Day 01: Paro

Welcome to Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Touching down at Paro International Airport, you will be greeted by your guide upon exiting the arrival hall. Today, we will take it easy to acclimatize to the altitude.

Day 02: Tour of Paro

A morning drive, north of Paro valley brings us to the ruins of Drukgyal Dzong. Built in 1647 by the great Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, father and unifier of medieval Bhutan, the Dzong was destroyed by an accidental fire and left in ruins as an evocative reminder of the great victories it was built to commemorate. Explore the ramparts and relive the memories of a glorious past.

An one hour hike to the cafeteria is also a vantage view whereby you can enjoy the stunning view of the Taktsang Monastery. Prayer flags adorn the cliffs and this is also where Guru Padmasambhava landed on the back of a tigress in the 8th century.

After a sumptuous local lunch, we will retrace our steps to visit Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan.

Day 03: Ta Dzong – Jele Dzong

Altitude 3436 m

Drive to Ta-Dzong, and at the National Museum you will meet your trekking staff, the horsemen and the pack animals. At the start of the trek the staff always takes some time to get organized. Our trek starts from the museum and our trek climbs non-stop for over 1065m before dropping down few meters to camp. The trail winds its way steeply through blue pine forest and around several farmhouses and fenced apple orchards (some owned by the royal family). The area is called Tsachhugang. Along the way we pass a monastery (Kuenga Lhakhang). After 1 hour or so of steady climbing, there will be nice views over the Paro valley and visible above is the Jele Dzong (jili Dzong). The trail continues steeply up through through the forest. Just before reaching a small pass below the Dzong, the route opens up a bit. Tonight’s small campsite is a little way down from the pass.

Overnight at our campsite

Day 04: Jele Dzong – Tsokam

Altitude 3962 m

Drive to Ta-Dzong, and at the National Museum you will meet your trekking staff, the horsemen and the pack animals. At the start of the trek the staff always takes some time to get organized. Our trek starts from the museum and our trek climbs non-stop for over 1065m before dropping down few meters to camp. The trail winds its way steeply through blue pine forest and around several farmhouses and fenced apple orchards (some owned by the royal family). The area is called Tsachhugang. Along the way we pass a monastery (Kuenga Lhakhang). After 1 hour or so of steady climbing, there will be nice views over the Paro valley and visible above is the Jele Dzong (jili Dzong). The trail continues steeply up through through the forest. Just before reaching a small pass below the Dzong, the route opens up a bit. Tonight’s small campsite is a little way down from the pass. Overnight at our campsite

Day 05: Tsokam – Jimilangtsho

Altitude 2880 m

The ridge walk followed by trekkers is about 2 hrs longer than then the pack animals’ route and its more spectacular and on a fine day there are several views of snowy peaks on the north and a grand view down into the valleys. Once again we proceed north most of the day and looking east is our tonight’s campsite and tomorrow’s route is visible. We then pass through a small campsite at Labana and further along out trek several monasteries are visible at the far end of the valley. We keep climbing slowly on the ridge and on the opposite side there is a view of Jimilang Tsho and we camp for the night near the lake.

Day 06: Jimilangtsho – Simkotra Tsho

Altitude 4090 m

We walk around the lake to its far (western end) and we start to climb up above the lake through the bushes and later good views opens up. On our way, many beautiful lakes are visible and we pass through a wide stone path between rhododendron bushes. We then climb up a ridge and soon we can see Simkotra Tsho which will be our campsite tonight.

Day 07: Simkotra Tsho – Phajoding

Altitude 3690 m

The trail is good with several minor climbs before we finally look down to Phajoding monastery and Thimphu valley. We descend down to Phajoding Monastery and the trek from Phajoding to Thimphu is a easy trek down the mountain through dense forests till we reach the road above the Takin Sanctuary from where our driver will take us to our hotel in Thimphu, the modern capital of Bhutan. Thimphu has a population of about 98,500. The town is made up of just three lines of shops and is the only capital in the world without traffic lights.

Day 08: Phajoding – Thimphu

Today is a easy trek down the mountain through dense forests till we reach the road above the Takin Sanctuary from where our driver will take us to our hotel in Thimphu, the modern capital of Bhutan. Thimphu has a population of about 98,500. The town is made up of just three lines of shops and is the only capital in the world without traffic lights.

Day 09: Departure

Today is your last morning in this mystical and memorable country of Bhutan. We will have breakfast and proceed to check in for your flight. We bid a fond farewell to Bhutan for the onward flight. We hope you have enjoyed your trip immensely and will bring your friends to Bhutan in the future.