Having closed its borders when Covid hit, the little Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan finally opened them again to tourists in September. Those that come must pay a $200-per-day “sustainable development fee”, up from $65 before the pandemic, which is designed to control numbers and protect the country’s environment and culture. But there’s also a new attraction to enjoy, says Mary Holland in the FT – the Trans-Bhutan Trail, a 250-mile hiking path spanning the country.
Bhutan has pursued a deliberately slow and careful path to development, famously emphasising “Gross National Happiness” over Gross Domestic Product. The country’s first motorable road wasn’t built until the 1960s, so memories of long, “gruelling” journeys on ancestral paths such as the Trans-Bhutan Trail are still common, and hearing people’s stories of them is part of the pleasure of walking it.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The path is often very steep, and offers spectacular views of snowy Himalayan peaks, but for the most part it crosses lower, more populated areas than the country’s well-trodden high-mountain trekking routes. Scattered along it are 21 Buddhist temples and four fortified monasteries (dzongs), as well as countless stupas and prayer wheels.
The trail runs from the town of Haa, in the west, to Trashigang, in the east, and passes through 27 villages, with traditional wooden houses set amid high, green pastures. Nights are spent in small hotels, farms or campsites, and there are 170 wooden posts bearing QR codes along the way, enabling walkers to access information on local history and culture.
Visit transbhutantrail.com and tourism.gov.bt for more information. Private operators also offer trips along the whole route or sections of it.
-
Political cartoons for December 20Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include drowning rats, the ACA, and more
-
5 fairly vain cartoons about Vanity Fair’s interviews with Susie WilesCartoon Artists take on demolition derby, alcoholic personality, and more
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s WifeIn the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Joanna Trollope: novelist who had a No. 1 bestseller with The Rector’s Wife
In the Spotlight Trollope found fame with intelligent novels about the dramas and dilemmas of modern women
-
Appetites now: 2025 in food trendsFeature From dining alone to matcha mania to milk’s comeback
-
Man vs Baby: Rowan Atkinson stars in an accidental adoption comedyTalking Point Sequel to Man vs Bee is ‘nauseatingly schmaltzy’
-
Goodbye June: Kate Winslet’s directorial debut divides criticsTalking Point Helen Mirren stars as the terminally ill English matriarch in this sentimental festive heartwarmer
-
A Christmas Carol (or two)The Week Recommends These are the most delightful retellings of the Dickens classic from around the country
-
‘Capitalism: A Global History’ by Sven Beckert and ‘American Canto’ by Olivia NuzziFeature A consummate history of capitalism and a memoir from the journalist who fell in love with RFK Jr.
-
Frank Gehry: the architect who made buildings flow like waterFeature The revered building master died at the age of 96
-
6 lovely barn homesFeature Featuring a New Jersey homestead on 63 acres and California property with a silo watchtower
