Day 3: Sakteng to Jongkhar

After the most terrible day of hiking ever, it couldn’t get any worse. I knew that. The next day, I was still exhausted from not sleeping that well, but the sun was out and there was a town to be explored. After breakfast cooked by school staff members, Scott and I set out to see Sakteng.

The whole town was full of these cobbly narrow streets.

We walked on a small knob above town.

And watched as a caravan of yaks came walking in. Right outside the town is farmable land where the Brokpa people grow and harvest buckwheat.


Scott Harris showed a group of Sakteng students a photo of themselves.

Lisa, the brokpa. Usually I hate doing this sort of thing - wearing the clothes of other groups of people as if it's a costume - but when we saw the hats for sale at a nearby shop, I couldn't resist. These hats are woven with yak fur. The tendrils allow a convenient place for rain to drip off from, keeping the wetness away from the face.


The whole group above Sakteng. In the photo is one extra person, a teacher at Sakteng, who has actually spent a little time in the states and studied at the Teton Science School in Wyoming. Him and Scott had a lot to talk about as Scott had attended that school in his younger days.

Again, we got a late start to the day’s hike, leaving Sakteng around 10:30. Walking out of Sakteng, I had the same feeling as I did walking from Merak – I didn’t want to leave. Most of the group didn’t either, but we were on a schedule and had plans to sleep at the primary school in Jongkhar that night.

Everything was so green and bright.

Scott became a big fan of umbrella-assisted hiking, as did others in the group. Notice how it wasn't raining.


At the first pass out of the Sakteng, there was a group of local brokpa people. They had with them mats to sit on and various drinking containers and thermoses. I assumed they were on a picnic as it was such a gorgeous day and Bhutanese love their picnics. But I was wrong. It was a goodbye tea party for our group. Apparently, a small group of locals will do this for every group of visitors that leaves Sakteng. So we put out packs down, sat down in the sun, and enjoyed bowls full of ara or tea or soda, and our last glimpses of Sakteng. It wasn’t until after 11 that we really started our day’s walk.



Last glimpse before Sakteng disappeared into the valley.

This day of hiking was the total opposite of the previous day’s. There was no rain and for most of the hike we followed a river that seemed to calm any leftover nerves I might’ve had. I loved the backdrop of the rushing water as I walked the easy trail at a good pace. There were, of course, some steep uphills, but without the altitude, they were a lot more manageable. I recall just feeling gloriously healthy and happy. My attitude had done a 180 and I was relieved.


And I thought my bag was heavy.



The gents took a dip in what they described to be as pretty cold water.

Right before dusk, I arrived at a row of prayer flags and saw Scott and Jean Daniel sitting and waiting. We had arrived in Jongkhar. We waited for the rest of the group before we made our way to the school.

Jongkhar Primary School, where we spent our last night on the trail.