Lunana Trek in Bhutan – any interest?

[Chris Huxham]

Hi all

Chris K and I are giving serious thought to the “Snowman” trek to the remote kingdom of Lunana in Bhutan and wonder if there would be any interest from others in joining us? The route crosses pretty much the whole of Bhutan (east to west) following the spine of the Himalaya close to the border with Tibet, and is often referred to as the greatest trail on earth.

It’s a long trip (depending on the exact itinerary, around 34-37 days ex UK; around 25-28 days on trek including rest days) with about 19 days at over 3700m including 11 passes over 4500m. Highest point is 5243m. But underfoot conditions are supposed to be easy with no glaciers and no scrambling involved.

This will an expensive trip (at least £5.5k ex Paro (Bhutan)) because it covers a lot of days and there is a hefty daily tourist tax in Bhutan in addition to the general trekking support costs. It’s also a risky investment as stories abound about trips having to be abandoned because of bad weather or pack animal supply problems (ask Mike D about that one if you haven’t already heard the story). That said, one company, at least, claims to have run the trek 6 times with 100% success.

Start date ex UK would be mid to late September, returning late October or early November. We are thinking to do this in 2015 but could delay to 2016 if interested people cannot make it this year.

Typical itineraries and other details can be found at:
http://www.themountaincompany.co.uk/bhutan/walking-and-trekking/lunana-snowman/
http://www.mountainkingdoms.com/holiday/complete-lunana-snowman-trek/map-itinerary (download their detailed itinerary)
http://www.keadventure.com/trip/bst/the-snowman-trek/dossier.html

We might seek to join one of these advertised treks but if there was enough interest we could look at the possibility of arranging a private group. The advertised treks for 2015 are filling up so we need to get moving on booking this if we are going this year. So if you are at all inspired to attempt the greatest trek on earth to one of the remotest corner of the world, and experience some Bhutanese culture on the way, could you let one of us know asap. There is no need for commitment at this stage, we just need to know whether or not anyone is potentially interested.

Best wishes

Chris

[Dick Murton]

Sounds a great idea, but as I am having severe problems with my feet, a trek is not on the cards just yet. Personally I would prefer to do a shorter trek if able as this would be my first time in that part of the world.

Dick

[Author]

Posts