Tour of Bhutan 2024 | Day 3 | Haa – Paro | 96.5 kms

I get up around 8:15 am owing to sleeping late the previous night. I get packing quickly. Original plan was to step out by 9am. I get myself ready and pack all my bags. I am called for breakfast which consists of fried rice, chili paste, omelette and buckwheat dumplings, all served with hot tea.

It’s the most tastiest breakfast and I thank the host. After the breakfast, I write a review for her homestay in a book given by her. I back track some pages and see many good reviews by foreign travelers. I thank her for her hospitality and get the stuff loaded onto the bike. We finally manage to hit the road by 10am.

We make our way towards Damthang, not our original route but to experience the scenery. It’s only 15 km from Haa and we casually pace our way towards it, soaking in the beautiful morning shiny weather. The scenery is perfect and at some places we can see ice being formed at the road sides. Also, a thin layer of snow can be seen clinging to the grass. We stop to take photo. At some places, we even see large prayer drums being rotated by the force of the water running down from the mountains. It’s one of the most beautiful sight to see. We make ourselves to the end of the road at Damthang, where we are stopped by Royal Bhutan Army commander as we are not allowed to proceed ahead. He tells us that the China border is just 1 day trek away. We, now backtrack the same route till we reach Haa.

From there, we different route which steadily starts to climb up. There is a noticeable drop in temperature but it is offset by the brightly shining sun. The total serpentine climb is of around 25 kms till we reach the Chelela pass top at 3988 mtr. This is the highest motorable road in Bhutan. We spend some time there clicking photos and also make a short 5 min hike towards a stupa perched on a small hill. The 5 min hike takes a toll on us as we are constantly battered by rough winds. At the top, we rest for a while, click some photos with the Jomolhori mountain at the backdrop before retreating our steps to the bikes.

We then start our descent towards Paro, which is 40 kms away and situated at the valley below. The road is full of twists and turns, as we gradually descend down. The temperature is colder here as the sunlight is not able to penetrate. Some sections of the roads are covered with thin layer of ice and we tackle them with utmost care and attention. Ice on the road is the fear of almost all the riders out there.

We escape through all of them without falling down. At some sections, the sunlight manages to cut through and which when falls on our eyes, literally makes them blind. We reach the base around 3:30pm managing all the twists and tums. Towards Paro, we stop at the airport runway viewing point where we get to see landing of a plane and take-off of 2 aircrafts. We just consider ourselves lucky to witness this event. From here, Paro is just 5 km away and before we enter town, we fill our bellies on account of skipping lunch. We have a quick snacks of momos.

Hotel Khamsum, where my stay is booked is not for away. We get checked into the hotel. It’s a classic 3-star hotel as we are served hot coffee as a welcome drink. My luggage is unloaded from the bike and transferred to my room. After my check-in formalities, I am ushered to my room. I get freshened up and then head out in the market area where a lot of handicraft shops are there, mostly shops selling souvenir items to tourists. I check out most of them before buying some quality fridge magnet and Bhutan embroidered tshirt for myself. Almost 70% of the shops are selling handicraft items. After my small walk, I come back to the hotel for my dinner following which I again go out to click some night pictures with my DSLR. A beautifully lit Dzong had caught my attention the evening before. I go close to the Dzong on my bike, click the well planned photos before returning back to the hotel with almost frozen hands. It’s almost 10 p.m. I retire to my bed and go off to sleep after completing the diary.