The amateur sports association Viaggi e Viaggi has been publicising its 45th expedition: high-altitude trekking in the magical kingdom of Bhutan.
Accompanied by… Dryarn.
A group of 22 trekkers, led by Nico Bonometti and Aldo Mazzocchi, treaded through the sacred lands of Bhutan, where peaks of more than 5,000 meters above sea level are off-bounds for religious reasons.
To respect local traditions the group therefore ventured as far as allowed, up to 4,958 meters above sea level.
The trek was totally self-sufficient, sleeping for six nights in tents and carrying the heavy camping gear in the trekkers’ backpacks and on the backs of nearly 40 horses.
This number of horses was justified by the fact that the local inhabitants, who are Buddhists, choose not to overload the animals to avoid unnecessary suffering.
The sacred mountain “protecting” the trekkers was Jomolhari, although they were also able, along the trail, to admire many other wonderful snow-covered peaks of over 7,000 m.a.s.l. protected by the kingdom, set like a diamond between China (Tibet) and India.
The expedition was an adventure from the outset, the moment that the Bhutan Air plane landed on a tiny strip after a slalom through an apparently insurmountable amphitheatre of mountains.
Mission accomplished!
