Chele la Pass

Bhutan is a mountainous country linked with series of passes.  Located at 3810m (13,000ft), between the valley of Paro and Haa is Chele La, the highest road pass in the country. 

Popular for short excursion (2 and half hours), many tourists are seen visiting the vantage point. Some prefer driving, some hiking and many wheels down either to Haa or Paro valley in their mountain bikes. The drive to Chele La is through dense spruce and larch forests. Depending on season you will encounter various sights such as frozen river, waterfall, rhododendron forest and yaks grazing peacefully.  On a clear day, you can view Mt. Jumolhari(Bhutan's most sacred peak at over 22,000 ft) along with Jichu Drake and adjoining peaks to the North West, as well as the view of both the valley (Paro and Haa). 

Few things to watch out for driving along the way are:

• Roadside drub chuu (spring) with rock paintings of Guru Rinpoche and his two consorts.
• DzongdrakhaGoemba, just two km away it is famous for its large white Nepali style chorten perched stunningly on a cliff ledge.  The site is where Guru Rinpoche suppressed local demons and is definitely worth a detour
• If you like getting off the beaten track and want to stretch your legs, hike to kilanunnery, established as a mediation site in the 9th century; it is the oldest nunnery in the country

Other popular passes of Bhutan includes DochuLa  at 3,116 metres (10,223 ft) between Thimphu to Punakha , which features 108 chortens- known as the Druk WangyalChortens or “Chortens of the victory of the Druk Gyalpo”.

East of WangduePhodrang is the Pele La at 3,390 metres (11,122 ft). Continuing to the east along the main highway is Yotang La, Shertang La, Wangthang La, Thrumshing La and Kori La.