The flight lands in Paro, and the road climbs at once to Chele La at 3,988 m, one of the highest roads in Bhutan. On a clear day Chomolhari and Jichu Drake stand to the north. If there is time, walk to Kila Goemba, a nunnery built into the cliffs below the pass, then drop into the Haa valley for the night.

The trek begins in the Haa valley at 2,670 m. A farm track gives way to a path that climbs gently past yak herders’ camps to the first camp below the Sagala pass, at 3,150 m. About three hours on foot, with the afternoon to rest.

Half an hour of climbing brings you to the Sagala pass at 3,550 m, with Chomolhari and Jichu Drake in view on a clear morning. The trail then rises and falls through rhododendron and meadow to a ridge top at 4,100 m above the Haa valley, and on through hemlock and juniper to camp at 3,850 m.

Follow the ridge through meadows and tall rhododendron to the stone cairns of Kung Karpo, a sky burial ground at 4,350 m, with Paro on one side and Haa on the other. Kila Goemba appears far below before the path descends to Chele La, where the vehicle waits for the drive down to Paro.

The walk to Taktshang, the Tiger’s Nest, which clings to a cliff 900 m above the valley where Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived on the back of a tigress. In the afternoon, the ruins of Drukgyel Dzong beneath Chomolhari, and Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in the kingdom.

Breakfast, farewells and the short drive to Paro airport. You leave the valley the way you came, through the mountains.