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After Breakfast departure transfer to Airport to Fly Paro (Bhutan) arrive Paro at 11:35 AM, Transfer to Thimphu. Visit great Thimphu Stupa, traditional paper factory, weaving center O/N Thimphu
Meal : Breakfast, lunch and dinner
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Breakfast is at hotel. Drive to Punakha via Dochula Pass.
The walk is really impressive as it zigzags up to the 3,140 m high Dochula Pass, through a forest of waving prayer flags and a labyrinth of commemorative cliffs and on clear days, panoramic views of the main Himalayan range. At the top of this mountain pass overlooking the Himalayas, there is a concentration of 108 chortens (stupas) built in memory of the Bhutanese soldiers killed in the 2003 war. The Queen Mother, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, commissioned the monument after that King Jigme Singye Wangchuck was victorious in the struggle to dislodge the rebels who used Bhutan as a base to attack India. Stop at the Dochula Pass, which offers an impressive 360-degree panoramic view of the Himalayas. The view is especially picturesque on clear winter days with snow-capped mountains forming a majestic backdrop to the tranquility of the 108 chortens adorning the mountain pass. Continue drive to Punakha,Punakha served as the capital of Bhutan until and still it is the winter seat of Je Khenpo (the chief abbot). Blessed with temperate climate and owing to its natural drainage from Pho Chhu (male) and Mo Chhu (female) rivers, the Punakha valley produces abundant crops and fruits.
Later, visit Punakha Dzong or (Palace of Great Happiness), it was built at the junction of the Phochu and Mochu rivers in 1637 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. This majestic dzong served as both the religious and the administrative center of Bhutan in the past. It measures some 600 by 240 feet and has a six-story, gold-domed tower. Inside are courtyards and religious statuary that hint at the depth of history and spiritual tradition embodied here? Your guide will illuminate your understanding of this intricate culture that is exotic to us, though long established here.
Drive to Yebisa village, and climb to Khamsum Yulley chorten.Over night at Punakha
Meal : Breakfast, lunch and dinner
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Breakfast is at hotel. Drive back to Paro via Thimpu [140Kms/04Hrs]
Drive to Thimphu approx 3 hrs, (Lunch at Thimphu), Visit great Budha statue, Takin sanctuary, and Thimphu farmers market, After sightseeing drive to Paro encapsulates within itself a rich culture, scenic beauty and hundreds of myths and legends. It is home to many of Bhutan’s oldest temples and monasteries, National Museum (we can visit if we will have enough time) and country’s only airport. Mount. Chomolhari (7,314m) reigns in white glory at the northern end of the valley and its glacial water plunge through deep gorges to form Pa Chhu (Paro River). Paro is also one of the most fertile valleys in the Kingdom producing a bulk of the locally famous red rice from its terraced fields.Over night at Paro
Meal : Breakfast, lunch and dinner
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Breakfast is at hotel. After breakfast, the morning is reserved for hike to Taktsang Monastery (approx. 5 hours walk including both ways).
The Taktsang Monastery is one of the most famous of Bhutan’s monasteries, perched on the side of a cliff 900 m above the Paro valley floor. It is said that Guru Rinpoche arrived here on the back of a tigress and meditated at this monastery and hence it is called ‘Tiger’s Nest’. This site has been recognized as a most sacred place and visited by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1646 and now visited by all Bhutanese at least once in their lifetime. .
Once here you should be able to enter into the monastery and view the cave where Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal meditated (cameras are not allowed inside the monastery). The visit and climb to the entrance and back to the lookout will take approximately one hour. Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the 108 temples built in the Himalayas by Tibetan King, Songtsen Gampo. The building of this temple marks the introduction of Buddhism in Bhutan. It is one of the oldest and most sacred shrines of the Kingdom dating back to 7th century (the other is Jambey Lhakahng in Bumthang). The lhakhang complex is composed of two temples. The first temple was built by Tibetan King, Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century and in 1968, H.M. Ashi Kesang, the Queen Mother of Bhutan, built the second temple in original pattern. Afterwards – take traditional herb’s bath with the locals (Optional). Traditional Bhutanese Dinner. Overnight in Paro.
Meal : Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
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Arrive Kathmandu from Paro (Bhutan) at approx 11:15 AM – Transfer to Hotel, after refreshment make sightseeing tour of Kathmandu Durbar square and royal complex, hanuman dhoka. O/N Kathmandu
Meal : Breakfast
