Gasa Village Immersion: Ritsha Ha & the Valley of the Divine Madman
Destination: Phobjikha Valley
Duration: 4 days / 3 nights
Difficulty: Easy
Best season: Year-round
Four unhurried days in the Gasa valley, staying with farming families, learning to weave with the Women's Association, and walking to a monastery of monks and mermaids.
Highlights
Two nights with a farming family in Ritsha Ha village
Weaving with the Gasa women's cooperative
Sangchhen Dorji Lhundrup Lhakhang and its kirtimukha murals
The legend of Drukpa Kunley, told by the valley itself
What is included
Licensed guide from the Gasa valley
Private vehicle and driver for all four days
Two nights in a family farmhouse and one in a valley hotel
All breakfasts, lunches and dinners
All permits, SDF and entry fees
Weaving session with the Ritsha Ha Women's Association
Hot stone bath on the final afternoon
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1 — Up to Gasa A four-hour drive from Thimphu, climbing to the Dochula Pass and descending through the forest to Gasa, the last district before the road runs out. Gasa is not on the way to anywhere and has been deliberately left that way, which is why it is the least visited district in Bhutan with a road to it.…
Day 2 — Weaving, farming and the Women's Association A day in the village rather than in front of it. The Gasa Women's Association weaving cooperative is the best-known institution in the district and has kept the backstrap loom alive here for decades — you will be shown the whole process, from carding and spinning the wool to setting the warp, and a…
Day 3 — The hermitage above Ritsha Ha A half-day walk up the valley to the hermitage of the Divine Madman, in a clearing above Ritsha Ha at about 3,000 metres. The temple is small, remote and still in daily use by a handful of monks; the walk up is steep and the last section is a set of stone steps worn smooth. The afternoon is free, a…
Day 4 — Down to Thimphu A slow morning before the drive back down over Dochula to Thimphu, arriving by mid-afternoon. A last walk through the capital's craft quarter and the arcade behind the post office, then dinner. Transfer to Paro the following morning, or continue with us into the rest of your itinerary.