Six days on the Pema Ling trail — apple country, the Crane Sanctuary and Bhutan's great horseback trails.
Highlights
The historic Pema Ling trail
Black Mountain Crane Sanctuary
Subalpine pine and apple orchards
Trongsa Dzong and the Ta Dzong museum
What is included
Licensed riding guide and full support crew
Five nights riding, mountain horses with tack
All meals including packed trail lunches
All permits, SDF and park fees
Support vehicle and emergency evacuation
Bumthang farm-stay and a folk music evening
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1 — Into the western apple country From Paro the trail begins at Tamchui and climbs gently toward Singphel, and it is here that the horses are fitted and the riding instruction given. Most guests have never sat a horse in a mountain country before, and the Bhutanese horses are sure-footed and short — built for this terrain rather th…
Day 2 — Singphel to the apple orchards The trail crosses open hillside into the orchards of the Paro valley's western slopes, where at this altitude apples do well and the fruit is small and sharp. Riding is an hour or two in the morning and an hour or two in the afternoon, with a long stop at a farmhouse for tea. This is the least dema…
Day 3 — Orchards to Shimsha A full riding day, climbing out of the orchards and onto the Pema Ling trail proper. The vegetation changes from fruit trees to pine, then to open grass with views west toward the Chele La and the snow line. You camp above Shimsha village, a farming settlement with a small temple that is worth the…
Day 4 — Shimsha to the Black Mountain trails The trail proper now, and it climbs steadily for the best part of four hours through pine and rhododendron to the meadows below Black Mountain. Black Mountain itself is 2,350 metres, not a summit but a broad high shelf, and the reason the trail exists: it was one of the first protected areas in Bhu…
Day 5 — The Pema Ling monastery and high country A short walk to the Pema Ling monastery at the head of the trail, a 17th-century foundation known for its apple orchards and its tradition of retreat. The afternoon is the best riding of the trip: open high meadow, long views, and a pace fast enough to feel like travel rather than exercise. Camp ag…
Day 6 — Ride out and depart A long descent back toward Paro, most of it walking the horses down through the pine, with the last stretch into the orchards on horseback. Back at Tamchui by early afternoon, then the drive to Paro airport in time for your flight.