Bhutan: Paro, Punakha, Phobjikha, Trongsa and Bumthang

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Paro, on to Thimphu

   Paro International Airport to Tachog Lhakhang and Chuzom, then Thimphu

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Lunch and welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Thimphu
   Détail du jour 1

   Land at Paro International Airport (PBH), Bhutan's only international airport, where your See Sight Tours guide and our licensed Bhutanese guide meet you outside arrivals. Flights operate in daylight only and most land in the morning. Paro's own sights wait for the end of the trip, when we come back to it for two nights, so today we drive about an hour and a half east along the Paro Chhu to Thimphu, the capital, at about 2,300 m. On the way we stop at Tachog Lhakhang, where an iron chain bridge in the style of the 15th-century bridge-builder Thangtong Gyalpo crosses the river to a small temple, and at Chuzom, where the Paro and Thimphu rivers meet below three chortens. After lunch in Thimphu and time to settle in, we walk to the National Memorial Chorten, built in 1974 for the third king, where older residents circle it and turn the prayer wheels in the late afternoon. The group meets for a briefing on the route, then a welcome dinner.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Paro International Airport (PBH)
   • Tachog Lhakhang and its iron chain bridge
   • Chuzom, the confluence of the Paro and Thimphu rivers
   • Lunch in Thimphu
   • National Memorial Chorten
   • Welcome briefing and dinner

   Temps libre : Time to rest at the hotel after lunch

   Activité : Plan to land by about midday to join lunch and the afternoon; later arrivals are met and join at dinner. Thimphu sits at about 2,300 m, so we keep the first day gentle.

   

2. Jour 2 : Thimphu, the capital

   Buddha Dordenma, the Takin Preserve, the Folk Heritage Museum, Zorig Chusum and Tashichho Dzong

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Thimphu
   Détail du jour 2

   A full day in the capital, with the evening free. We start at Buddha Dordenma, the giant gilded Buddha on the ridge south of the city, while the morning light is on the valley, then drive up to the Motithang Takin Preserve, a fenced forest where Bhutan's national animal grazes, and on to the Sangaygang viewpoint by the broadcasting tower. Back in town, the Folk Heritage Museum is a restored three-storey farmhouse of rammed earth and timber, a good lesson in the rural life we see later in Phobjikha and Bumthang. On weekdays, when classes run, we visit the National Institute for Zorig Chusum, where students train in the thirteen traditional arts, from thangka painting to wood carving; from Friday to Sunday we walk the Centenary Farmers Market by the river instead. Lunch is in town. Late in the afternoon we visit Tashichho Dzong, which opens to visitors after office hours, as the monks and civil servants who share it finish their day. Dinner is your choice tonight, in the town with the widest choice of restaurants on the route.

   Compris

   • Buddha Dordenma (Buddha Point)
   • Motithang Takin Preserve and the Sangaygang viewpoint
   • Folk Heritage Museum
   • National Institute for Zorig Chusum (weekdays) or the Centenary Farmers Market (Friday to Sunday)
   • Tashichho Dzong after office hours

   Option plus facile : Skip the Sangaygang stop and take an hour at the hotel before the dzong visit.

   Option plus active : Walk with your guide from Sangaygang through pine forest to Wangditse Lhakhang, about 1.5 hours, and rejoin the group in town for lunch.

   Temps libre : Evening free; dinner on your own

   Activité : Tashichho Dzong's visiting slot after office hours is short and changes by season; on a weekend or government holiday ops moves it to the visiting hours confirmed for that day.

   

3. Jour 3 : Over the Dochula Pass to Punakha

   Thimphu to the Dochula Pass, Sopsokha and Chimi Lhakhang, then Punakha

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Punakha
   Détail du jour 3

   Cloud usually builds over the pass by late morning, so we leave Thimphu at 8 am to reach Dochula, at about 3,100 m, while the northern horizon is clearest. On a good day, most often in autumn and winter, the snow peaks of the high Himalaya line up beyond the 108 Druk Wangyal chortens on the saddle. There is time for tea and a walk among the chortens before the road drops through forest, about 1,900 m in all, into the warm Punakha valley, where rice terraces line the rivers at about 1,200 m. Lunch is at a farm restaurant near Sopsokha. Then we walk about 20 to 30 minutes through the village and between terraced paddies to the low hill of Chimi Lhakhang, the temple built in 1499 for Drukpa Kunley, the Divine Madman, where couples still come for fertility blessings. We reach the hotel by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is free. The drive is about 75 km and two and a half to three hours.

   Compris

   • Dochula Pass and the 108 Druk Wangyal chortens
   • Lunch near Sopsokha
   • Walk through the rice fields to Chimi Lhakhang

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free at the hotel

   Activité : The road is narrow and winding on both sides of the pass; if you are prone to motion sickness, take a front seat and medication before we leave.

4. Jour 4 : Punakha Dzong and the valley

   Punakha Dzong, the Punakha Suspension Bridge and Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Punakha
   Détail du jour 4

   The light on Punakha Dzong's whitewashed walls is best in the morning, so we cross the wooden cantilever bridge over the Mo Chhu soon after it opens to visitors. Built in 1637 to 1638 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal where the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers meet, it was the seat of government until the capital moved to Thimphu in the 1950s, and the central monk body still spends the winter here. Inside, the courtyards open one after another, and your guides explain the murals in the assembly hall; we allow about two hours. Then a short drive upriver to the Punakha Suspension Bridge, strung with prayer flags high over the Pho Chhu. The active option climbs about 45 minutes through rice fields to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten for the view up the valley; the easy option drives to the Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery on its ridge. A picnic lunch by the river, then a free afternoon, the first of the trip, before tomorrow's climb into the high valleys.

   Compris

   • Punakha Dzong with your guides
   • Punakha Suspension Bridge
   • Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten or the Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery
   • Picnic lunch by the river

   Option plus facile : Drive up to the Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery for the valley view instead of the chorten hike.

   Option plus active : Hike about 45 minutes up through rice fields to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten and climb to its roof for the view.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free

   Activité : Punakha is the warmest stop on the route; bring sun protection.

5. Jour 5 : Up to the Phobjikha valley

   Punakha to Wangdue Phodrang Dzong and the Lawa La, then Phobjikha (Gangtey)

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Phobjikha
   Détail du jour 5

   We drive south from Punakha down the river to Wangdue Phodrang, where the dzong on its ridge above the confluence was rebuilt after a fire in 2012, and stop for a visit. From there the road climbs steadily through oak and rhododendron forest, over the Lawa La at about 3,300 m, and drops into the Phobjikha valley at about 2,900 m, a wide glacial bowl of farmland, marsh and pine on the western slope of the Black Mountains. The drive is about 80 km and three hours, and we arrive for lunch. In the afternoon we visit the Black-necked Crane Information Centre, run by the Royal Society for Protection of Nature, where telescopes look out over the marsh. From about late October to February the cranes winter here after flying in from the Tibetan plateau; outside those months the valley is quiet farmland and the centre explains their story. The evening is free in a valley with no town to speak of; Phobjikha is cold at night for much of the year, so bring a warm layer.

   Compris

   • Wangdue Phodrang Dzong
   • Lunch in Phobjikha
   • Black-necked Crane Information Centre

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free

   Activité : The cranes are in the valley from about late October to February only; the Black-necked Crane Festival is held at Gangtey Goemba each year in November. Phobjikha has the highest night on the route, at about 2,900 m.

   

6. Jour 6 : Gangtey Goemba and on to Trongsa

   Gangtey Goemba and the Gangtey Nature Trail, then the Pele La and Chendebji Chorten to Trongsa

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Trongsa
   Détail du jour 6

   A one-night stop in Phobjikha is the price of keeping every drive near four hours, so we make the morning count. After an early breakfast we visit Gangtey Goemba, the 17th-century monastery on the knoll above the valley and a seat of the Pema Lingpa tradition of the Nyingma school, then walk the Gangtey Nature Trail, about 1.5 to 2 hours downhill through pine and across the valley floor, past farmhouses and, in winter, the cranes feeding in the marsh. Our vehicle meets us at the end. The drive to Trongsa is about 110 km and four hours, the longest drive of the trip: we climb over the Pele La at about 3,400 m, the pass between western and central Bhutan, and stop for a sit-down lunch near Chendebji Chorten, an old chorten in the Nepali style beside the river. Then the road follows the Mangde Chhu valley until Trongsa Dzong appears across the gorge in the late light, its tiers of roofs stepping down the ridge.

   Compris

   • Gangtey Goemba
   • Gangtey Nature Trail walk
   • Pele La
   • Lunch near Chendebji Chorten

   Option plus facile : Walk only the first part of the nature trail, about 30 minutes, and ride on to its end with the driver.

   Option plus active : Walk the full Gangtey Nature Trail, about 1.5 to 2 hours, with the guide.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Trongsa

   Activité : The longest road day, about four hours, broken by the nature-trail walk before it, the Pele La and a sit-down lunch.

   

7. Jour 7 : Trongsa Dzong, then Bumthang

   Trongsa Dzong and the Tower of Trongsa, then the Yotong La to Jakar in Bumthang

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Bumthang
   Détail du jour 7

   Trongsa Dzong is one of the largest dzongs in Bhutan, founded in the 1640s on a spur above the Mangde Chhu, and the seat from which the Wangchuck family rose to become kings; by tradition the crown prince serves as Trongsa Penlop before taking the throne. We visit it in the morning, then climb to the Ta Dzong watchtower above it, now the Tower of Trongsa museum on the royal family and the dzong's history. After an early lunch in Trongsa we drive about 68 km and two and a half to three hours over the Yotong La, at about 3,400 m, through fir and rhododendron forest and down into Chumey, the first of Bumthang's valleys, where we stop at a yathra weaving workshop to see the woollen cloth the region is known for. We reach Jakar, the main town of Bumthang at about 2,600 m, in the late afternoon, with time to walk its short main street before dinner. Bumthang gets two nights, so you unpack once for the central valleys.

   Compris

   • Trongsa Dzong
   • Tower of Trongsa museum (Ta Dzong)
   • Yathra weaving in Chumey

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free in Jakar

   Activité : Trongsa Dzong's opening hours vary on festival and government days; ops confirms them for each departure.

8. Jour 8 : Bumthang's temples and a farmhouse evening

   Jambay Lhakhang, Kurjey Lhakhang, Tamshing Lhakhang and Jakar Dzong, then a Bumthang farmhouse

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Bumthang
   Détail du jour 8

   Bumthang is called the spiritual heart of Bhutan, and its temples sit close together on the Chamkhar valley floor, so today is mostly on foot. We start at Jambay Lhakhang, by tradition one of the temples built by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century, then walk on to Kurjey Lhakhang, where Guru Rinpoche is said to have left the imprint of his body in the rock of a meditation cave. From Kurjey a footbridge crosses the Chamkhar Chhu and a path leads about 30 minutes through fields to Tamshing Lhakhang, founded in 1501 by the treasure-revealer Pema Lingpa, with old murals and a chain-mail coat that pilgrims carry around the inner sanctum. Lunch is back in Jakar. In the afternoon, Jakar Dzong on the ridge above town, or free time. In the evening a Bumthang farmhouse heats river stones for a traditional hot stone bath, then serves dinner with the family, buckwheat dishes included.

   Compris

   • Jambay Lhakhang
   • Kurjey Lhakhang
   • Walk across the river to Tamshing Lhakhang
   • Jakar Dzong
   • Hot stone bath and dinner at a Bumthang farmhouse

   Option plus facile : Ride between the temples in the vehicle and skip the afternoon visit to Jakar Dzong.

   Option plus active : Walk up to Jakar Dzong from town and on along the ridge with your guide, about an hour.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free if you skip Jakar Dzong

   Activité : Shoes come off and photography stops inside each temple; slip-on shoes help.

9. Jour 9 : Fly to Paro

   Jakar to Bathpalathang airport, a domestic flight to Paro, then Rinpung Dzong and the National Museum

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Paro
   Détail du jour 9

   Driving back west from Bumthang to Paro takes two long days, so we fly instead: a domestic flight of about half an hour from Bathpalathang airport, a few minutes from Jakar, over the ridges we crossed by road. The flight runs only on some days of the week, so departure dates are built around it, and its time sets the morning; if it leaves late, there is time for a last walk in Jakar. Domestic flights depend on the weather, and if the flight cannot operate, we drive back west in two days with a night in Punakha or Wangdue and give up the second Paro night (ops plans this with each departure). In Paro, at about 2,200 m, we have lunch in town, then walk down to the Paro Chhu and over the covered wooden bridge below Rinpung Dzong, the fortress-monastery completed in 1646 that still houses the district's monks and offices. Above it, the round Ta Dzong watchtower holds the National Museum, with masks, thangka paintings and Bhutanese history. The evening is free in Paro's painted main street.

   Compris

   • Domestic flight from Bathpalathang (Bumthang) to Paro
   • Lunch in Paro
   • Rinpung Dzong and the covered bridge over the Paro Chhu
   • Ta Dzong National Museum

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free in Paro

   Activité : Domestic flights are weather dependent and the schedule is confirmed close to departure.

10. Jour 10 : The Tiger's Nest walk

    Paro to the Taktsang trailhead, the cafeteria viewpoint and the monastery, then Kyichu Lhakhang

    • Environ 1 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
    • Nuit : Paro
    Détail du jour 10

    We leave at about 7:30 am for the 20-minute drive to the trailhead at about 2,600 m, so we are on the path before the heat and the main flow of walkers. By now, after a week at altitude, the climb is easier than it would be on the first days. Paro Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest, clings to a cliff about 900 m above the valley floor, around the cave where, by tradition, Guru Rinpoche meditated. The trail climbs through blue pine and oak hung with prayer flags to the cafeteria viewpoint, about an hour and a half up, facing the monastery across the gorge. Everyone can stop here. Those who want to go on walk about another hour, down and up several hundred steps past a waterfall, to the monastery itself, where bags and cameras are left at the gate. We all meet for a sit-down lunch at the cafeteria, walk down together and stop at Kyichu Lhakhang, one of Bhutan's oldest temples. The farewell dinner is in Paro tonight.

    Compris

    • Guided walk to the Tiger's Nest (Paro Taktsang) cafeteria viewpoint, with the option to continue to the monastery
    • Sit-down lunch at the Tiger's Nest cafeteria
    • Kyichu Lhakhang
    • Farewell dinner in Paro

    Activités en option

    • A pony from the trailhead to the cafeteria (uphill only, paid locally)

    Option plus facile : Stop at the cafeteria viewpoint: tea and the full view of the monastery across the gorge while the others go on, then lunch together.

    Option plus active : Continue from the cafeteria to the monastery, about an hour each way on steps, and go inside the temples with our Bhutanese guide.

    Temps libre : Late afternoon free before the farewell dinner

    Activité : The hardest morning of the trip: about 4 to 6 hours on the trail for the full walk, or about 3 hours to the cafeteria and back. Walking poles and layers help; the descent is steep and dusty.

    

11. Jour 11 : Leave from Paro

    Your hotel in Paro to Paro International Airport

    • Environ 15 min de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 11

    Breakfast at the hotel, then a transfer of about ten minutes to Paro International Airport. Flights out of Paro operate in daylight only and most leave in the morning, so plan to be at the airport about two hours before departure; your guides see you to the terminal and help with check-in before saying goodbye. If you fly to Kathmandu or Delhi, ask for a window on the right-hand side: on a clear morning the high Himalaya can run along the horizon, though the view depends on the weather and the route flown. If your flight leaves later in the day, the morning is free in Paro, and your guide can suggest a short walk in the valley or a last visit to the shops on the main street, with a later transfer. If you would like to stay longer in Bhutan, ask us when you book and we can quote extra nights in Paro, though each extra night also carries the government's Sustainable Development Fee, which we would add to the quote.

    Compris

    • Drop-off at Paro International Airport (PBH)

    Temps libre : Morning free if your flight leaves later

    Activité : Book any flight out of Paro; all departures are in daylight and the airport is about ten minutes from the hotel.

Faune et météo : Late September to December brings the clearest skies and the best chance of a Himalayan view from Dochula, with cold nights in Phobjikha and Bumthang. The black-necked cranes winter in Phobjikha from about late October to February, so autumn and December departures see them. March to May is warmer, with rhododendrons in flower on the passes and more haze. June to August is the monsoon, with rain and landslides on the roads, so we do not run departures then.

• Thimphu2 nuits
• Punakha2 nuits
• Phobjikha1 nuit
• Trongsa1 nuit
• Bumthang2 nuits
• Paro2 nuits