Thrumshing La, also called Thrumshingla Pass and Donga Pass, (

Dzongkha Dzongkha (; ) is a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman language that is the official and national language of Bhutan. It is written using the Tibetan script. The word means "the language of the fortress", from ' "fortress" and ' "language ...

: ཁྲུམས་ཤིང་ལ་; Wylie: ''khrums-shing la''; "Thrumshing Pass"), is the second-highest

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

in Bhutan, connecting its central and eastern regions across the otherwise impregnable Donga range that has separated populations for centuries. It is located on a bend of the

Lateral Road The East-West Highway, also known as the Lateral Road, is Bhutan's primary east–west corridor, connecting Phuentsholing in the southwest to Trashigang in the east. In between, the Lateral Road runs directly through Wangdue Phodrang, Trongsa ...

at the border of

Bumthang District Bumthang District (Dzongkha: བུམ་ཐང་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Bum-thang rzong-khag'') is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. It contains numerous temples and Buddhist sacred sites. The district is divide ...

(

Ura Gewog Ura () is a gewog (village block) of Bumthang District, Bhutan. Ura Gewog consists of ten major villages- Tangsibi, Shingnyeer, Shingkhar, Pangkhar, Somthrang, Beteng, Trabi, Tarshong, Toepa and Chari with total household of 301 and population of ...

, leaving Ura southbound) and

Mongar District Mongar District (Dzongkha: མོང་སྒར་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Mong-sgar rdzong-khag'') is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. Mongar is the fastest-developing dzongkhag in easter ...

(

Saling Gewog Saling Gewog (Dzongkha Dzongkha (; ) is a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman language that is the official and national language of Bhutan. It is written using the Tibetan script. The word means "the language of the fortress", from ' "f ...

, toward Sengor), along the border with

Lhuntse District Lhuentse District (Dzongkha: ལྷུན་རྩེ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie transliteration, Wylie: ''Lhun-rtse rdzong-khag''; previously "Lhuntshi", and officially spelled ''Lhuentse'' ) is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) in Bhuta ...

to the east. The Lateral Road bisects Thrumshingla National Park, named after the pass. The

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the ...

also maintains operations in the park.

Closures and hazards

The pass is often closed during winter due to heavy snowfall, shutting off land communication along the

. During road closures, commercial and public vehicles are prohibited from attempting Thrumshing La, however private vehicles may proceed at their own risk. Blockages at this high altitude must be cleared by both heavy equipment and manual labor. At times, clearing crews have considerable difficulty even reaching the pass. Along the pass, there are many sheer drops at the roadside. The terrain at the pass is barren and icy. At the highest point, travelers leave

prayer flag A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated with ...

s in thanks for safe arrival to the pass. In a matter of hours, eastbound travelers descend the pass southward along the Lateral Road from elevations of nearly to just , transitioning from alpine forests into semi-tropical orange producing valleys. Thrumshingla with snow

Because of the many nearby hazards and frequently dangerous conditions at Thrumshing La itself, the

Government of Bhutan The government of Bhutan has been a constitutional monarchy since 18 July 2008. The King of Bhutan is the head of state. The executive power is exercised by the Lhengye Zhungtshog, or council of ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. Legisla ...

has approved and begun constructing a bypass to the Lateral Road as part of its Tenth Five Year Plan. The bypass will cut travel time, distance, and danger by avoiding Thrumshing La. The new route is expected to shorten travel time between Shingkhar village (

, Bumthang) and Gorgan ( Menbi Gewog, Lhuntse) by 100 km and 3 hours. The new road construction met with fierce opposition by environmentalists; the government has chosen to proceed with construction nonetheless.

References

{{reflist, 2 Mountain passes of Bhutan Bumthang District Mongar District Lhuntse District

Closures and hazards

See also

References