Off the Beaten Track

Laya

Laya, in the far northwest of Bhutan, is one of the kingdom’s highest villages at 3700m (12,136ft), under the peak of the Tsenda Gang. A group known as Layap, comprising about 800 people with their own language, customs and dress, lives here. The village women in particular strike dashing figures.

They wear peculiar conical bamboo hats with a bamboo spike at the top, held on by beaded bands. They dress in black woollen jackets with silver trim and a long woollen skirt striped in natural earth colours. They adorn themselves with lots of silver jewellery, which often includes an array of teaspoons. The women frequently stage an evening cultural show which consists of a lot of circle dancing accompanied by traditional Layap folk songs.

Without a helicopter the only way to get to Laya is on foot. The Laya-Gasa pass is part of the Snowman trek, one of the most difficult and demanding treks in the world.