
the chain of train and managed to stop it on the bridge. We even ran towards the
spot where the phone was robbed but to no avail. After 30 minutes of frantic
search, the train started moving for the onward journey.

Thus, the day passed on and the train moved from Bihar into West Bengal late
into the night. The next day had started( 12 th March) and at 0130 hrs the train
arrived at New Jalpaiguri station after a 9 hour delay. We bid goodbye to our
fellas who deboarded at NJP for KBC, Goecchala and Sandakphu treks. One of our
Bhutan trek mate, Nihar joined us at NJP for onward journey to Hasimara. At
about 0600 hrs in the morning, we were woken up by Chinmai (junior most
member of our trek) and got down at Hasimara station-the nearest station to
Bhutan border.

Part 2- Phuntsholing The Bhutanese Border town

36 hours after starting our journey from Kanpur, we had reached Hasimara- a
small station in north Bengal.

At Hasimara, we were received by our travel agent who loaded our bags on the
vans and we travelled to Jaigaon, a small town on Indo-Bhutanese border. It is a
45 minute drive to jaigaon in which we passed through lush tea gardens and
markets.

As we had reached Jaigaon on Sunday, it was not possible to start the trek on
that day itself as we had to first obtain permits to enter inner Bhutan which could
be made only on Monday. So, we were lodged in Hotel Barsana which was at a 50
mts. distance from the Bhutan border crossing.

After freshening up and gorging on a breakfast of piping hot puri-subji and tea we
got out for sightseeing in the Bhutanese city of Pheuntsholing, right across the
border check post. The thing that seemed most striking about phuntsholing was
the cleanliness of the roads and the architecture of the buildings. It seemed to be
in striking contrast to the dirt and squalor of neighbouring city of jaigaon.

Our first stop was the Karbandi monastery, located at a height the monastery
offered breath taking views of jaigaon and phuntsholing. The spiritual and quite
environs of the monastery mesmerised all of us.

After clicking lots and lots of pics, we visited the crocodile breeding centre at
Amo choo. It is small centre with about 6-7 crocodiles. After that we sent our
driver back and decided to walk back to our hotel on foot by exploring the city
and the local river.

After a sumptuous Indian lunch and taking a long afternoon nap it was again time
to explore the markets and nightlife of phuntsholing. We savoured the local beer
brands as well.

After having fun in the markets of phuntsholing and engaging in drunken revelry
it was time to get back to the hotel. We took dinner and went to sleep as we had
to wake up early in the morning to get our permits made and continue our
onward journey to Paro where we had to start our trek.

Part 3 Permit troubles/Holi celebration/Bus to Paro

It was Holi the indian festival of colours. Our schedule was all set, we just had
to get our permits made in the immigration office at Phuntsholing, travel to Paro
and start our trek that day itself. But that was not to be, our schedule went
haywire due to bureaucratic troubles at Immigration.

Entering Bhutan requires a special permit for indian nationals which is made on
showing your Voter id or passport. Even if you dont have any of the two, you can
show any other proof of identity at the indian consulate in Phuntsholing for which
they give you an identification slip that can get your permit made at the
immigration office. Many of us didnt have any of the two and only option was to
get our identification slip at indian consulate and obtain the permit against it.
However, it was holi and the indian consulate was closed. What happened next
was the incessant convincing to Bhutanese immigration officials to let us enter
Bhutan on the alternate papers. This caused a major delay to our onward journey
and by the time we got our permits, it was lunch time already.

Our agent arranged lunch for us at a local restaurant where we danced and
played holi. It happened to be my first holi away from my parents and home but
nevertheless it was an awesome experience to enjoy holi with newfound friends.

It was three in the afternoon and we set out for Paro city in Bhutan by bus
arranged by our agent. It was a seven hour journey to Paro which waded its way
through mountain paths. Many of our group members experienced motion
sickness due to the cold and snaky mountain drive and we stopped midway
many times because they were feeling very uneasy. At 2200 hrs we reached
Paro, it is a major city of Bhutan housing its only international airport. We stayed
at the Dechen hill resort where we were treated with a mouth-watering dinner of
Chicken and kheer. The Resort was very beautiful and featured traditional
Bhutanese architecture and interiors.

Part 4 We set out on the Druk path Ascent to Jili

Dzong
We woke up early in the morning and after a heavy breakfast we were briefed by
our Guide Mr. Yeshey, a young Bhutanese gentleman. He gave us a list of certain
Dos and Donts regarding the trek. He informed us that we will have to take
small backpacks with us which would contain the essential items and rest of our
luggage will be carried by the porters till the next camp. It was very strange for
all of us as all of us had practiced for the trek with a heavy rucksack in mind and
none of us had a small backpack. Our rucksacks were our only luggage. So, we
all decided that we wont require any porters and will carry our own rucksacks, a
decision which astonished our Guide. After distributing essential rations like
candies and chocholates among us, we sat in the bus which took us to national
museum in Paro, the starting point of our trek.

Paro city is situated at an altitude of 2500 m, we had to cover 10 km and ascend

1000 m to our first camp site, Jili Dzong at about 3500 m above sea level. For
first few kilometres, it was a very easy ascent which passed through rural houses
and the path was also a gravel road. Snow started appearing on our path and we
got very excited. We passed through sceneries such as these and clicked a lot of
photos.

At about 1300 hrs we stopped for lunch, our first lunch was a demo of how the
rest of the trek was going to pan out in terms of food. We were served two
vegetables with rice which was very chewy in nature and tea.

We started again and the trail started becoming steeper and tougher. There
started appearing heavy snow on our trail and after two hours and 10 km of
trekking through the day we finally reached Jili Dzong, our first camp site at 3500
m above sea level.

Our camp was set up before arrival, we put our bags in our tents and huddled
near kitchen tent where we were treated with biscuits, namkeen and tea. Some
our our fellows immediately went to sleep due to exhaustion. It appeared that
three of our trek members were showing preliminary symptoms of altitude
sickness.

In the evening at 1930 hrs we were served dinner, after dinner Yeshey, our guide
briefed us that the further path is at a much higher altitude and is covered with a
lot of snow. He gave us an offer to continue the trek through a much easier path.
Some of us were supporting this seeing the condition of our teammates who
were feeling very sick. But our trek leader, Ajeet struck with the decision to go
further up at a much higher altitude. He had experience of many treks and
convinced us that altitude sickness is a very common thing for beginners and it
would go away. So we decided to follow the advice of our trek leader. After a lot
of baqar, it was time to sleep. It was my first night of sleeping in a tent and in a
sleeping bag. After a lot of struggle and fighting the sub-zero temperature I
managed to sleep.

Part 5 The 18 km trek to Jangchulakha

We woke up in the morning, after doing our morning ablutions (which in itself
was a struggle in the snowy campsite). We ate our breakfast which consisted of
bread, omelette, peanut butter (it was totally frozen) and tea. After taking all our
belongings we set out to trek again.

After a few kilometres, we reached a point where we could see the mighty
jomolhari mountain- the second highest mountain of Bhutan at 7326 m above
sea level.
After non-stop trekking, we were all exhausted and at 1400 hrs we stopped for
lunch. Till then we had covered 10 kms distance. After finishing up our lunch, we
were instructed by our guide to hurry up and not be slow as we had to reach our
campsite before it gets dark and we also had to cover 8 kms . We set out again
to cover the rest of the trail. The path was very tough as there was snow
reaching our knees and lots of muddy paths were also there. Moreover, there
were no resting points as we had to cover a lot of distance in very less time. After
non-stop trekking, we finally reached our campsite at Jangchulakha 3770 mts
above sea level. It had become pitch dark by the time we reached our camp.

This camp site was much more challenging than the previous one as it was a
totally snowy field on which our tents were pitched, the use of sleeping mat
became much more important now as you couldnt get move outside of the area
covered by mat. A group of 5 british trekkers who worked in Singapore had
pitched their tents at the same campsite and were enjoying bonfire, we
requested our guide and crew for the same but they were helpless as they didnt
have sufficient wood for making bonfire, they had to use their existing stock for
cooking dinner as well as breakfast. As we were sitting in the kitchen tent
enjoying tea and gorging on popcorn that our crew had cooked for us, our
teammate Harish decided to forage for firewood so that we could enjoy our own
bonfire. Nihar, Ishita, Swadesh and Ajeet joined him for the effort and after back-
breaking effort of one hour they managed to create a bonfire. All of us had a
great time having dinner, playing songs and dancing in the warmth of the bonfire
and went to sleep late in the night after that.

Part 6 The Janye tsho lake and descent to Phajoding

The day 3 of our trek had started and it was decided that we would undertake
the 400 m ascent to Janye tsho lake, at 4200 m (highest point of our trek). We
left our camp at 0900 hrs and began the steep ascent. It was a very steep way
and there was knee deep snow in our path, thanks to the efforts of previous
trekking parties, a trail was there in the snow that we could follow. After three
hours of non-stop walking we reached our destination, the magnificent Janye
Tsho lake.

After spending 15-20 minutes at the lakeside clicking lots of pics, our guide
informed us that it would not be possible to trek further as the deep snow will not
permit setting up of a campsite and ponies would also find it difficult to reach the
site. The only alternative with us was to go back to jangchulakha and go to the
third campsite Phajoding from there. We descended back to Jangchulakha, had
our lunch and after a little rest started our descent to Phajoding.

After starting at 1400 hrs, it was a 3 hour descent in which we gradually saw the
landscape change from snowy to lush green forest. We did not face much
problem in the descent and as we were approaching the campsite, some early
signs of civilisation like thatched roof houses, gravel roads and bridges started
appearing. With my friends Chinmai, Deepika, Swadesh and Avijit joining me in
the rear ranks of our group, we enjoyed the descent by singing songs, doing
baqar and clicking photographs along the route.

We reached our campsite at about 1700 hrs and were treated with bonfire lit
before our arrival. The campsite itself was at a very pleasant location as there
was no snow at the site and the temperature was also warmer than our previous
campsite. After enjoying the snacks served to us, we got to know about a nearby
village from where we managed to get a crate of beer and local wine as well. The
night at the camp was spent in enjoying the most, as a group we were total
strangers before starting the trek but as we all shared same challenges and
companionship we had all got closer to each other and wanted to make the most
of this moment of togetherness before the end of the trek. After lots and lots of
fun, we called it a day and finally slept.

Part 7 Rainy descent to Mohtitang and chilling out in

Thimphu
As we woke up on the day 4 of our trek, the sky looked like it was going to rain.
As we were having our breakfast, it started to drizzle. Finally we were going to
use our raincoats and ponchos. After waterproofing our rucksacks and a last
photo-op with the crew, we began our descent to Mohtitang in thimphu where a
bus would come to pick us up and our trek would finally end.

It was a tiring but nevertheless pleasant descent as we trekked non-stop for four
hours in the never stopping rain till we reached our final destination of Mohtitang
at 1400 hrs.

We were all wet at the time of reaching Mohtitang. After a quick lunch which was
the last time we were going to have camp lunch consisting of chewy rice and
Bhutanese vegetables, we boarded the bus waiting for us and enjoyed the 30
minute drive to Thimphu, the Capital city of Bhutan.

Just like Paro and Phuntsholing, Thimphu is impeccably clean. However, being the
capital city, it hosts large buildings, wide roads and huge showrooms. Even then,
thimphu pales in comparison to any north indian city in terms of crowd and
population. Upon reaching our hotel, the first we did was to take a hot bath
(which we were taking after four days) and change our clothes. In the evening,
we set out to explore the city of Thimphu.

We explored the markets of Thimphu, tried out various local snacks, did some
souvenir shopping to take back home and enjoyed the local bars and bakeries.
As night approached, we went back to our hotel for dinner and after endless
sessions of baqar, called it a day and went to sleep.

Part 8 Thimphu - Jaigaon - Hasimara - New Jalpaiguri

On the last day of our trip, we set out early in the morning for
Phuntsholing/Jaigaon. We had to catch Brahmaputra mail from New Jalpaiguri
station at 2230 hrs. We aimed to reach Hasimara in India by 1530 hrs, catch an
intercity express to NJP and board our train.

Due to delay on the part of Hotel staff to serve breakfast, we started our journey
to Jaigaon at 1030 hrs. The beautiful drive did not cause much problem to our
fellows who experienced motion sickness on the way to Paro. But we got very
late on our way as we had to stop midway so that those of us who had entered
Bhutan using passport could take them out from luggage on the roof of Bus.

We reached Jaigaon at about 1500 hrs, it was certain that we would not be able
to catch the intercity but we had an alternative in terms of Kanchenjunga
express. So we made the final payment to our travel agent in Jaigaon, ate
whatever local fruits and snacks we could find and continued our journey to
Hasimara. At hasimara, we boarded the General compartment of Kanchenjunga
express at 1630 hrs.

The journey till NJP was spent playing cards, watching the pictures that we had
clicked and chatting with each other and before we could know, we reached NJP
at 2030 hrs. At NJP, we decided to have a calorie rich, spicy meal which we were
devoid of in our whole trip and ventured out to a restaurant just outside the
station.

Part 9 To Kanpur on Brahmaputra Mail

At NJP, we reunited with our college mates who had gone to Kanchenjunga base
camp, Goechhala and Sandakphu treks. Each of us had stories to share, pictures
to show to each other. At 2250 hrs, all of us boarded the Brahmaputra Mail and
after a brief scramble for berths, called it a day.

Next morning, it was same scene as was when we were going to Hasimara. In
every compartment, you could see our college students doing one thing or the
other like playing cards, Mafia etc. But the thing that most of us were doing was
discussing about the experiences of each others treks. In solitude from rest, I
was engrossed in myself thinking deeply about what all I had gained from this
trek. In this reminiscing, I decided to write down a blog post on the whole Bhutan
trek experience.

After a long journey of 25 hrs, we reached Kanpur at 2230 hrs.