Bhutan Festival Tour: Paro Tshechu
Eight days built around the Paro Tshechu, with the western valleys either side of it.
- Duration
- 8 days
- From
- $2,080
- Booking
- On request
Paro Tshechu fills the courtyard of Rinpung Dzong for five days each spring: masked cham dances, atsara clowns working the crowd, and on the closing morning before dawn the unfurling of the great Guru Thongdrel, which is said to absolve anyone who sees it. Around the festival days this is the western circuit — Thimphu, Punakha and the walk to Taktsang.
The 2027 departure is dated to the festival calendar: **21 March 2027**. Tshechu dates follow the Bhutanese lunar calendar and are confirmed year by year, so ask us before booking flights. Operator reference BTG-B2.
Where it goes
15 stops on the map. Pick a day to zoom to it; the rest of the route stays drawn. A stop the operator gave no location is not plotted — the Day by day tab is the full route.
- Day 1
Arrive in Paro
Your guide meets you at the terminal for the short transfer into town. If you arrive early there is time for Kyichu Lhakhang at the head of the valley and the cantilever bridge below the dzong.
Kyichu Lhakhang- Overnight in Paro · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Paro
- Day 2
Paro Tshechu
A full day at the festival in the dzong courtyard. The dances run from morning to late afternoon and the crowd is as much of the occasion as the cham — families in their best kira and gho, picnics along the walls. Your guide will explain each dance as it comes up.
Paro Tshechu
Rinpung Dzong- Overnight in Paro · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Paro
- Day 3
Taktsang, and the temples of the Paro valley
The walk up to Taktsang — the Tiger's Nest — climbs through blue pine to a monastery welded to a cliff 900 metres above the valley floor, and takes most of the morning up and back. Afterwards, Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in the country, and Rinpung Dzong on its spur above the river.
Taktsang Hike
Paro Taktsang- Kyichu Lhakhang
- Rinpung Dzong
- Overnight in Paro · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Paro
Private car · 1h 30m - Day 4
To Thimphu
East to the capital, stopping at Tamchog Lhakhang on its bluff above the river, with the afternoon for the National Memorial Chorten and Tashichho Dzong.
Tamchog Lhakhang
National Memorial Chorten
Tashichho Dzong- Overnight in Thimphu · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Thimphu
- Day 5
A day in Thimphu
The Buddha Dordenma above Kuenselphodrang, the takin preserve at Motithang, and time in town — the weekend market, the crafts school, or the post office where you can have a stamp made of your own photograph.
Buddha Dordenma
Motithang Takin Preserve- Overnight in Thimphu · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Thimphu
Private car · 3h - Day 6
Across Dochula to Punakha
The road climbs to Dochula, where 108 chortens stand for the soldiers of the 2003 campaign and the eastern Himalaya fills the skyline in winter. Down in the warm Punakha valley you walk out through rice terraces to Chimi Lhakhang, the fertility temple of the Divine Madman, and end at Punakha Dzong at the confluence of the Pho and Mo Chhu.
Dochula Pass
Chimi Lhakhang
Punakha Dzong- Overnight in Punakha · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Punakha
Private car · 4h 30m - Day 7
Punakha, then back to Paro
A morning's walk up to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten before the drive west over Dochula to Paro for the last night.
- Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten Hike
- Overnight in Paro · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Paro
- Day 8
Depart from Paro
A last breakfast, then the short transfer to the airport for your flight out.
- Transfer to Paro airport
Included
- Bhutan Sustainable Development Fee for every night of the trip
- USD 40 visa application fee
- Licensed English-speaking Bhutanese guide throughout
- Accommodation in 3-star certified hotels, twin sharing
- Private vehicle with driver for all transfers and sightseeing
- Meals as listed: 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners
- Entry fees for the monuments and museums named in the itinerary
- Sustainable Development Fee
- Bhutan visa
- Licensed English-speaking guide
- 3-star certified hotels, twin sharing
- Private vehicle and driver
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 7 dinners
Not included
- International flights to and from Paro
- Single-room supplement (USD 294)
- Travel and medical insurance
- Personal expenses: drinks, laundry, telephone calls and tips
- Anything not named in the itinerary
- International flights to Paro
- Travel and medical insurance
What the parts cost
- Bhutan visain the price~$40
One-off application fee, included in the tour price.
Per person
- $2,0802–14 · double
- $2,3741–14 · single
Group size 1–14
Cancellation
Shambala Travels has not published cancellation terms here. Ask for them in writing before you pay a deposit.
This trip runs on request: Shambala Travels sets the dates with you rather than publishing a departure list.
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From $2,080