Beautiful Bhutan Tour Itinerary
Tour Length: 10 days
Day 1 Fly to Paro
Transfer to the airport for your flight to Paro, Bhutan on Druk Air, the national airline of Bhutan. If you can get a seat on the left side of the plane and if weather permits, you may have spectacular views of the high peaks of the Himalayas. After visa formalities at the Paro airport (7,590'), you will be met by our Bhutanese guide and transferred to your hotel in Paro. In the afternoon, visit Bhutan's national museum, a fascinating place housed in an old watchtower above the huge Paro Dzong. You will also visit Rinphung Dzong, a fortress-monastery. Afterwards, walk around Paro town with your guide.
Day 2 Excursion to Tiger's Nest Monastery and Village Home
Your hike this morning is to the site of Taktsang Monastery (meaning Tiger's nest), tragically wrecked in a fire in early 1998. The monastery, which has now been rebuilt, is perched some 2,000ft/600m up on a sheer cliff overlooking the valley and was said to be where the legendary Indian saint, Guru Padmasambhava, flew from Tibet on the back of a tiger to defeat five demons who were opposing the spread of Buddhism in Bhutan. The hike is about 1 & 1/2 hours to the teahouse from where you may either opt to go further uphill to the monastery for about 1 hour. Lunch is served at the tea house with the majestic views of Taktsang above and the Paro valley at the bottom. The return trek to the road head is downhill and takes about a little more the time than it has taken you to come up.
After lunch, visit a typical Bhutanese village home outside Paro. This visit will certainly provide you an insight into the living style of Bhutanese villagers. Certain cooking demonstration will be performed for you to get an idea on how Bhutanese delicacies like BUTTER TEA and EMA DATSI (This is the national dish of Bhutan which is prepared with cheese and hot chili peppers.) are prepared. Drive back to your hotel in the evening.
Day 3 Drive to Thimphu and sightseeing
After breakfast, we drive to Thimphu, the least visited of all the Himalayan capitals. Travel time is 2 hours. In Thimphu, start sightseeing with visit to a Nunnery on the outskirts of Thimphu. You will then visit the School of Arts and Crafts ("painting school"), where Bhutanese children can follow an eight-year program in traditional arts such as drawing, painting, woodcarving, and sculpture. This will be followed by a visit to the Textile Museum, the Heritage Museum, Changgangkha Lhakhang (temple), National Library, Traditional Hospital and a paper factory to see how paper is made from the daphne plant with cosmos flower petals and other plants. At the end of the day as time permits, we may also pay a visit to the great Tashichho Dzong, seat of Bhutan's administrative and religious center.
Day 4 Thimphu - Punaka and Village Walks
In the morning, you will drive to Punakha, an old winter capital of Bhutan. En-route, you will stop at Dochu LaPass, 10,000ft/3,048m high, to view the eastern Himalayas, including Bhutan's highest mountain, Gangkar Punsum, 24,770ft/7,550m. The road then drops down through varied ever changing forest, finally emerging into the highly cultivated Punakha valley.
In the afternoon you will make a short trek to visit the Crown Prince's chorten and nearby villages. You return on a different route through the village to Sonagasa (the King's winter residence) and through to Punakha Dzong following the Mo Chu river. You will meet the vehicle and will visit the huge impressive Punakha Dzong. Total drive is about 3 hours.
Day 5 Punakha-Trongsa
Drive down the valley to the town of Wangdiphodrang. Here again there is a very large fortress built in the shape of a sleeping bull. Our road gradually winds its way up towards the Pele La Pass at 11,152ft, where we make a stop for views of the snow clad peaks including that of Bhutan’s sacred peak Mt. Chomolhari. Your picnic lunch is planned at Chedebji Chorten (Stupa) patterned after Swayambhunath in Kathmandu. It is a popular picnic lunch and pilgrimage for Bhutanese driving on the east-west road.
In afternoon, we arrive in the town of Trongsa after 6 hours of driving. Trongsa is a very popular place with the largest Dzong in Bhutan and certainly one of the most impressive ones. It was from here that the present royal family emerged as the most powerful force at the beginning of this century. You may love to wander around Trongsa Township. Total drive is about 6 & ½ hours.
Day 6 Trongsa Sightseeing and Drive to Bumthang (Jakar)
In the morning, you will visit the inner courtyard of historical Trongsa Dzong followed by a visit to the watch tower above the main Dzong. The watch tower (Ta Dzong) has a fine temple at the top containing original Mongol Armour and a large prayer wheel outside.
After lunch, you drive across the Yotong La 11,234' and descend eventually into the valley of Chumey, the first of four Bumthang valleys. Here you will visit the Palace used primarily by the second King as his summer residence. You will hike for about 15 minutes to the Prakar monastery, followed by a visit to Yathra Weaving Center (olorful wool weaving). Then you drive onto the Jakar the center of the Bumthang valleys. Bumthang valley is one of the most sacred in the kingdom and innumerable legends surround the area. It is here that the kings were cremated and the present royal families trace their ancestry back to a famous saint called Pemalingpa. Total drive is about 2 & ½ hours.
Day 7 Bumthang Valley - Sightseeing and Walks in Jakar
After breakfast start the walk from the hotel to Jambay Lhakang (Lhakhang means temple) and continue to Kurjey Lhakang. After Kurjey, you will cross the suspension bridge over to Tamshing Lhakang. Continue walking to the Swiss farm and then on to the main town area. The vehicle will meet you at this point and drive you to visit other sights in and around Jakar which may include homeopathic hospital, the cheese factory, the castle of the 'White Bird', perhaps one or two local temples and a walk around to visit woodcraft workshop, dying workshop, and the five water wheels behind Wangdicholing Old Palace.
Day 8 Bumthang – Punakha
From the township of Jakar, you first climb out of the Bumthang valley on the twisting mountain road towards the Yotong La Pass (11,000ft/3,353m). Near the pass is an area of wild cane/bamboos which is a well-known habitat for the Red Panda. The road then descends to Tongsa but instead of stopping here for the night you will drive on past Chendebji Stupa over the Pele La (11,000ft/3,353m) and start the descent until you reach your hotel located on the bank of the river.
Total drive is about 7 hours.
Day 9 Punaka – Paro
You will drive past Wandgue town and Dzong along the east west high way. On reaching a junction called Lobeysa, you will take a diversion and drive towards the valley of Punakha to visit a 'Temple of Fertility' or 'Chimi Lhakhang.' Chimi Lhakhang was built by Lama Drukpa Kunley in 1499. He subdued the demoness of the Dochu la with his 'magic thunderbolt of wisdom.' A wooden effigy of the Lama's thunderbolt is preserved in the Lhakhang and childless women go to the temple to receive a wang (blessing) from the saint. It's a 20-minute walk across the rice fields from the road at Sopsokha to the temple. The trail leads across rice fields to the tiny settlement of Pana. There are very few monks at the temple which is surrounded by a row of prayer wheels and some very beautiful slate carvings.
Walk back to meet your transport and continue drive towards Thimphu along Dochu La pass where we make a short stop once again to view the Eastern Himalayas. Descending from the pass, you will arrive at the village of Hongtsho, a Tibetan settlement, and then onto Thimphu. After lunch in Thimphu, you will drive to Paro. Total drive is about 5 hours.
Day 10 Departure
After breakfast at the hotel, drive to Paro airport for your sensational take-off and scenic Himalayan flight past Chomolhari, Bhutan's second highest peak.
Arrive into Delhi and be met by representative with a car. The car with driver is for your use until time to go to the international airport for your flight home.
