Western and Central Bhutan

1. Day 1

   Arrive in Paro, drive to Thimphu

   Your guide meets you as you clear the terminal at Paro and the drive east begins along the Pa Chhu and then the Wang Chhu. You stop at Tamchog Lhakhang, the private temple of the iron-chain bridge builder Thangtong Gyalpo, reached across a footbridge hung with chains, before continuing to Thimphu for the night.

   • Tamchog Lhakhang
   • Overnight in Thimphu · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Thimphu
   ↓Private car · 1h 30m
2. Day 2

   A day in Thimphu

   A full day in the capital. The 51.5-metre Buddha Dordenma looks down over the valley from Kuenselphodrang; the National Memorial Chorten, built for the third king, is circled all day by Thimphu residents counting their rounds. You meet the takin — Bhutan's odd, national animal — at the Motithang preserve, and end at Tashichho Dzong, which houses both the throne room and the central monk body.

   • Buddha Dordenma
   • National Memorial Chorten
   • Motithang Takin Preserve
   • Tashichho Dzong
   • Overnight in Thimphu · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Thimphu
   ↓Private car · 3h
3. Day 3

   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
4. Day 4

   Walks above the Punakha valley

   An hour's walk up through paddy and pine to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, built by the queen mother and worth the climb for the view back down the Mo Chhu. You also cross the long suspension footbridge below Punakha Dzong, one of the longest in the country. In the afternoon, the hilltop nunnery of Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup and its teaching college.

   • Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten Hike
   • Punakha Suspension Bridge
   • Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery
   • Overnight in Punakha · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Punakha
   ↓Private car · 3h
5. Day 5

   Over Pele La to Gangtey and the Phobjikha valley

   East over Pele La into the glacial bowl of Phobjikha, wintering ground for black-necked cranes and one of the few genuinely wide open landscapes in Bhutan. Gangtey Monastery looks down the valley from its ridge; the nature trail from below it drops through the village and out across the marsh.

   • Pele La
   • Gangtey Monastery
   • Phobjikha Valley
   • Phobjikha Valley Walk
   • Overnight in Gangtey · 1 night · 3-star lodge in Gangtey
   ↓Private car · 6h
6. Day 6

   Through Trongsa to Bumthang

   A long and beautiful driving day. Chendebji Chorten stands beside the river in Nepali style, then the road rounds a spur and Trongsa Dzong appears across the gorge — the ancestral seat of the royal family, and the largest dzong in the country. Ta Dzong, the watchtower above it, is now the monarchy's museum. Beyond Yotong La the road drops into Bumthang, Bhutan's spiritual heartland.

   • Chendebji Chorten
   • Trongsa Dzong
   • Ta Dzong, Trongsa
   • Bumthang Valley
   • Overnight in Jakar · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Jakar
7. Day 7

   The temples of Bumthang

   Kurjey Lhakhang holds the rock into which Guru Rinpoche is said to have pressed his body; Jambay Lhakhang, next along the valley, is one of the 108 temples founded in the seventh century and hosts the autumn Drup with its midnight naked dance. Above Jakar town sits Jakar Dzong, and at Mebartsho the river runs through a gorge where a treasure text was recovered from the water.

   • Kurjey Lhakhang
   • Jambay Lhakhang
   • Jakar Dzong
   • Mebartsho
   • Overnight in Jakar · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Jakar
   ↓Private car · 7h
8. Day 8

   West again to Punakha

   The same road back over the passes, with the stops the eastbound day had no time for and a lunch break in Trongsa. Overnight in Punakha.

   • Trongsa
   • Overnight in Punakha · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Punakha
   ↓Private car · 4h 30m
9. Day 9

   To Paro, stopping at Rinchengang

   On the way west you stop at Rinchengang, a tightly packed traditional village of stonemasons facing Wangdue Phodrang Dzong across the valley, then continue over Dochula to Paro.

   • Rinchengang
   • Wangdue Phodrang Dzong
   • Overnight in Paro · 1 night · 3-star hotel in Paro
10. Day 10

    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
11. Day 11

    Depart from Paro

    A last breakfast, then the short transfer to the airport for your flight out.

    • Transfer to Paro airport

This trip runs on request: Shambala Travels sets the dates with you rather than publishing a departure list.