The history of Trans Bhutan Trail trace back to 16th century when it used to be the only route to travel between pristine Haa valley in the extreme west to exotic Trashigang in the east. Spanning the breadth of the country, the trail covers a distance of 403km and in ancient times traversed by pilgrims, traders and royal messengers. With the construction of national highways during 1960s the trail gradually lost its significance.  Bridges, footpaths and stairways collapsed, villages separated and once the popular pilgrimage and trade route became neglected. In 2018, with the wisdom and vision of His Majesty, the King restoration of the trail started, led by Bhutan Canada Foundation with the support of the Tourism Council of Bhutan, Department of Forestry and Parks, Royal Society for Protection of Nature, Association of Bhutan Tour Operators, De-Suung (Guardian of Peace), Guide Association of Bhutan, Department of Local Governance, Bhutan Sustainable Tourism  and after almost two years of rigorous work the trail got restored to its original glory, including the rebuilding of 18 bridges, more than 10,000 steps and development of hundreds of kilometres of footpath. The trail can be entirely or partially walked, run or biked and certainly offers one of the most exclusive walking tour experiences in the world.

Traversing from extreme west to east, the Trans Bhutan Trail crosses the entire country and so offers opportunity to create itineraries of varied duration, from 4 days to 35 days. Depending upon travellers’ preferences, specifications and accommodation choices, variety of tour program can curated offering once a lifetime experience amidst a landscape of incredible natural beauty. Trans Bhutan Trail also hugely supports and encourages community-based tourism, engaging local communities at different level and their active participation. 

Like in other perspectives of development, Bhutan has always been adopting a conscious approach in promoting tourism, right from the time it opened its door for tourism in the year 1974. Indeed, the present-day tourism in Bhutan effectively qualifies to be called as selective tourism, sustainable tourism, eco-tourism, appropriate tourism, environmental friendly tourism and even community based tourism and it has been possible due to combined effort of the government, the people, as well as the tourism enterprises. Importantly, the development and opening of Trans Bhutan Trail is yet another significant step in country’s far sighted policy of ‘High Value & Low Volume’ tourism.