Jhomolhari, aka Chomolhari or Jumolhari, whatever the spelling of Bhutan’s second highest peak, trekking to Jhomolhari is the most sought after trek in Bhutan for tourists that genuinely feel they are in an adequate physical shape. Acclaimed as different than trekking in Nepal, Bhutan treks pass through hardly any villages thus present dramatically less exposure to local population. Bhutan Himalayas have only small number of isolated villages and getting there demands to cross over a number of Himalaya’s most challenging passes. In Nepal, however, trekkers pass through many villages that accommodate all their needs and desires, notably providing comfy rooms. Trekking in Bhutan is camping style only. Whilst Bhutan provides two or three soft treks suitable for a recreational hiker, all high altitude treks in Bhutan package not only steep ascents and descents day after day and cross many high passes, requiring the need to walk some 8 or 9 hours a day, first and foremost it is the high altitude that’s the major worry for all trekkers. Many folks seem to still naively feel that being younger or in superior physical shape they will not need to deal with the uncomfortable side effects of high altitude. But the assumption is completely wrong as altitude effects each of us in a diverse manner, for this reason before you might start encountering altitude sickness on the Jhomolhari trek it pays you determine your choices how to proceed when that will happen to you before you leave Paro.
Jomolhari treks is just the trek you get best knowledgeable about before you sign up. First four days are very simple and you should make it to Jangothang. You should plan on some seven hours per day on the trail with altitude gain of some 1,200 to 1,800 feet per day. When you get to Jangothang you’ll have arrived at a destination with a impressive view of Jhomolhari, and essentially that is what you came for.
Though there exists some pursuit to be done when you get here, it is likely that by this point you will start sensing some symptoms of the altitude sickness because 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 over the effects of altitude. If your throbbing headache and nausea will subside you will have two alternatives. If you’ll think you are really have no problem with altitude, then go on the next day to the faraway village of Lingzhi. But mind you it is not a stroll. Think about 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. Once you get going you’ll have to continue on. No turning back!
Those two humps are two major passes of some 15,000 feet, and Lingzhi is way down there in the middle of those two humps. So that means you will encounter long and arduous trekking up and down and up and down again. If you prefer a figure consider 3,000 feet steeply uphill, then 3,000 feet steeply downhill and you will have to repeat that more than just couple times to get to Thimphu. Relevant to 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 side effects of the altitude, never mind the physical suffering you may well be living through, get ready you will experience results of your bad decision. No need to distress you with the words the likes of pulmonary edema or cerebral edema, only the total weariness and a feeling of sickness will take their toll on you to where at the end you likely remember almost nothing of the attractiveness of the Chomolhari trek.Should you be genuine with yourself and determine you can handle a few more passes but alternatively select a touch quicker route than the one via Lingzhi, then select coming back to Paro via “Chomolhari trek 2″ over the passes of Bhonte La, Thakung La and Thombu La, each progresively lower but nevertheless above 12,000 feet.
If you are truly wiped out, with monstrous headache, nausea, not eating, barely managing to put some hot tea into yourself, tell your guide you would like to return to Paro the way you arrived, downhill via Drukgyel Dzong, the same step by step way, retracing your steps, no surprises. Good job, you almost certainly made a correct decision which is beneficial to all, you as well the fellow members of your party and your guide.