This morning we had a drive of about 80km ahead of us. First heading back up to the monastery and across Lawala pass and then heading East towards Trongsa. The drive was broken up by a few stops along the way – shorter photo/ toilet stops, one at Pele La pass (at 3420m above sea level) and a longer one at Chendebji Chorten, a bright-white stupa dating back to the 18th century.

As we reached the Mangde Chhu River valley we got a first glimpse of Trongsa Dzong from a view point – with the dzong about a kilometer away (as the crow flies). We however had to follow the street along the valley – making this a 13km drive (plus a stop at a waterfall cafe en-route with probably the best espresso on the trip) – taking us a bit less than an hour.