<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="time" canonical="https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194609/trans-bhutan-trail-bhutan/" -->

---
description: Find out why Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan is on TIME&#x27;s list of the world&#x27;s greatest places of 2022.
title: Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan: World&#x27;s Greatest Places 2022
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89938fbe8760b425/698a337be6e84a15372af140/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-Bhutan.jpeg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
---

Jul 12, 2022

# Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan

Breathtaking pilgrimage

by 

Sucheta Rawal

![Paro Taktsang, the Tigers Nest Monastery in Bhutan](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89938fbe8760b425/698a337be6e84a15372af140/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-Bhutan.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

The Taktsang Monastery above the Paro Valley in Bhutan.

The Taktsang Monastery above the Paro Valley in Bhutan.Suzanne Stroeer—Getty Images

After a 60-year hiatus, the [Trans Bhutan Trail](http://transbhutantrail.org "undefined") is set to finally reopen. Since the 16th century, when the 250-mile trek was the only way to travel across Bhutan, the trail has served as a pilgrimage route for Buddhists, running from Haa in the west to Trashigang in the east. Now it has been reimagined as an outdoor adventure through the world’s first carbon-negative country. 

The Royal Government of Bhutan, Tourism Council of Bhutan, and Bhutan Canada Foundation combined forces to oversee the restoration of 18 major bridges, 10,000 stairs, and hundreds of miles of pathways. Intrepid travelers can hike, bike, and camp through the lush meadows and dense forests of nine _dzongkhags_ (districts), 28 _gewogs_ (local governments), two municipalities, parts of Phrumsengla National Park, and more than 400 historic sites. The route is peppered with museums and ancient fortresses, like Jakar Dzong and the Fortress of the White Bird, perched on a ridge above the historic Bumthang Valley. Tour company G Adventures is launching an [11-day camping experience](https://www.gadventures.com/trips/camp-the-trans-bhutan-trail/ADTC/?ref=asearch "undefined") that escorts trekkers along some of the most extraordinary parts of the trail, starting and ending in Paro, with a final breathtaking trek to Tiger’s Nest, the famous monastery embedded in a cliff wall.

A portion of the $200 minimum daily package charge paid to the government of Bhutan by international travelers visiting the trail is applied to sustainable development efforts, such as environmental conservation, social welfare, cultural promotion, and improving infrastructure.


Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan: World's Greatest Places 2022

```json
[{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194609/trans-bhutan-trail-bhutan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194609/trans-bhutan-trail-bhutan/"},"headline":"Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan","datePublished":"2022-07-12T11:06:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:04:33.990Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194609/trans-bhutan-trail-bhutan/","keywords":["franchise","Magazine","World's Greatest Places"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89938fbe8760b425/698a337be6e84a15372af140/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-Bhutan.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89938fbe8760b425/698a337be6e84a15372af140/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-Bhutan.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194609/trans-bhutan-trail-bhutan/","name":"Trans Bhutan Trail, Bhutan"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places of 2022","description":"50 extraordinary destinations to explore","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/by8VqGWH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-07-11T22:04:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/by8VqGWH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194609/trans-bhutan-trail-bhutan/","duration":"PT1M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194609/trans-bhutan-trail-bhutan/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}]
```
