Trashigang dzong
Eastern Bhutan

Trashigang

The east's great crossroads and the trailhead for Merak and Sakteng, land of the Brokpa herders.

Altitude 1,150 m Best season October to April; spring for Merak and Sakteng Worth 2 to 3 nights Getting there Two hours beyond Mongar

In the far east of the kingdom, two valleys stayed closed to outsiders until 2010.  Merak and Sakteng, home of the Brokpa, semi nomadic yak herders whose felt hats carry five points to drain the rain.

Trashigang is their market town and the east’s true hub, a warm gorge side settlement below a seventeenth century dzong. From here the trails climb east through rhododendron forest to the Brokpa highlands with  journeys of two to five days that feel decades deep.

This is the Bhutan for travellers who have already loved the west and want the country with all its edges intact.

Trashigang is about two hours beyond Mongar and works as the base for the east. Two to three nights covers the dzong, Radhi and Gom Kora. Merak and Sakteng need more time, with treks of two to five days, and spring is the best season for them. October to April suits the rest of the district. The Trashigang Tshechu in November is the main gathering of the east.

While You Are Here

Things worth your time

  1. 01 Trek to Merak and Sakteng Two to five days among the Brokpa, with yak wool tents, highland hospitality and the possibility, locals insist, of the migoi.
  2. 02 Trashigang Dzong Above the Drangme Chhu gorge, guarding what was once the only road east.
  3. 03 Radhi village The rice bowl of the east and a centre of raw silk bura weaving. Walk the terraces between houses.
  4. 04 Gom Kora A riverside temple where Guru Rinpoche subdued a demon. Circle the great black rock as as pilgrims have always done.
Festival Season

Festivals in Trashigang

Trashigang Tshechu each winter is the east's great gathering. Brokpa herders walk days to attend.

From the Journal

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