Lateral Road (Bhutan National Highway)
🇧🇹 Bhutan
The Lateral Road is Bhutan's main east-west highway, stretching approximately 560 kilometers from Phuentsholing on the Indian border to Trashigang in the east. This single road essentially connects all of Bhutan's major towns and dzongs (fortress-monasteries), climbing over multiple passes above 3,000 meters as it traverses the rugged Himalayan terrain of one of the world's most isolated and unspoiled countries.
The road crosses several major passes including the Dochu La (3,100m) with its 108 memorial chortens and views of the eastern Himalayan peaks, and the dramatic Thrumshingla Pass (3,780m) through ancient rhododendron and fir forests. Construction began in 1962 with Indian assistance, and sections are still being improved today. The narrow, winding road with its prayer-flag-adorned passes, roadside monasteries, and pristine forest is as much a cultural journey as a geographic one, passing through landscapes where Gross National Happiness was born.