The definitive first journey through Bhutan — a 7-day circuit of the Tiger's Nest, the capital and the ancient dzongs of Punakha.
Highlights
Sunrise pilgrimage to the Tiger's Nest (Taktsang)
108 chortens at Dochula with Gangkar Puensum on a clear morning
Blessing at Chimi Lhakhang, the temple of the Great Blessing
Raspberry orchards and river walks around Punakha
What is included
Licensed Bhutanese guide throughout the itinerary
Private vehicle and driver for all six days
Six nights in heritage lodges and boutique hotels
All breakfasts, lunches and dinners
All entrance fees, permits and the Sustainable Development Fee
Airport meet & greet and all internal transfers
Tea-house stop on the Paro to Thimphu road
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1 — Arrival in the Paro valley Paro airport, then the short drive into the valley and the climb to your hotel above the fields. The afternoon is taken at the Kyichu Lhakhang, the 7th-century temple that is Bhutan's oldest surviving building, and one of only four that survived the deliberate destruction of the old religion. Walk…
Day 2 — Taktsang and Rinpung Dzong The Tiger's Nest, walked to rather than reached by road. The trail climbs 750 vertical metres from the valley floor to a viewpoint at 3,150 metres, with the monastery appearing above the waterfall for the last twenty minutes. Two hours at the viewpoint is the usual advice; those who want to go in t…
Day 3 — The road east to Thimphu Two hours to the capital, crossing the Chhuzom junction. Check in, then the afternoon above the city at the Buddha Dordenma, a 51-metre bronze shikhara holding a 125,000-bell statue, and at the viewpoint from which Thimphu is best understood: a valley that is deliberately unbothered by the 20th cen…
Day 4 — Dochula Pass to Punakha The best drive in the country: up to the Dochula Pass at 3,010 metres, where 108 memorial chortens stand in two semicircles facing Gangkar Puensum, then down through the terraced slopes of the Mo Chhu valley to Punakha. Afternoon at Punakha Dzong, one of the most photographed buildings in Bhutan, s…
Day 5 — Chimi Lhakhang and the south valley North to Chimi Lhakhang, the 15th-century fertility temple in the pine forest above Punakha, reached by a short forest walk. Back through town to the Mo Chhu, then south to the 25-metre suspension bridge over the Pho Chhu and up to Zangto Pelri, where the hermitage of the Divine Madman sits above t…
Day 6 — Gangtey and the Phobjikha valley An hour up the valley for the broad green shelf of Gangtey, with the black ridge directly behind and the whole Phobjikha valley laid out below from the monastery road. This is Bhutan's widest open landscape. The drive back takes you past the Crane Sanctuary, where several hundred black-necked crane…
Day 7 — Punakha to Paro, and departure The return leg west, four hours back through Thimphu and down to Paro, with a stop at the National Memorial Chorten near the capital if the morning is clear. Arrive with time for the airport, and leave with a good deal more understanding of how the country fits together than you had seven days ago.