4-Day Bhutan Cultural Tour with Tiger's Nest Hike

• Meet the tour guide and driver waiting outside Paro airport. Kindly arrive at the airport 2 hours before flight departure. You will need to present your Bhutan visa at the time of boarding. We will send you a copy of your Bhutan visa clearance before you depart from home through email or fax. Please note that only two commercial planes fly in and out of Bhutan. Normally, these flights operate from Bangkok, Delhi, Nepal, and Singapore. Upon arrival at airport immigration, you will need to present your visa copy once again for the final visa seal on your passport.
• Start the tour once you exit the airport. Our first stop is Ta-dzong, a watchtower built during the 17th century to safeguard the Rinpung Dzong below. It was converted into a museum in 1968 and houses a collection of fine art, paintings, large bronze vessels, textiles, artefacts, jewellery, history about the kings, and galleries of stuffed animals, birds, and butterflies of Bhutan. The mask hall is a very popular room, with a series of masks collected from all over the country.
• Visit Dungtse Lhakhang, one of the few temples that does not have any light, as the ancient murals might get destroyed by rays of light over time.
• Drive to Thimphu (1 hour). En route, stop for a 10-minute walk down to the 15th-century Iron Bridge at Tachog Lhakhang. It is a privately owned temple by the descendants of Drubthob Thangthong Gyelpo, so you might want to check with your guide before making a visit to ensure it is open. Upon arrival, admire the capital city with more than 80,000 residents and the only capital in the world, next to Pyongyang, that does not have traffic lights.
• See the National Memorial Stupa, erected in memory of the 3rd king of Bhutan, who died in early 1974. Over the years, it has become a pious landmark for residents and Buddhist pilgrims.

Overnight at Thimphu, Khang Residency, Dorji Elements, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Paro - Thimphu (1 hour drive, 65 km/43 miles)

• Have breakfast at the hotel, then explore the Himalayan valleys by visiting the Thimphu weekend markets, Buddha Point, Takin Preserve at Motithang, Drubthob Nunnery, and Tashichoedzong.
• Drive approximately 45 minutes to the 108 stupas at Dochula (3150 m/10080 ft). This scenic pass offers visitors a panoramic view of the Eastern Himalayas on a clear day, including the highest peaks such as Mt. Gankhar Phuensum (7570 m/24224 ft) and Mt. Jumolhari (7326 m/23443 ft).
• Go to Druk Wangyel Lhakang. The temple and stupas are dedicated to commemorating the victory over the armed gunmen who were causing a serious threat to the sovereignty as well as the serene tranquillity of the nation, which had remained untouched for many centuries.
• Retrace your way back to Paro (1 hour 45 minutes' drive), visit farmhouses, and experience the Bhutanese way of living.

Overnight at Paro, Hotel Drukchen, Hotel Olathang, or similar.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

• Hike to the Tiger's Nest. If possible, try to leave the hotel at around 07:30 am. It takes about 15-20 minutes to drive to the base camp.
• Follow a natural unpaved foot trail covered with pines, holly, Spanish mosses, rhododendron, and more. You might also encounter many birds and wild animals such as the grey languor. The trail can be divided into two sections. The first half, mostly out in the sun, takes about an hour to reach the tea house, which offers a stunning view of Taktsang. It looks as if it is glued to the face of the rocks above you. You may take a short breather here, use the washrooms, or have a hot cup of tea or coffee. There will be no proper washrooms after this, so this is probably the best stop. At this point, one may decide whether to go further uphill to the monastery for about 1 hour or return with a few snapshots of the monastery. Lunch is served at the tea house with majestic views of Taktsang above and the Paro valley below. If you decide to go further, the second half of the trail continues up the ridge for another hour. This time, however, the trail remains hidden by the forests, so it will not be as hot as the first half.
• Reach the pinnacle point where the monastery seems to be standing just below your feet. From here, there are more than seven hundred steps with proper handrails for support until you finally reach Taktsang. The monastery is closed for lunch from 1-2 pm and is perched some 2,880 ft/900 m up on a sheer cliff overlooking the valley. It is said to be the place where the legendary Indian saint, Guru Padmasambhava, flew from Tibet on the back of a tigress to defeat demons obstructing the spread of Buddhism in Bhutan.

Overnight at Paro, at Hotel Drukchen or Hotel Olathang.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

(4 hours hiking, Alt. 3140 m/10098 ft)

• Transfer to the airport by our representative for your flight back home.

Meals: Breakfast only.