Bhutan Thimpu Punakha Paro Tour

As you embark from your flight, the first thing that strikes your fancy is the architectural splendor of the Paro Airport, voted by notable travel magazines as one of the most beautiful airports in the world.

Upon your arrival outside the terminal, you will be greeted with a smile by our tour executive and escorted to Thimphu.  You will get the first insight of the spiritual and ethical values of the country as our guide takes you on your first cultural orientation of Tachogang Lhakhang temple view and  a 15^th century temple famed for its iron bridge and the more popular Thangthong Gyalpo, the reincarnate saint who brought the art of metallurgy in Bhutan. And reroute to way to Thimphu your guide will stop at Chuzom where two giant river from Paro and Thimphu meets. After check in at the hotel, your guide will await your convenience to give you the overview of the day’s activities and touch upon some issues in regard to the appropriate protocol to be observed while on visit to religious and secular institutions.

After lunch, your guide will take you on a visit to the Memorial Chorten; a stupa built for the manifold purposes of commemorating World peace and at the same time serves as a gentle reminder to the visitors that this architecturally unique structure was built as a memorial to the late third king of Bhutan. As you see the devout worshippers circumambulating the stupa in the clockwise order, you will gain your first experience of what actually it is to be in Bhutan.

You will be visiting Tashi Chho Dzong, the first of the many Dzong’s on your trip after the office hours for less than hour stroll and during weakened open on Saturday and Sunday 9:00 am to 4:00pm. A medieval fortress of defense in the 17^th Century and now both the administrative and religious seats of a district, the Tashi Chho Dzong has the distinction of being the summer residence of the Chief Abbot of Bhutan. The office of the king is also housed within the Dzong complex.

Driving Distance: 55KM

Duration: 1.5 Hours (Driving duration)

Overnight @ Hotel.

Elevation 2320m

Post breakfast in the morning, we go for a visit to the vantage point of Kuenselphodrang or Buddha point  which affords a spectacular view of the Capital. After this visit you can wrap up the morning program with a visit to the Takin Zoo, the designated national animal of Bhutan that is a comical blend of the goat and a cow.  If time permits before lunch, visit  Simply Bhutan museum that houses an interesting exhibition of items and artifacts still utilized in some rural households. This traditional rammed mud and timber house serves as a prototype design of a typical Bhutanese house was the style and architectural design and you can try traditional Bhutanese cuisine at same museum. 

In the event that your guide can turn over the itinerary and make it happen on one of the week days, then a visit to the Centennial farmers market will make for a kaleidoscopic experience.

After lunch, it will pretty much be a good time to drive from Thimphu towards Punakha, to earn some significant breather time up at Dochu La pass , a motor able pass at 3140 meters that affords spectacular views of Northern and Eastern Himalayan ranges on a clear day.

As the drive descends through forest of magnolia, oak, birch and alder trees, the valley opens with superb views of terraced fields and beautiful scattered farm houses into the Punakha Valley.

Driving distance: 76KM

Duration: 8-9Hours (Inclusive of sightseeing, lunch stop and drive)

Overnight@ Hotel

Elevation-1250m

Punakha is a very popular haven for avian-fauna enthusiasts: Today as you Drive towards the north following the emerald Mo Chu River for a day hike to Khamsum Yueley Namgyel Lhakhang, you will have a rare opportunity in spotting many of the globally endangered birds like the ruddy shell duck, the Pallas’ fishing eagle, the ibis bill, etc, along this river. Built in 1991 for the country’s peace and prosperity, Khamsum Yuelley Namgyel is attributed to the Warrior king, Gesar of Ling. To get to this temple is a 45 minute walk across paddy fields and farm houses and this gentle endeavor will bring you face to face with the locals working in their fields. Your easy labor of getting to the top will reward you with picture perfect views of the Punakha valley with the serpentine Mo Chu River noiselessly gliding along the valley.

Optional to the above: if hike is tiring some then from the nearby suspension bridge you can rent the Raft for few hours. Discuss your plan ahead with your tour guide in regard to rafting if you are interested so booking have to be done earlier in advance.

The main highlight of the trip to the Punakha valley partially owes its credit to the Punakha Dzong. Aptly named ‘Pungthang Dewachhen Phodrang (which translates as ‘the Palace of eternal joy’), this Dzong is the personal favorite of the majority not just for its sheer beauty but also for its enormous historic proportions.

Punakha is synonymous with history: the very reason that it is the winter Capital of Bhutan, the chosen refuge of the Chief Abbot and his monk subjects makes this locale a place of enormous holistic proportions. This magnificent structured Dzong built in 1637 at the confluence of the Pho Chu-Male River and Mo Chu-Female Rivers, Punakha Dzong is the winter home for the central monk body headed by the Chief Abbot of Bhutan. From the exterior, this formidable structure holds a commanding position, and as you cross over a suspension bridge to embark upon an exploration of this 17^th century fortress with its white washed walls, steep entrance stairs and ornate interior, you will marvel how such a structure came to be built in the absence of modern technology. 

As you step in the Kuenrey or the assembly hall, the walls will reveal to you an intricate mural depicting the pictorial story from the events of the life of the Buddha while three giant gold statues dating from the 18^th century preside over the hall of some 1000 praying monks.

Just as you smell the last whiff of the fragrance of Jacaranda flowers once you get in the car and even as the lingering fragrance and memories begin to fade away, you will be given some preparatory directions by your guide for a visit to Chhime Lhakhang.  More popularly known as the Temple of Fertility, it serves as a final refuge for the barren women who propitiate the Divine man by receiving ‘Wang’, a sort of empowerment blessing from a humungous pairs of wooden phalluses that are the main relics of this temple. About 20 minutes walk back to the car park just before the walk ends brings to a cafeteria where you stop for lunch and refreshments before the onward drive to Paro via the Dochula pass.

Driving Distance: 133 KMS

Duration: 8-9 Hours (Inclusive of hikes, sightseeing, lunch stop and drive)

Overnight@ Hotel or Farmhouse Stay

Elevation: 2250m

Paro valleys assert its superiority over other districts by the sheer fact that its flat landscape makes it ideal for the only International Airport in the country. Owing to this very fact, it is usually the first overnight destination for the many visitors who fly in the country. That could also very well account for the reason why we have numerous high end resorts and hotels in this valley.

After an overnight stay at a hotel in Paro, your guide today will start the day’s activities today by a visit to the Taa Dzong. Originally a watch tower in the 17^th century, the Taa Dzong lost some of its historic status as the first watch tower in the country when it was converted to a cultural museum in 1968. Nevertheless, in the present state, Taa Dzong lays its claim to be the best and the first cultural museum in the country. Located in a spectacular setting, it tends to loom over the Paro Dzong still asserting to date its status as a protector of yore. The architecture is stunning: Being believed to be built in the shape of a conch, it’s incredible formidable circular structure houses six floors of interesting and rare collections from throughout the kingdom dating back to early as 2000BC. Apart from cultural artifacts and mural paintings, the museum is set to give its visitors an awesome collection of stamps whereby Bhutan stands distinctly apart in the world of philately.

The visit to the Paro Dzong is usually done in conjunction with the trip to the museum. Directly related to each other in the historical and to a large extent geographical context, the Paro Dzong or otherwise the ‘fortress on heap of jewels ‘was built in about the same era as the Taa Dzong. The Dzong in all its redolence of the medieval time period of the mid 17^th century virtually smells of antiquity and the thickness of its walls and the gigantic size of the supporting beams are true testimonials of some glorious by-gone era of true artistic proportions. 

You may possibly be caught in some déjà vu experience as you walk down the cantilever bridge if your guide fails to inform you that a couple of scenes from the highly acclaimed Hollywood movie ‘The Little Buddha’ were shot in this wonderful setting. An afternoon visit to the Kichu temple will not just give you insights into the time period of Buddhism in Bhutan but will also give you sufficient reasons as to why the religion has come to stay. The first of the Buddhist temples to be built in the wake of the 7^th century, it was a daunting enterprise of the first Tibetan Buddhist missionary King Songsten Gampo who is reported to have built 108 temples in and around the Himalayan region of Tibet and Bhutan to propagate the diamond teachings of Guru Padmasambhava or the ‘Lotus born’, the epithet he is more popularly with, in the Buddhist worlds.

Time permitting; your guide will take you on a visit to the Drukgyel Dzong at the northern end of the Paro valley. This citadel of the great victory of the Bhutanese over the joint coalition of the Mongolian and Tibetan armies, the Drukgyel Dzong (the word literally translates as the victory of the Dragons) has received numerous mention in travel journals including a grand picture feature by the National Geographic society.

Duration: 7-8Hours (Including sightseeing, lunch stop and drive)

Overnight: Hotel or Farmhouse Stay

Elevation: 2250m

“It is said that even if you have seen all of Bhutan but have overlooked the visit to the Tiger’s nest, it implies that you have not visited Bhutan at all”.

The above observation, made by a visitor after her first visit to Bhutan is  indicative of itself, the importance of the Taktsang not just in socio- cultural dimensions, but more importantly, as a must-see attraction that Bhutan has to offer as an experience of a hermit Kingdom. The very first view of the Tiger’s nest seeming to append out of the granite rock face at 3000m will intimidate some of you: Remember that the anticipation is worse than the actuality!

The trail which has a lot of switchbacks is wide enough to let packs of ponies pass by but be advised to keep to the right side to avoid mules and ponies edge you out of the path. It takes about an hour’s uphill task to get the glimpse of a homely cafeteria where you may get a sense of satisfaction as you regale yourself with tea and snacks and the first wholesome view of the Tiger’s nest. Continuing the walk for the next 45 minutes brings you to the first view point, the spot designated by a huge stupa-shaped river rock which has become a foreground subject for numerous photographic enthusiasts who take pictures of it with the Tiger’s nest in the background.

There are a lot of flat stones to secure your footing as you descend down some 450 steps and pass a stupa, another stupa, and a butter lamp offering altar till you reach a waterfall, an area sanctified by a lot of wish fulfilling string of prayer flags. You will see your efforts paid off as you  trudge up the entrance to the Tiger’s nest and take a very well earned breather before you are escorted into the temples by your guide. Lunch will be served at the ‘cafeteria’ after which it is the last 45 min way down to the car park. For those who seem to be fazed by this virtual walk up the Taktsang, there are two options: your guide will always make sure to inform you about the alternative of riding a pony up, or better still, encourage you to walk up at your own pace till the inn from where you can have a vicarious delight of actually being up at the Tiger’s nest.

Duration: 7-8Hours (Inclusive of hike, lunch stop and drive back to hotel)

Overnight: Hotel or Farmhouse Stay

Elevation: 2250m

Your last day here in Bhutan, your guide and driver will escort you to the Airport and bid you fare well to the destination of your choice.