Jhomolhari, aka Chomolhari or Jumolhari, regardless of the spelling of Bhutan’s second highest mountain peak, trekking to Jhomolhari is the most favorite trek in Bhutan for travellers that believe they are in an adequate physical condition. Praised as different than trekking in Nepal, Bhutan treks lead through few villages thus afford dramatically reduced exposure to local inhabitants. Bhutan Himalayas only have small number of remote settlements and to reach there demands to labor over a few of Himalaya’s most ferocious passes. In Nepal, on the other hand, trekkers go through lots of villages that accommodate all their wants and needs, in particular offering comfy overnight accommodation. Trekking in Bhutan is camping style only. Though Bhutan offers two or three soft treks suited to a casual hiker, all high altitude treks in Bhutan present not just extreme ascents and descents everyday and cross multiple high passes, requiring the need to walk some 8 or 9 hours a day, most importantly it is the high altitude that’s the primary worry for all trekkers. Many folks apparently still wrongly believe that being young or in very good shape they will not have to deal with the negative effects of high altitude. But the premise is inaccurate as altitude effects each of us in a different fashion, hence before you may start encountering altitude sickness on the Jhomolhari trek it makes sense you settle on your alternatives what you should do when that may happen to you before you leave Paro.

Jumolhari base camp trek is exactly the trek that you get best informed about prior to signing up. First four days are quite easy and you should arrive at Jangothang. Anticipate some seven hours a day on the trail with altitude gain of some 1,200 to 1,800 feet per day. Once you get to Jangothang you’ll have arrived at a destination with a impressive view of Jhomolhari, and in essence that is what you came for.

Though there is some exploration to be done when you’re here, it’s quite possible that by this point you will start feeling some signs and symptoms of the altitude sickness on account of being over 12,000 feet above sea level. The decision time will be here. Rest a day doing as little as possible and see if you get adjusted to altitude. If your headache and nausea will settle down you will have two alternatives. If you’ll believe you are really feeling fine, then keep on the next day to the faraway village of Lingzhi. But fact is it is not a stroll. Think of the Bactrian double-hump camel and you get the trek profile for what is coming up next in terms of getting to Lingzhi and beyond that on to Thimphu. If you get started you’ll have to continue on. No turning back!

Those two humps are two principal passes of some 15,000 feet, and Lingzhi is way on the bottom in between those two humps. So that implies you will deal with long and challenging trekking up and down and up and down again. If you want a number envision 3,000 feet considerably uphill, then 3,000 feet steeply downhill and you will have to replicate that more than just couple times to get to Thimphu. Regarding distance that translates to some 10 to 17 miles a day. If you were in self-denial that you were feeling fine and felt no nasty effects of the altitude, never mind the physical suffering you most likely are battling, get ready you will suffer consequences of your bad verdict. No need to distress you with the terms the likes of pulmonary edema or cerebral edema, just the total exhaustion and nausea will do you in well to where at the end you probably recall next to nothing of the magic of the Chomolhari trek.Should you be sincere with yourself and decide you can deal with some other passes but instead choose a tad easier route than the one via Lingzhi, then pick returning to Paro via “Chomolhari trek 2″ over the passes of Bhonte La, Thakung La and Thombu La, each progresively lower yet still above 12,000 feet.

If you are definitely wiped out, with huge headache, nausea and vomiting, not eating, barely managing to put some hot tea into yourself, tell your guide you must return to Paro the way you got here, back down via Drukgyel Dzong, the identical steady way, retracing your steps, no surprises. Well done, you most likely made a correct decision which is beneficial to all, you as well the fellow members of your party and your guide.