Our Bhutan sightseeing tour begins with a scenic flight to the dragon kingdom Paro. This flight offers magnificent views of the Himalayas. The flight to Paro is one of the most magnificent mountain flights in the world, with a steadily changing panorama of some of the high mountains on earth including Chomolhari and Jitchu Drake peak. Further, landing in the Paro Valley is a perfect entry into the world of Bhutan.
We can feel its pure air and a sense of serenity. Besides that, we can witness the fields of green and brown covering most of the valley floor. Here, we can also see hamlets and isolated farms dot the landscape. It is a beautiful valley and is home to many of Bhutan’s oldest monasteries and temples. The houses of Paro valley are treated to be the most beautiful in the country. After some refreshments, we will stroll around Paro. We will enjoy sightseeing in Paro. Our sightseeing tour starts with a visit to Paro Dzong.

Paro Dzong is the Fortress of a Heap of Jewels. So, the full name of Paro Dzong is Rinpung Dzong. We will see the painting of the great saint Milarepa, considered the master of meditation by the Bhutanese and believed to have attained enlightenment in a lifetime. It is one of the finest models of traditional Bhutanese architecture. This structure is a large dzong- a Buddhist monastery and fortress. A short distance of walking will lead us through several numbers of archery grounds where we might get lucky to catch an archery match in action.

Archery is the national sport of Bhutan.

Paro Dzong is also listed as a tentative site in Bhutan’s Tentative List for UNESCO formation. Further, resting beyond Paro Dzong is its watch tower renovated in 1968 to house the National Museum. It is an unusual round building, built in the shape of a conch shell. Also, its displays include an inspiring combination of ancient and modern Thanks (Buddhist paintings) as well as fearsome festival masks. Besides that, we will also visit the Kyichu Monastery, via the Drugyel Dzong ruins.

Kyichu The monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Bhutan. It was built in the 7th century by the Tibetan King Songsten Gampo. After exploring these astounding sites of Paro, we will head back to the hotel. But, on our way back, we will cross Nyamai-Zam. It is a traditional wooden covered bridge that spans the Paro River. We will spend our night in Paro.

After breakfast, we will take an hours’ drive from Paro towards Thimpu. After a short stop at Thimpu (largest and capital city of Bhutan) – our drive journey continues with a scenic drive over through Dochula Pass at 3050 meters which serves panoramic views of Himalayan ranges of Bhutan including Mt. Gangar Punsum, 7520 meters. From the top of the pass, our journey descends towards the lush valley of Punakha for our night stay. We will drive downhill through the rhododendron, fir, and hemlock forests. We will then pass through rice fields along river banks and finally reach Punakha. We will spend another day here sightseeing and exploring around Punakha. Overnight at Punakha.

Today, we will visit Punakha Dzong (the second oldest and second-largest Dzong of Bhutan), a fortress that was built in 1637 by Zhabdrung Rinpoche. Punakha Dzong is surprisingly located between the two rivers of Mo (Female) the Chu and Pho (Male) the Chu and houses the most enhanced temple in Bhutan. The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungthang Dewa Chhenbi Phodrang (meaning “the palace of great happiness or bliss”), is the administrative center of the Punakha District in Punakha, Bhutan.
It is the ancient capital of Bhutan and served as the winter capital (settlement) for more than 300 years. Punakha is also the center of Bhutan’s second-longest suspension bridge then, we will hike through pleasant paddy fields and farmhouses to arrive at the temple of Chimi Lhakhang. Chimi Lhakhang is a famous fertility monastery that was built in 1456.

The temple is significantly associated with the religious arts of Bhutan. We will spend some time exploring Chimi Lhakhang before heading back to our hotel at Punakha for the overnight stay.

We will start our drive journey from Punakha towards Gangtey. Our drive is a scenic journey as we pass along the beautiful forest filled with rhododendron and oak trees over to Pepe La Pass at 3420 meters.
From the top of the pass, we can enjoy magnificent views of high mountains including Mt. Chomolhari. We will make several stops during our drive today to visit several sites of interest along our route. We will spend our overnight at Gangtey.

The Gangteng Monastery or commonly the Gangtey Gonpa monastery is located on a hillock in the middle of the Gangtey village with an impressive view of the Phobjika valley below.
Gantey valley is very famous for its scenic vicinity and cultural distinctness. We will visit Gangtey Gompa – a well-reputed monastery of Nyingmapa sent Buddhism that is best known for its unique and spectacular design. The Nake Chuu River runs through this valley. The Black Mountain Region is settled by nomadic shepherds and yak herders.

The monastery is surrounded by a small village with traditional houses that sums up the beauty of the landscape. The annual festival is observed here in the monastery. After the visit to the gompa, we will make a short trek of about one and a half hours along the famous Gangtey Nature Trail. After a long day of excursion around Gangtey, we will relax in the fascinating evening weather at the hotel.

Today, we will retrace our way from Gantey and head back to reach the modern capital of Bhutan – Thimpu. At Thimpu, we will visit National Memorial Chorten, National Library – for beholding heaps of priceless Buddhist manuscripts, Bhutan Folk Heritage Museum – where we can learn about Bhutanese households and lifestyles as the museum exhibits items and artifacts used in rural households.
We will also visit the Textile Museum – where the traditional art of weaving is still preserved. There is a fine collection of old textiles with a fascinating mixture of colors and designs. In the evening, walking the streets of Thimpu is an amazing idea. We will spend our overnight at Thimpu

After breakfast at Thimpu, we will visit a Handicraft Emporium that has impressive Bhutanese handicrafts for sale. Then, we will take a drive that goes through the dense pine forest towards the beautiful and narrow valley of Haa Dzongkhag.
Haa Dzongkhag valley is a picturesque lush valley that was closed for outsiders until 2002. We will visit Wangchuk Dzong which was built in 1915. Then, we will visit Lhakhang Karpo (White Temple) and Lhakhang Nagpo (Black Temple) which was built by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo in the 8th century. We will spend our overnight at Haa.

After breakfast at Haa Dzongkhag, we will take a relatively short but scenic drive to Paro. We will make numerous stops along our drive journey for visiting sites with religious and cultural understanding.
After reaching Paro, we will have a rest much needed for the hike to Taksang Monastery (Tiger Nest) the next day. Feel free to explore the streets of Paro

Today, we will hike to one of Bhutan’s most revered pilgrimage sites, the Taktsang Monastery. We will begin with a drive to Satsam Chorten. From here, we will start to hike or grasp a chance to ride a horse up to Cafeteria. From here, one must walk for about one and a half hours to reach the way to Paro Taktsang Monastery popularly known as Tiger’s Nest.
It is the most valued temple of Bhutan that hangs on a fascinating granite cliff overlooking the whole Paro valley below. It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava, who is widely known as Guru Rinpoche flew on a tigress’ back on this site to subdue a demon. After that, he stayed and meditated here for three months.

The monastery was adored and blessed as one of Bhutan’s most revered religious sites. Cameras and Photography are restricted inside the monastery so we will have to keep our bags and cameras at the security entrance. We will be spending most of the day hiking and exploring Tiger Nest Monastery. We will descend back to arrive at our hotel at Paro. It is our last day at Paro before flying back to our home country. So, grab a chance to peep into some souvenir shops at Paro for memory or loved ones back home. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Paro.

Our beautiful journey comes to an end today. After the wonderful experience of learning the Bhutanese history, culture, tradition and lifestyle we will take a flight from Paro back to our own home country