Dagala Thousand Lake Trek

The Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek is a five-day, roughly 50-kilometre walk across the Dagala range, over four passes, with three of its four camps between about 4,050 and 4,300 metres and a high point of 4,520 m, among a scatter of small sacred lakes. The walking is in Thimphu, not Dagana — it starts at Genekha and now finishes at Chamgang. It runs April to June and September to October.

Is this trek in Dagana or Thimphu?

Thimphu, as it is run today — and we would rather say so on the page than have you work it out on day nine.

The route begins at Genekha, an hour or so from Thimphu, and ends at Chamgang, which is also in Thimphu district and sits about 12.7 kilometres north-east of the start. Neither end is in Dagana.

The Dagana connection is real, and it is historical. The trek takes its name from the Dagala range, which the district is also named for, and the classic route finished at Tseza, in Dagana, about 23 kilometres south-east of Genekha. Dagana’s own dzongkhag still lists the trek among its attractions. If finishing in Dagana matters to you, ask us first — the route we run does not.

What is the walking like?

Moderate, high, and camped. Roughly 50 kilometres over five days on the trail, inside an eleven-day trip with Paro, Thimphu and Punakha at either end. Pack ponies carry the equipment.

The altitude is the thing to understand before you book. The trail starts around 3,290 metres and stays up: of the four nights under canvas, the first is near 3,290 m and the other three sit between about 4,050 and 4,300 metres, with the high point at the 4,520 m saddle above Dala Tsho. Three consecutive nights above 4,000 metres is a different proposition from a walk that touches a high pass and comes straight down. The descent comes all at once on the final day — about 1,630 metres of it, into Thimphu.

It is rated moderate rather than hard, but it is not a first Himalayan trek. At these altitudes the limiting factor is how your body handles thin air over consecutive nights, which is not the same thing as being fit.

The lakes, and the name

There are not a thousand. No source claims there are, and the name is doing what names do. What is actually up there is a large number of small, clear lakes scattered across the range, held sacred locally, with good birdlife on the approach.

The compensation for the height is the skyline. On a clear day the view takes in Jomolhari, Jichu Drake, Masang Gang and a long line of neighbours.

When should you go?

April to June, or September to October — the two windows either side of the monsoon. Outside them the passes are either under snow or under cloud, and the lakes are the whole point.

See things to do in Dagana for the district the trek is named after, and things to do in Thimphu for the one you will actually be walking in.