Tour of Bhutan 2024 | Day 17 | Trashigang – Trashiyangtse – Trashigang | 117.1 kms

Got up around 8:15 am and almost immediately started to get ready. Brewed myself a coffee provided in the room. Packed my stuff for today and went down for breakfast around 9:20 am. Breakfast was simple, consisting of coffee and butter toast. We also had avocado paste that I tried with the last slice of bread.

We left for Trashiyangste around 10 am. Tank was just above half, so decided to make it full before leaving. We rode down till the valley and from the main bridge took a right. The road, like yesterday was perfect with almost no traffic. Speed was limited to 40 kmph so that I could absorb the surrounding. Up ahead there was a board cautioning us about the rock bees who had made hives under the bridge up ahead.

I took a photo of both, the board and well as the hives. At the end of the bridge, was a large wall mural of plaster done. It has the word ‘Trashiyangste’ on it with the middle part showing ‘Chorten Kora’ which was our first place of visit in Trashiyangste. We took a photo at the place and moved forward. Our sides got changed further up ahead as the river now was to our left.

We climbed a little afterwards and also the road became narrow. Some sections saw damaged roads due to mega hydro projects being carried out. Some sections saw new layering of tarmac while some were badly damaged and needed repair. The dust cloud from the moving vehicles was really a problem. Up ahead, Phub had a close call with one of the cows when it charged on him. We reached Trashiyangste around 12:30 pm. Went to ‘Chorten Kora’ first. The Stupa was completely white and really stood our in the town. Many visitors could be seen. We parked and went inside the compound. Took a circular round and came out. We relaxed a bit on the open ground in front of the stupa before heading to the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary. Someone told that you can watch black necked cranes here also. But the reply form the entry office was that the tickets had to be booked online and also the birds, at this time would be on the other side of the mountain and so we would not be able to see them even though we wanted to.

Dejected, we went to the viewpoint from where we could get the view of the town . We took some photos before heading down to the Dzong. At the Dzong, we just took the photos from the outside before marking our return journey.

It was well past 2 pm. We decided to have lunch somewhere along the way. Around midway, we settled for one but it served only Indian snacks, so we continued ahead. Later, up ahead, when the river was to our left, we found a food truck parked by the side. It really stood odd man our in this type of surroundings. It should have been in India or the USA. We ordered a snack of ‘Koka’ and ‘Cheese Momos’. Later on, I was it down with hot tea. Before leaving, I buy some of the locally made snacks.

Light is fading fast by the time we reach near the main bridge. The setting sun has cast an orange hue on the town’s Dzong so to photograph it, we climb the opposite mountain to get a good view and shot. The road is completely offroad and it takes us around 15 min to get to a comfortable vantage point for the photo.

We take series of photo before going down in a cautious manner. We reached town in dark. The city is all lit up with lights. We check back into the hotel. I freshen up and head down to the lobby to catch up on my diary till the time dinner is served. Dinner arrives by 8:30 pm and consists of Rice, Chicken, Daal and Chili paste. After the dinner, I continue my diary writing in the room and doze off around 11 pm.