Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arrive in Paro and Drive to Thimphu

   • Start the tour after meeting your Thimpu tour guide and visit the capital city. 

   • Head to the tallest Buddha statue in the world, which is located at a scenic hilltop overlooking the entire Thimphu valley. 

   • Visit Jungshi handmade paper factory which uses traditional methods to produce the authentic Bhutanese paper known as Deh-sho. The Jungshi paper factory continues to preserve and promote this age-old Bhutanese tradition. It also produces various other products, such as stationery and greeting cards.

   • Later in the evening, visit the Tashi Chho Dzong, which is the giant fortress that houses the office of the King.

   • Roam around and explore the fascinating streets of Thimphu, the world’s only capital city without traffic lights.

    Overnight at hotel in Thimphu

2. Day 2: Paro to Thimphu

   • After early breakfast, drive to Punakha Valley via beautiful Dochu La Pass (3,150m/10,335ft).

   • Before embarking on a 74 km road journey, which takes less than 3 hours under normal road conditions, pay a short visit to Buddha Point to pray for your safe journey ahead and enjoy the scenic view of Thimphu valley below.

   • Visit Buddha Point – Buddha Dordhenma Statue.

   • Drive to Dochula Pass and start your journey towards Punakha.

   • From Dochu La Pass, continue driving towards Punakha, passing through some villages, the elevation drops gradually and the road winds through the pine trees. As you reach the lower subtropical valley, you will feel the drastic change in altitude from 3,150m, just an hour and a half ago to the subtropical valley at 1,200m.

   • Arrive at Mesina or Lobesa, a small quaint town about 20 km before reaching Punakha town, you will visit a 15th-century Buddhist temple called Chhime Lhakhang.

   • Transfer to your hotel, have lunch and then visit the historic Punakha Dzong, a 17th-century fortress.

   • Head to your hotel and rest for a while before you hit the road towards the historic Punakha Dzong. 

   • Visit the historic Punakha Dzong.

3. Day 3: Khamsum Yulley

   • After breakfast, head for a 1.5-hour hike to Khamsum Yuelley Namgyel Choeten. Located on a mountain ridge overlooking the picturesque Punakha valley, this wonderful Buddhist structure is a fine example of Bhutanese architecture used in building temples, monasteries and Zangdogpelri (copper coloured mountains). It was built over a period of almost 20 years under the command of Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck, one of the Grand Queen Mothers of Bhutan and was consecrated in 1999. It takes only about 25 minutes to drive from the main town of Punakha to the nearest road point.

   • From there, cross a suspension bridge over the Punakha Mochu River (female river) and the trail takes you through paddy fields. Normally it takes just 1.5 hours to reach the serene site of the marvellous Choeten. The view below is stunning with the glacial-fed Mochu river snaking through the fertile valley of Punakha.

   • Later after lunch, drive for around 3 hours to Phobjikha Valley, which is a vast U-shaped glacial valley, also known as Gangteng Valley named after the impressive Gangteng Monastery of the Nyingma sect in central Bhutan, where the graceful black-necked cranes in Bhutan(Grus nigricollis) from the Tibetan Plateau visit the valley Gantey Nature Hike.  

   Distance: 69 km

   Time 2 hours

   Phobjikha Altitude 3,000m/ 8,900ft

   Hike to Khamsum Yulley Namgyel Choeten

4. Day 4: Punakha Paro

   • Head to the National Museum of Bhutan: Ta Dzong.

   • Visit Paro Rinpung Dzong.

   • Return to your hotel.

5. Day 5: Paro

   • After an early breakfast, head for a 4-5 hour hike to the famous Taktsang or the Tiger’s Nest, which is located on the face of a sheer 800-meter rocky cliff in Paro. It normally takes about 2 hours to reach the monastery from the nearest road head. 

   • After visiting Taktsang monastery and a sumptuous lunch at Taktsang cafeteria, hike downhill back to the road where your driver will be waiting and then visit a Farm House.

   • If you are interested you can also try a traditional hot stone bath.

   • If your schedule permits, visit the 7th-century Buddhist monastery – Kyichu Lhakhang.

   • Head to one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, a seventh-century Kyichu Lhakhang (Lhakhang means “temple”), which is located just a few minutes drive from the main town of Paro, is one of the oldest monasteries in Bhutan. It is believed to have been built in 659 A.D. by the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo to subdue spirit of a giant demoness causing harm to the propagation of Buddhism in the Himalayan region. In order to subdue this demoness, King Songtsen Gampo was required to build 108 temples across the affected region. Bhutan is blessed with two of these 108 temples, the other one is Jampa Lhakhang located in the district of Bumthang in central Bhutan; both the temples were believed to have been built overnight.