Embark on a captivating 7-day tour in Bhutan, unveiling its rich cultural heritage and stunning natural beauty.
Your adventure starts in Paro, where you’ll be greeted with warm Bhutanese hospitality before heading to Thimphu, the capital city. Explore spiritual landmarks like Tango Goemba Monastery and the unique Takin Preserve, then delve into Bhutan’s history at Trashichhoe Dzong.
Continue your exploration in Punakha, visiting the sacred Chimi Lhakhang temple and marveling at Punakha Dzong’s grandeur. Return to Paro to discover Ta Dzong and Rinpung Dzong before embarking on a memorable hike to Taktsang Monastery on Day Six.
As your Bhutanese adventure concludes on Day Seven, bid farewell to the enchanting landscapes and cultural treasures of Paro, departing with cherished memories to last a lifetime.
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Paro
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Paro
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3-star and 4-star hotels
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Included
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Included
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Included
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Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Paro
7-day Bhutan itinerary
Paro's runway is one of the hardest in the world to land on — only a few dozen pilots are certified for it, and the approach threads between mountains. You are met and driven via Chuzom, where two rivers meet and three stupas stand in three architectural styles, to Thimphu, the only capital on Earth with no traffic lights (they installed one, everybody hated it, and it was removed). Up at Buddha Point, a 51-metre gilded Buddha looks down over the valley.
Overnight: 3-star hotel / tented camp on trek.
A morning climb to Tango Goemba, the Buddhist university founded in the 13th century where Bhutan's monks are still trained — an hour uphill through blue pine, and worth it. Then the Takin Preserve: the takin is the national animal, looks like a bee-stung moose, and according to legend was assembled by a 15th-century saint from a goat's head and a cow's bones. Finish at Tashichho Dzong, the fortress that houses the throne room and the government.
Overnight: 3-star hotel / tented camp on trek.
Over the Dochula Pass at 3,100 metres, where 108 chortens stand in concentric rings and, on a clear morning, the eastern Himalaya fills the entire skyline. Down into the warm Punakha valley to Chimi Lhakhang, the fertility temple of the 'Divine Madman' — a 15th-century saint who taught through obscenity and drink, and whose emblem is painted on the houses all around, which you will notice. Punakha Dzong stands at the confluence of the Mother and Father rivers and is the most beautiful building in the country.
Overnight: 3-star hotel / tented camp on trek.
A morning walk through rice terraces and across a suspension bridge to the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, built by the queen mother over nine years to remove obstacles for the nation, and covered inside with the fiercest tantric art in Bhutan. In the afternoon, the nunnery of Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup on its ridge, where the nuns will happily talk to you.
Overnight: 3-star hotel / tented camp on trek.
Back over the pass to Paro. Ta Dzong was the watchtower guarding the fortress below and is now the National Museum, a round building you spiral upwards through. Rinpung Dzong — 'fortress on a heap of jewels' — is the best-looking dzong in Bhutan; you cross to it on a covered cantilever bridge, and its courtyard is where the spring festival masked dances are held.
Overnight: 3-star hotel / tented camp on trek.
The Tiger's Nest clings to a granite cliff 900 metres above the valley floor, and it is a four-hour round trip on foot to reach it — the walk is the pilgrimage. Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown here on the back of a tigress in the 8th century and meditated in the cave for three years, three months, three weeks and three days. Then Chele La, at 3,988 metres the highest road pass in Bhutan, and Kyichu Lhakhang, built in 659 AD and one of the oldest temples in the Himalaya.
Overnight: 3-star hotel / tented camp on trek.
A transfer to Paro airport for your flight out. End of our services.
