5 - Day Cultural Tour
Day 1 Paro-Thimphu
Day 2 Thimphu - Punakha
Day 3 Punakha-Paro
Day 4 Paro
Day 5 Flight Home
Day 1: Paro (2280m) - Thimphu (2320m)
Overnight in Thimphu.
Our guide will welcome you at the Paro International Airport and thereafter, take you on a 90-minute scenic ride to Thimphu. En route, you will visit Tamchhog Lhakhang, where you will see the traditional iron bridge.
Lunch will be in Thimphu. For the rest of the day, your tour may include: Buddha Point (where you will have a panoramic view of Thimphu Valley below you), National Memorial Chorten, and the Thimphu Dzong. The dzong is perhaps the most visibly striking architectural aspect of the kingdom. It was constructed originally as a fortress. But today, the dzong is the administrative and religious centre of the dzongkhag (or district) in Bhutan. If you arrive on a weekend, either Saturday or Sunday, you will have the chance to visit The Centenary Farmers Market and the Weekend Market with the locals selling their produce and handicrafts on both sides of the Wang Chhu.
Day 3: Thimphu (2320m) – Dochu La (3140m) – Punakha (1250m)
Overnight in Punakha.
Today, we leave Thimphu and drive uphill to Dochu La, a pass marked by a large array of colourful fluttering prayer flags and the 108 chortens. While you enjoy your cup of tea and snacks, you may also get a panoramic view of the Bhutan Himalaya. Then the drive will continue to Chimi Lhakang, where you will have your lunch. After lunch, you may take a short hike to the temple on a hillock. This is the Temple of the Divine Mad Monk, where childless Bhutanese pray for fertility. For the rest of the afternoon, you will visit Punakha Dzong, arguably the most beautiful dzong in Bhutan. Nearby the dzong is one of the longest suspension bridges in the country. You may also visit Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Lhakhang Nunnery that perched on a ridge amid pine trees overlooking the valleys of Punakha and Wangduephodrang.
Day 3: Punakha (1250m) – Paro (2280m)
Overnight in Paro.
After breakfast, we leave Punakha on our return journey to Paro. In Paro, you will visit the Paro Dzong and the Ta Dzong, a watchtower that houses the National Museum. Thereafter, you may wish to stroll through the main street in Paro where it is lined with colourfully painted wooden shop fronts and restaurants.
Day 4: Paro (2280m)
Overnight in Paro.
This morning, you test your stamina and determination to hike up to the Taktsang Lhakang (3120m). Translated, it means ‘Tiger’s Nest’ and the temple, the holiest in Bhutan, clings to a sheer cliff face 900m above the Paro Valley. It is also the most important icon of Bhutan.
Day 5: Paro (2280m)
You will have to wake up early for breakfast before being driven to the Paro International Airport for your early return flight home.