6 Jul 2013

Bhutan: Chele La

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 12
8th April 2013

Previous posts:
Bhutan trip had gone extremely well. But my daughter was not
very excited as the snow I promised was only seen but not ‘felt’. The only
place where we could expect snow was Chele La, the highest motorable pass in
Bhutan. At about 13,000 ft ASL, it connects Paro with Haa valley. It is at the
same height as Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh. With great difficulty, BRO
opens road by end of May. But after travelling through various passes in
Bhutan, I knew that there would very little or no snow even in April at the
height of 13,000 feet in Chele La. Hence I asked my daughter not to expect ‘snow’
in the pass.
Chele La is just 35 km from Paro which would take about 90
minutes. There might be no snow in April but flowers compensate for it. They
were omnipresent in the hills.
There were few patches of snow near the pass which was
sufficient for my daughter. But later she complained that the snow should have
covered the entire mountain!!
On a clear day, we could have seen Jhomolhari peak which is
at an altitude of 24,035 ft ASL. But nature did not provide the permits that
day!!
On the other side of the pass was Haa valley. Indian
military has some presence there.
We may not have seen good views in Chele La but a surprise
was awaiting us when we flew back from Paro to Bagdogra. The weather was great
and we could see the clear view of Jhomolhari peak (Am I right?) !!
We could see a gigantic peak on the far side.  It was Kanchenjunga in Sikkim, the third highest
peak in the world.

That was a great way to end the Bhutan trip!!

12 Responses

  1. Ercotravels
    | Reply

    Wow, beautiful interesting post! indeed, Paro is an amazing destination to visit in Bhutan. To Know about India travels please visit on my account.

  3. ರಾಜೇಶ್ ನಾಯ್ಕ
    | Reply

    Looks like this one was the most relaxed/laidback of all your trips. More time on hand than places to see! Names of the places were again meticulously noted and remembered. Some of the names (like 'Ha') were real funny. I hope people live in that country. Not many are seen in your photographs. We are not used to seeing photos without people! It was a good journey through Bhutan for your readers.

    Where next?

  6. Anu
    | Reply

    Amazing pictures trees, particularly that of snow clad peaks. Bhutan came to my bucket list only after seeing your travelogues! Would def refer here when I go to Bhutan 🙂

  8. Aravind GJ
    | Reply

    Ercotravels, Niranjan, Parul, Anu, Nithin, Flying fox,
    Thanks.

    Rajesh,
    Yes. It was a relaxing trip. Travel to Bhutan is more to experience.

    There are just 7 lakh people in the country. And very few visitors during our stay. That explains the photos without people.

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