6-Day Bhutan Cultural Tour from Paro to Punakha with Taktsang

• Fly to Paro from your suitable destination. Meet the guide at the airport and transfer to Thimphu by private car. Check into the hotel in Thimphu and refresh. Take a rest in the hotel and attend a short tour briefing for the onward trips.

Wander in Thimphu streets or relax in your hotel.

Overnight at Hotel in Thimphu.

• After breakfast, begin the sightseeing tour with the guide. Visit the Weekend Market. It is the local market open on Thursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday only, so you can be lucky if your stay lies in any of these days in Thimphu.

• See the Handmade Paper Mill, which is also called Traditional Paper Factory.

• Visit the School of Thirteen Arts and Crafts (STAC), where students learn 13 different traditional paintings and sculptures.

• Have lunch in town at a decent restaurant. Then continue the visit to Memorial Chorten (temple) built in the memory of the late 3rd King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. The four-storey white building contains statues and iconography of deities from tantric teaching.

• Visit Changangkha Lhakhang, the oldest temple in the valley, where the national animal, Takin, is kept.

Overnight at Hotel in Thimphu.

• Take early breakfast, and drive to Punakha and Wangdi through Dochula pass, the highest road pass in your trip at 3010m. On clear weather, one can enjoy a spectacular view of the highest mountains of Bhutan – Gangkar Puensum (7550m) along with other Eastern Himalayas that stretch almost 180 degrees.

• After a short tea break, continue to sub-tropical Punakha.

• In the afternoon, visit the Punakha Dzong (fortress), “Palace of Great Happiness”, built in 1637 and housing the most elaborated temple in the country. Punakha was the former capital of Bhutan, and it is still the winter residence of the Central Monastic Body.

• Similarly, visit Wangdiphodrang Dzong, situated 13 km from Punakha. This massive fortress is perched on a hilltop at the confluence of Punakha Chu and Tang Chu River.

Overnight in Punakha.

• Retrace the drive back to Paro. En-route visit Chimi Lhakang on foot (about 30 min), the temple of fertility. The temple is dedicated to Lama Drukpa Kuenley, a Tibetan Buddhist saint known popularly as “the divine madman” and considered a folk hero in Bhutan for his unconventional ways.

• In the afternoon, visit the National Museum, the first of its kind, which has a range of natural history collections. 

• Visit 17th century Paro Dzong (Fortress) on foot and continue walking through the oldest wooden bridge still in use.

• In the evening, stroll through old Paro town and peep into browse local handicrafts stores. One can also venture to try a local restaurant for dinner. 

Overnight at Paro.

• Visit the oldest temple of the country-Kichu Lhakhang, built by Tibetan King Songtsen Gompo in the 7th century, who miraculously built 108 temples.

• Arrive in Drukgyal Dzong (Fortress), built in 1644 to commemorate the victory of Bhutan over Tibet.

• Drive north of Paro town and begin the trek to the famed Taktsang (Tiger’s lair) monastery, the most revered temple that literally hangs on a granite vertical cliff overlooking Paro. 

• Begin the trail near the Satsam (2650m) and climb steeply uphill to the Cafeteria (2,940m), an area of the exposed ridge with a panoramic view of Takstang.

• Return trek through steep downhill to the road and transfer to Paro hotel.

Overnight in Paro.

• Transfer to the airport for your departure flight.