Day 26

Tuesday 23 Oct 2018

Our last morning greeted us with warm sunshine again and as we descended to the road head, the vegetation turned from alpine to tropical. The Rhododendron leaves were now the length of a large foot rather than finger sized. They were once used to wrap food such as cheese and butter- perhaps a return to their use could reduce the amount of plastic we have seen on the trails!

Bamboo also started to appear but mostly the blackened remains from a mass die back that happened across the country four years ago. This occurs after 10-15 years and only now are new shoots starting to return.

Landslides have caused path diversion but make beautiful green pools in the river and our return to muddy forests revealed the presence of a Royal Bengal Tiger- only the footprints were seen however but all thanks to the wildlife corridors that connect the national parks.

We arrived at the finish to be greeted with an incredible banquet including Bhutanese wine and beer then spent the night in Gangtey in the Phobjikha valley and enjoyed our first bed and proper shower for a month. This is famous for the black neck cranes which migrate to and from here to Tibet each year. There are about 600 from a global population of around 3000 and, before each arrival and departure, they circle above the local Goempa 3 times- very Buddhist!


Distance 14km 5hrs

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