Dochu La, 3,100 m (10,170 ft)
The car leaves Thimphu before sunrise and climbs 23 km (14 mi) through forest and prayer flags. At the top the air bites, your breath shows, and 108 white chortens stand on the ridge.
Photo: Truly Bhutan / Unsplash
A memorial
The eldest Queen Mother raised the Druk Wangyal chortens in memory of Bhutanese soldiers who died in December 2003. They were consecrated in June 2004 and stand in tiers of 45, 36 and 27 around a central chorten.
Photo: Rama Krushna Behera
How to walk it
Begin with the lowest tier of 45 and keep the chortens on your right. The northern view opens widest from the top tier, beside the Druk Wangyal Lhakhang, finished in 2008 for a hundred years of the monarchy.
Photo: Pema Gyamtsho / Unsplash
October to February
In these months the skyline often clears. Your guide will point out Masanggang, 7,194 m (23,600 ft), and Gangkhar Puensum, 7,570 m (24,840 ft), Bhutan's highest peak. Climbing above 6,000 m has been barred since 1994, so it stays unclimbed.
Photo: Pema Gyamtsho / Unsplash
13 December
The Druk Wangyel Tshechu is held at the pass every 13 December. When the sky is clear, the winter range stands behind the dancers. It pairs well with crane evenings in the Phobjikha valley.
Photo: Pema Gyamtsho / Unsplash
April
Spring rarely gives the clear northern skyline, but in April the forest behind the chortens is red and pink with rhododendron. From the pass, the road drops 49 km (30 mi) and some 1,900 m (6,230 ft) into the warm Punakha valley.
Photo: BLOG REGION / Unsplash
On the way to Punakha
The pass can sit in fog on any day, even in the clear months. We leave Thimphu early, carry a flask of tea, and treat the view as a bonus on the road to Punakha, not the reason for it.
Photo: Unma Desai / Unsplash