Itinerary

1. Day 1- Explore the Gems in Punakha

   • Take your flight to Paro and witness the most spectacular airviews of the entire Himalayas. Whether flying along the Himalayan range from Kathmandu or over the foothills from Bangkok, the journey offers fascinating views of Bhutan. 

   • Meet your guide after doing the immigration formalities, and head to Thimphu, the capital town of Bhutan. Thimphu is a unique city with an unusual mixture of modern development alongside ancient traditions. With a population of about 90,000, it is perhaps still the world’s only capital city without a traffic light.

   • Stop en route at Chuzom, the confluence of the Thimphu and Paro rivers, to see the three different styles of stupas: Tibetan, Nepalese and Bhutanese, adorning this confluence. 

   • Have lunch and start your journey again towards Punakha through Dochula Pass (3,088m/10,130ft). Enjoy the panoramic view of the Himalayan mountain ranges in the clear sky. 

   • Pass by the beautiful 108 chortens built on the hill by Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo (Queen Mother of Bhutan) for the security and well-being of His Majesty, the King of Bhutan. 

   • Visit Druk Wangyel Lhakhang (temple). The temple was built to honour His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, for his dedication to the country. The past and future appear to merge in the details, telling the story of a supreme warrior figure whose vision pierces the distant future. 

   • Travel onto Punakha, linked to some of the most meaningful events in Bhutanese history. It is one of the most beautiful and significant regions at the heart of Bhutanese culture. Punakha had served as the capital of Bhutan from 1637 till 1907, and the 1st National Assembly was held here. 

   • Explore the Punakha Dzong, located on the verge of the Pho Chhu (male river) and the Mo Chhu (female river). The dzong was built in 1637 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal to serve as the religious and administrative seat of the region. Here, the dual system of government was introduced in the 17th century, and in 1907, enthroned the first King Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuk. Damaged over the centuries by four catastrophic fires and an earthquake, the dzong has been fully restored in recent years by the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. It stands as a symbol of a unified Bhutan.

   • Go to the massive Kuenray- the coronation hall of all Bhutanese kings, the recently renovated cantilever bridge over the Mochu, and afterwards head back for a peaceful time in the Dhensa Boutique resort in the middle of Pine forest, with mesmerizing view of Kuru Valley. 

   • Walk to the nearby temple for Meditation with nuns (optional) and stay for the night in Punakha.

2. Day 2- Visit the Thimphu Valley

   • Depart Punakha to reach the Thimphu Valley to offer your prayers at the Buddha Point (Kuensel Phodrang). Enjoy a magnificent overview of the Thimphu valley from the Buddha point.

   • Visit King's Memorial Chorten, filled with people murmuring mantras and spinning their prayer wheels. The construction is credited to Bhutan’s third king, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuk (“the father of modern Bhutan”), who wished to erect a monument for world peace and prosperity. Completed in 1974 after his untimely death, it serves as a memorial to the Late King and a monument to peace. 

   • Have lunch and head to the National Library, housing an extensive collection of priceless Buddhist manuscripts and the Institute for Zorig Chusum (commonly known as the Painting School), where students undergo a 6-year training course in Bhutan’s 13 different traditional arts and crafts. 

   • Drive to Takin Preserve to see Takin, Bhutan's national animal.

   • Explore Trashichhoedzong, "fortress of the glorious religion"- the centre of government and religion, site of the monarch’s throne room and seat of Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot). Built-in 1641 by Bhutan's political and religious unifier, Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, it was reconstructed in the 1960s in a traditional Bhutanese manner, without nails or architectural plans. 

   • Stroll through the government-run Handicrafts Emporium and local crafts bazaar in the evening to buy hand-woven textiles, thangkha paintings, masks, ceramics, slate and woodcarvings jewellery, and interesting items made from local materials.

   Stay at a hotel in Thimphu for the night.

3. Day 3- Hike to Taktsang Monastery

   • Drive to Paro for a hike to Taktsang Monastery viewpoint. Taktsang, meaning "Tiger's Nest," was built in the 8th century around a cave in which Guru Rimpoche (Padmasambhava/Second Buddha) mediated. It clings seemingly impossible to a cliff of rock 3,000 feet above the valley floor. For the local people, it is a place of pilgrimage, but for a tourist, a hike up to the viewpoint opposite the monastery is exhausting, thrilling and mystical. The legend has it that Guru Rimpoche is said to have flown to the monastery's site on the back of a tigress from the eastern part of Bhutan that is Lhuentse, particularly from the Singye Dzong and meditated in the cave for three months and subdued the evil spirits. Paro Valley is one of the oldest valleys to receive Buddhism in Bhutan.

   • Have lunch and visit Kyichu Lhakhang- one of Bhutan’s oldest and most beautiful temples boasting an orange tree that perpetually bears fruit. 

   • Go to the 200-year-old Watch Tower, which was renovated and converted into the National Museum in 1968, housing a fine collection of national costumes and fabrics, a gallery of Thangkas, an impressive stamp gallery with three-dimensional and CD stamps issued as early as the 1960s. 

   • Head to Paro Dzong to see the historical site of the Fort of Drukpa Victory, from which the Bhutanese used to repel the Tibetan invaders repeatedly. Views of the 7314-meter snow-domed peak of sacred Mt Jomolhari can be seen on a clear day. 

   • Spend the evening leisurely in the town and stay for the night in Paro.

4. Day 4- Departure

   • Head to Paro Airport after breakfast to catch your flight.