| # | Itinerary | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, drive to Thimphu | Arrival by plane to Paro airport and drive to Thimphu or in case of arrival by land, crossing border from India in Phuntsholing/Jaigon and full day drive to Thimphu. ➜ Stop at Tachog lhakhang to see traditional bridge made using ancient iron chains. ➜ Visit of Tashicho dzong, the castle, which serves as seat of the king and government. ➜ Other sightseeing depending on the arrival time. |
| 2 | Thimphu – Damphu (Tsirang) | Early morning drive to Buddha Dordenma, the gigantic statue of Buddha overlooking the valley and walk to striking city viewpoint. ➜ See Memorial Chorten, always busy with devotees. ➜ Walk in Norzin lam street and see the traffic police signaling in junctions. Thimphu is only capital in the world without the traffic lights. ➜ Finish walk at handicraft market where many interesting Bhutanese souvenirs can be seen and bought for reasonable price. ➜ Then transfer to Tsirang over Dochu-la pass (3010 m). In clear weather, you have good chances for panoramic views of mountains, including Gangkhar Phuensum (7570 m), the highest mountain of Bhutan. ➜ Descend to tropical valley of Punatsang chu river and continue driving down the valley below the Wangdue Phodrang castle. ➜ On the way you pass around cascade of Punatsangchu hydro project, one of the major endeavors of Bhutan government. ➜ You will also cross the only road tunnel in Bhutan. ➜ Reach to Tsirang in the evening. ➜ Optionally, you can spend night in Buddhist monastery of Tsolingkhar. Rinpoche speaks good English and if available, he will be happy to share his teaching. Donation to monastery is expected. |
| 3 | Dampu (Tsirang) – Gelephu | Start with visiting of Tsolingkhar temple in which along with the statues of the Buddhist saints you can also see corner dedicated to Hindu deities. ➜ Then proceed with 8 km / 2.5 hours long hike passing through the paddy fields, forest and around the village houses with many beautiful views of the rich Tsirang nature. ➜ Finally, reach to the sleepy town, walking through the botanical park and visit nearby joint Hindu-Buddhist temple, the unique feature symbolizing unity of local Buddhist and Hindu communities. ➜ Also see the Tsirang dzong, newly but traditional built administration center. ➜ After lunch continue drive to Sarpang district. ➜ Stop at main Sarpang town to visit Zangtopelri Lhakhang built by Ap Dorji Wangdi in 1975. Locals say that this temple marks the place where Guru Padmasambhava entered Bhutan while on the way to Bumthang to save ailing king Sinhu Raja. ➜ Take on the last stretch along the Indian border to Gelephu town and rest. |
| 4 | Gelephu – Trongsa | In the morning come to Gelephu town to see the local variation of famous “flatiron” building of New York. It has only two floors, but who know how the Gelephu town will develop in future? ➜ Also, stop at Hindu temple with the shrine of goddess Parvati. There are only few Hindu temples in Bhutan, mostly serving local population of Nepali origin. ➜ Continue drive north and make a short stop at Gelephu Tshachu, the local hot springs. Place is very popular as the sulfurous water is considered to have many healing properties. Bathing itself is for daring people only as the pools are small, dark, and congested. ➜ Short stroll around the area to the royal guesthouse and quirky suspension bridge is definitely worthy for lush beautiful nature. ➜ Then set up for long but scenic drive to Trongsa through Zhemgang district. While some places are affected by the hydro project construction, there are a lot of opportunities to spot various birds or monkeys on the way. ➜ On the way, we will visit Green tea garden in Drakteng. Very good quality green tea is produced here, although just few hundreds of kilograms a year. ➜ If time permits, we will stop at Kuenga Rabten, the third king's palace which is the home to monks. In case it's open to visitors, you can peek into the third king's bedroom here. ➜ Continue drive to Trongsa, finally reaching in the evening. |
| 5 | Trongsa – Wangdue / Punakha | In the morning we will pay a visit to Trongsa dzong, the castle from where the royal dynasty of Bhutan had risen. ➜ Also, visit intricate museum in watchtower Ta Dzong. It hosts number of interesting artifacts related to royal dynasty, history of Bhutan and many religious statues and temples. ➜ Then start drive back to west, stopping at Trongsa viewpoint to see the full extent of the Trongsa castle from the opposite side of the valley. ➜ Another stop would be at Chendebji chorten which was built to resemble Boudhanath stupa of Kathmandu. ➜ Continue drive up on scenic road, till reaching Pele-la pass (3500m). Stop here to see what the local herders offer in their stalls. Many intriguing local products can be purchased here. ➜ Then we will start last stretch of today's journey, descending back to Punatsangchu valley, reaching Wangdue and Punakha districts in the late afternoon or evening. |
| 6 | Wangdue / Punakha – Paro | Early morning short hike to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten with wonderful views of the valley and it’s terraced paddy fields. ➜ Optionally you can consider rafting on the Mo Chhu (easy) or Pho Chhu (thrilling) river. ➜ Continue with visit of Punakha dzong, dubbed as “Palace of the Great Happinnes” which counts as the most intricately decorated castle in the kingdom and used to be winter seat of the Bhutanese rulers. ➜ Short walk to Chhimmy lhakhang temple, devoted to the 15th century saint Drukpa Kunley, known as “Divine madman”, who allegedly taught Buddhism by singing, drinking and scandalous sexual exploits. Way to temple is perched by houses decorated with phallic symbols, as commemoration of the saint's antics. Temple is also known as fertility booster, attracting childless couples from all over the Bhutan and foreign countries as well. ➜ If time permits, also visit Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Lhakhang nunnery with Bhutanese and Nepali style stupa, overlooking the valley from the high hill. ➜ Afternoon drive to Paro. |
| 7 | Paro | Early morning drive to Drukyel dzong to see a freshly reconstructed castle and the summit of holy Jomolhari mountain in clear weather. ➜ Hike to Taktsang gomba (The Tiger’s Nest) is the absolute highlight of the tour! While the climb seems to be hard, it’s very rewarding. If you don’t feel so strong, you can cut it short in cafeteria with nice view of the temple. If you have spare strength, you might hike up to Zangtopelri Lhakhang to get birds-eye view of Tiger's Nest! Hiking in afternoon might be considered depending on your strength and weather prospect. ➜ Visit the National Museum in Ta dzong, the watchtower protecting the Paro castle below from intruders. Enjoy the great views of Paro valley. In museum itself, only visit Natural History Gallery. The main exposition is best skipped unless you are deeply interested. ➜ Then drive down to Paro town and marvel over the old traditional bridge below the Paro Dzong. Here, you will have opportunity to try Bhutanese dress and take a beautiful photo with castle in the background! ➜ Continue to Paro airport viewpoint. Depending on schedule, you might see planes landing and taking off. Runway in Paro is famed as one of the most demanding of all World's International airports. ➜ Enjoy the last evening in Bhutan! ➜ Optionally the mask dance performance along with traditional dinner in the local farmhouse can be arranged. |
| 8 | Departure | If time permits, you can drive to Bondey's village Zangtopelri lhakhang, fabulous new temple with splendid decorations. ➜ Depending on time, you might also see rock-perched and rarely visited Dzongdrakha lhakhang, temple often compared to Tiger's Nest in its beauty. ➜ After that, you depart from Paro by flight or take ~5 hours drive to land border in Phuntsholing. |
Tour variants, extensions and combinations:
- Include Phobjikha valley (+1 day): While traveling from Trongsa to Wangdue / Punakha, you might add one more day for stopping in pristine Phobjikha valley (Gangtey). Nature hike there and Gagntey monastery visit are the real highlights.
- Dagana excursion (+1 day): If you stay one more night in Damphu, you can make full day excurion to Dagana, formerly one of the most prosperous districts of Bhutan. Apart from beautiful hill nature, there is large and interesting castle to see. Really few tourists visit this place.