Sight of western Bhutan, Glimpse of Bhutan, Western Bhutan tour, Eastern Bhutan tour,Centran Bhutan tour, meeting with Bhutanse


	Walking in The Last Shangri-La

	Day 01: Bangkok / Paro / Thimphu Depart Bangkok early in the morning by Druk Air to Paro. If you are lucky, you will have glorious view of the snowcapped Himalayas. The remarkable and steep descent into the Paro valley is an awe-inspiring beginning to an adventure of a lifetime. After visa formalities and collection of baggage, you will meet Journey to discover Bhutan representative in Bhutan, who will receive you and take you for lunch at one of the local restaurants in Paro. After lunch, we will take a 1 ½ hour leisurely drive towards the Capital of Bhutan, Thimphu. Upon reaching Thimphu, you will be taken to one of the best hotels of Thimphu, After settling down, we shall have the Welcome Dinner. Overnight at hotel Day 02: Thimphu Sightseeing – Wangdue After breakfast, you will be taken to the following places of cultural interest. The Arts and Craft Institute: This is a vocational training institute where the art of painting, woodcraft and sculpturing are taught to students with the objective of preserving the rich and pristine heritage. Bhutan Post (Post Office): As the sole postal organization of Bhutan, Bhutan Post offers you the finest collections of stamps and post cards. You can purchase the finest stamps and cards as a souvenir. Lunch at your hotel. After lunch we depart for Wangdue, our home for next 4 nights. Wangdue is about 3 hours drive from the capital. The route passes through the horticulture center in Yusipang before reaching the 10,230ft Dochula pass. On a clear day you may be able to see a spectacular view of the Eastern Himalayas from this pass. Many Chortens (Buddhist Monument) and colorful prayer flags also dot the pass. We stop for tea and snacks at Dochula cafeteria located ½ km from the pass. After that we shall descend through the forest of rhododendrons and magnolia. Enroute several stops on the way, you will pass the village of Lumitsawa; Thinleygang and reach the fertile valley of Lobesa, Another 20 minutes’ drive will take you to your hotel. Evening of leisure. Overnight: Dragon Nest Resort Day 3: Wangdue Sightseeing Following the breakfast we walk from our hotel to Chimi Lakhang (the temple of Divine Madman) Lama Drukpa Kuenley, more commonly known as the “Divine Madman” is one of the Bhutan’s favorite saints. He has extensively traveled through Bhutan and Tibet singing songs, humor and out gracious behavior to dramatize his teachings, believing that the firmness of the clergy and social conventions were keeping the people from learning the true Buddhist teachings. This site is still believed to hold the fertility powers for women wanting to conceive. From Chimi Lakhang, we can have the spectacular view of Punakha valley. Walk back to the road head and drive to your hotel for lunch. After lunch we hike for an hour from our hotel to visit a typical Bhutanese farm village called “ Rinchengang” clustered together. Thereafter you will visit Wandue Dzong built in 1638, which houses the administrative center and religious institute for monks of the valley. Explore small enterprising town of Wangdue. Evening at leisure and Overnight at Hotel. Day 4: Wangdue – Punakha – Wangdue On this day we drive through Punakha valley, we begin our walk by first ascending a series of switchbacks to Khamsum Yuely Namgyel Chorten though the rice fields. From the Chorten, we can glimpse the grand views of Mo Chu River Valley below. We descend from the Chorten and follow well-worn path down the valley through rice fields and small villages. Along the way we are rewarded with stunning views, Picnic lunch alongside the river, we continue our walk to Punakha Dzong. Constructed in 1637, Punakha Dzong is the one of the most impressive Dzong in its architecture, ideally located between the two rivers. It houses the administrative center of the valley and winter residence for the central monk body. From the Dzong we can look back to see Namgyel Khamsum Yuely Temple perched on the hillside far in the distance. We walk back from the Dzong to our transport waiting to shuttle us back to our hotel. In the evening there will be a demonstration on wearing of Bhutan National Dress. (Gho for man and Kira for woman) by your local escort / trip leader. Day 5: Wangdue – Chorten Nebu Temple Today our day begins with a walk on a quite country road before climbing steeply over the rough trail as we make our way through terraced fields of rice to the local chorten Nebu Temple, perched high on a hilltop with spectacular view of the Mo Chu valley below, Chorten Nebu is over 200 years old, stocked with statues of future Buddha and other protective deities. It is believed that before the Chorten Nebu temple was built during the time of the Divine Madman, the present site of temple is considered as the meeting place of demons. One day when Divine madman passed by, he saw a meeting of all the demons and evil spirits. He picked up a burning piece of firewood, with which he was able to scatter them and never came back. From the burning firewood grew the old oak tree, which still stands today near the temple. Still people make sacred talismans from this tree to keep healthy and free from evil spirits. After the picnic lunch on the lawn of the monastery or perhaps on a convenient spot, we continue our walk, descending through small villages enjoying the magnificent views of Punakha valley to the paved road. We drive back to our hotel and evening of leisure. Day 6: Wangdue – Phobjikha This morning we depart to Phobjika Valley through the tropical vegetation to Nobding and Pele la pass (11,000ft). Throughout your trip you will come across the beautiful sceneries of rural Bhutan, with scattered settlements far from the road. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant in Nobding or a picnic lunch en route whichever is deemed appropriate. We continue our drive to Phojika valley; it is a wide-open glacial valley (alt 2900 meters) designated as a conservation area due to its importance for wintering habitat for Black Necked Cranes. In addition to the cranes, the Gantey Gompa (monastery) overlooks the wide valley of Phojikha and houses the monastic institute affiliated with Nyingmpa sect of Buddhism. We visit the monastery and drive to our hotel. After settling down, we visit the small carpet factory close to the hotel. Overnight: Dewachen. Day 7: Phojika –Thimphu. This morning we visit the begin with a nature walk initiated by the Phobjikha Eco tourism Management Plan, which provides the opportunity to see the graceful birds closer. Lunch will be served at Wangdue. Afterlunch drive to Thimphu. On arriving in Thimphu, you have a free time for relaxing, exploring by own and hunting for souvenirs visiting handicrafts shops. Late evening leisure time. Jumolhari / River view Day 8: Thimphu Halt After the breakfast, we visit the National animal “Takin” Thereafter we drive to view point of Thimphu Valley and walk though the forest of blue pine, oak and dogwood to Wangdi-tse Monastery. The trail is steady climb for the initial start and gradual with the magnificent view of Thimphu valley from the hilltop about 8.700fts. The Wangdi-tse monastery is originally built as a Dzong in 16th century and later converted as a monastery. We descend down to visit Dechenphodrang, monastery, and a monastic institute for monks. Drive back to the hotel for lunch. Afternoon we visit Folk Heritage museum, National Library, National Memorial Chorten and textiles museum. Evening at leisure. Overnight Jumolhari. Day 9: Thimphu – Paro In the morning, we shall depart for Paro and en-route visit “The Simtokha Dzong”, which is the first Dzong of Bhutan. The Dzong today is a religious institution for the monks. On reaching Paro, we will visit the National Museum and the Paro Rinpung Dzong. The Paro Dzong may be familiar to people who watched Bertolucci’s film ‘The Little Buddha’. Finally stroll through Paro Main Street. Day 10: Paro Halt Early morning we will drive to Ramthangkha, from where we start our hike to the Taktsang monastery (Tiger’s Nest). Visitors are permitted to hike up to the viewpoint from where they can see the monastery hanging on a cliff. Legend has it that Guru Rimpoche flew from Eastern Bhutan on a tigress, bringing Buddhist teachings and meditated here in this cliff. This is one of the most venerated and sacred of all Buddhist sights around the world. Lunch will be served at Taktsang cafeteria. Walk downhill to the road and drive on to Drugyel Dzong (now in ruins) and en-route visit the Kyichu Lhakhang, built in the 7th century by Songtsen Gompo, which denotes the spread and emergence of Buddhism in the country. Day 11: Paro / Bangkok Depart for Paro airport for your onward flight to Bangkok with full of Bhutanese NOSTALGIA.