6-Day Bhutan Culture Tour through Thimphu, Punakha and Paro

• Meet your tour guide at the airport and transfer to your hotel in Thimphu.

• Visit Trashichhoedzong, a beautiful medieval fortress-monastery that houses most of the Government's offices and the King's Throne Room. It is also the summer residence of Je Khenpo, the Chief Abbot.

• See the National Library, which has a vast collection of ancient Buddhist texts and manuscripts.

• Drive to the Arts and Crafts School, which is famous for traditional thangka paintings. See the students at work producing intricate designs on cloth.

• Have lunch and visit the Handicrafts Emporium, which displays a wide assortment of beautifully hand-woven and crafted products.

• Drive to Memorial Chorten, the stupa built in memory of Bhutan's Third King, who is popularly regarded as the Father of modern Bhutan.

Stay overnight at the hotel in Thimphu.

• Drive to Punakha with a short stop at Dochula Pass (3,080 m). Admire the chortens, mani wall, and prayer flags that decorate the highest point on the road.

• See numerous peaks from this pass, from left to right: Masagang (7,158 m), Tsendagang (6,960 m), Terigang (7,060 m), Jejegangphugang (7,158 m), Kangphugang (7,170 m), Zongphugang (7,060 m), and a table mountain that dominates the isolated region of Lunana.

• Visit Punakha Dzong, built strategically at the junction of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers in 1637 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal to serve as the religious and administrative centre of the region.

• Drive to Wangduephodrang and visit the Dzong and the local market. The district of Wangduephodrang is also famous for its bamboo products, slate, and stone carvings.

Stay overnight at the hotel in Punakha.

• Have breakfast and drive to Paro. Visit Simtokha Dzong on the way. It is the oldest fortress in the Kingdom, built in 1627, and now houses the School for Religious Studies. Proceed to see Ta Dzong, the National Museum of the Kingdom.

• Walk down a hillside trail to visit Rinpung Dzong. The Dzong houses the monastic body of Paro, the office of the Dzongda (district administrative head), and the Thrimpon (judge) of Paro district.

Stay overnight at the hotel in Paro.

• Have breakfast and drive north of Paro Valley to the ruins of Drukgyel Dzong.

• Visit a traditional Bhutanese farmhouse, which offers good insight into the lifestyle of local people.

• Take an excursion to Taktsang Monastery, the most famous of Bhutanese monasteries. It is said that Guru Rinpoche arrived here on the back of a tigress and meditated at this monastery. Hence, it is also called 'Tiger's Nest'.

• Return to Paro town and visit Kyichu Lhakhang on the way. It is one of the oldest and most sacred shrines in the Kingdom.

Stay overnight at the hotel in Paro.

• Have breakfast and drive to the airport.