Western Bhutan · Haa
A hidden valley beyond Chele La
About Haa
Haa is one of Bhutan’s quietest valleys, tucked away behind the high pass of Chele La near the border with Tibet. It only opened to visitors in 2002, and it still feels wonderfully untouched.
Its people are known for their warm hospitality, alpine farms and herding traditions, and for hoentay, buckwheat dumplings that you will hardly find anywhere else.
Three gentle hills, known as the three brothers, watch over the valley. Come for a day from Paro or, better, stay a night in a farmhouse and walk between the villages.
Featured highlights
The white and black temples
Legend says that two pigeons, one white and one black, flew from Tibet to show where two temples should be built. Lhakhang Karpo, the white temple, and Lhakhang Nagpo, the black temple, still stand in the valley today, and Lhakhang Karpo hosts the Haa Tshechu each autumn.
Walks in the valley
Haa is ideal for gentle walks: along the river between villages, up to small monasteries on the hillsides, or towards the three brothers hills. With so few visitors, you may have the trails to yourself.
Over the pass
The road from Paro climbs to Chele La, one of the highest roads in Bhutan, through forests of rhododendron that bloom red and pink in spring. Prayer flags crowd the ridge, and on a clear day the snow peak of Jomolhari shines in the distance.
Haa’s own dish
Hoentay are buckwheat dumplings filled with turnip leaves, cheese and chilli, steamed or fried, and found almost only in Haa. Learn to make them with a local family, and taste other mountain dishes made with buckwheat, potatoes and cheese.
Tell us what you’d love to see, and we’ll shape the journey around you.
Travel with purpose
Your visit supports the farming families of a valley few travellers reach.
Included in every price, it helps pay for Bhutan’s free healthcare and education, and for protecting its forests.
We stay in family homestays and farmhouses, and buy from the weavers and farmers you meet along the way.
Every trip is planned by our family in Thimphu, so what you spend stays in Bhutan and with the people you meet.
Trips that visit Haa
Add it to any journey, or let us plan a trip around it.
None of our sample trips visits Haa yet, but it is easy to add. Tell us how long you have, and we will build Haa into your journey.
Make it your ownFestivals
Dates follow the lunar calendar and are tentative until officially confirmed. See all festivals
