Glimpse of Bhutan Tour
One of the holiest mountain kingdoms, the Bhutan, is full of natural biodiversity, interesting cultures and tradition. The country has a lot to be explored and enjoyed. This tour extensively helps you get the overwhelming views of the sites filled with purity and serenity of the divine nature. Behind this rugged and remote mountains we’ll find the wisdom, inspiration, solitude and happiness. Including the diverse biodiversity, this unique kingdom - Bhutan is also blessed by the numerous cultural norms and values that are still going stronger and stronger after centuries. This tour is designed specifically to provide you the glimpse of different aspects of this diverse country in a short time.
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Day 01: Paro As soon as you arrive at Paro Airport, you’ll be warmly welcomed by our tour leader or an airport representative. As soon as you reach this historic town you’ll get to see many historical buildings and sacred sites throughout the area. First of all you’ll be taken to an appropriate hotel. Even though there are a lot of places to be explored in the beautiful town of Paro, we’ll be spending the day for rest and make excursion on later days i.e. just before the departure. For today we’ll have a short brief discussion about the program in the hotel which would also serve for the accommodation.
Day 02: Paro-Thimphu Within an hour we’ll get to the capital city of the country that is Thimphu, a green and an attractive district. Here we’ll visit the popular sites of Thimphu valley which includes Memorial Chorten, Tashichhodzong, National Library, Painting School, Traditional Medicine Institute, Handicrafts Emporium and Viewpoint. Through the visits we’ll get to see the ancient Buddhist manuscripts, traditional arts, paintings of Thangkas etc. Remaining of the day we’ll get busy in sightseeing and then we’ll return back to the hotel for rest.
Day 03: Thimphu - Punakha. In the early morning we will have our breakfast and soon we’ll drive to Punakha. It is a special place which was once the capital city of Bhutan. On our way we may see the snow covered Himalayan ranges and as we pass through Dochula pass (3,100m), we can see 108 Bhutanese stupas. Once we reach Punakha we’ll be visiting Punakha Dzong situated between two rivers one of which is the biggest all over the Bhutan. In the evening we’ll roam around the town. For the night we’ll find a suitable hotel in Punakha.
Day 04: Punakha - Wangdiphodrang - Gangtey Early in the morning after having a proper breakfast, we’ll have to drive to Gangtey via Wangdiphodrang. We’ll be visiting Wangdi Dzong which dominates the entire district and has an interesting story of its foundation . In the evening, we’ll visit Gangtey valley which is one of the most beautiful open valleys of Bhutan. Then we’ll visit one of the important monasteries, Gangtey Monastery dating back to the 17th century. The monastery itself is the Nyingma school of Buddhism that offers the wonderful views over Gangtey valley and the mountains beyond. Today we’ll be staying at Gangtey Guest House for the night.
Day 05: Gangtey - Phobjikha - Tongsa A few kilometers beyond the Gangtey Monastery there is Phobjikha, a wide and lush valley, that lies in the territory of Black Mountain national park. This place is the winter home of black necked cranes that migrate from the arid plains. A drive is made to Trongsa which is the most historic town in Bhutan. Here we’ll get to see the largest dzong fortress in Bhutan - Trongsa Dzong and a cultural museum in Bhutan - Ta Dzong (watchtower). Overnight we’ll stay at Tongsa.
Day 06: Tongsa - Bumthang We’ll take our time and in no hurry we’ll be having a drive from Tongsa to Bumthang valley often described as one of the most beautiful spots in the Himalayas.Direct translation of Bumthang is “bumpa shaped valley” where bumpa represents the vessel for holy water. Thus the name suggests the shape and nature of the valley. Here in Bumthang we’ll be exploring the fascinating lush valley famous for its apples, woolen garments, sacred artifacts and monasteries. Then we’ll find a suitable hotel to settle for the night.
Day 07: Full day sightseeing in Bumthang There is still a lot more to explore in Bumthang for which we spend today’s day sightseeing the beautiful valley. Jakar Dzong, Kurje Monastery, Jambay Lhakhang and Tamshing Lhakhang are some of the popular sites in Bumthang that we’ll be visiting. Jakar Dzong is one of the largest and most impressive landmarks while others are very sacred monasteries in Bhutan. These famous sites basically portray the cultural values and customs of Bhutan. We’ll then return back to the hotel.
Day 08: Bumthang - Punakha After having the breakfast, we’ll be returning back to Punakha but this time we’ll explore people and their lifestyles by visiting village house on our way. We can see the gardens and rice fields surrounding the houses made of mud and stone foundation which are usually two storey high. For the night we’ll find an appropriate hotel for the accommodation.
Day 09: Punakha - Paro As we are returning, we’ll get to the town of Paro after having the breakfast. On the way we’ll visit Simtokha Dzong which used to be an important historical monument and former Buddhist monastery, today it houses one of the premier Dzongkha language learning institutes.Once we reach Paro, we’ll spend sometime sightseeing and then find a hotel for accommodation.
Day 10: Full day sightseeing at Paro. Today we’ll spend the whole day making our visit to Kyichu Lhakhang which was one of the 108 monasteries that were miraculously constructed by King Songtsen Gampo allegedly in one night, Drukgyel Dzong (fortress) and later excursion to Taktsang Monastery or Kila Goemba. We’ll then return to the hotel.
Day 11: Paro - Onward destination This would be the last day of our tour in Bhutan. We’ll depart from Paro. After breakfast we’ll have a drive to the airport for the flight. We’ll be sharing some photos of all the good memories we had spent together and with a good bye you’ll be leaving for the onward destination. |
Trip Fact
Country:Bhutan
Grade:Strenuous
Group Size:2-12
Transportation:Plane/Car/Bus
Accomodation:Hotel
