DAY
O1:ARRIVE PARO
Arrival
at Paro and you will be Bhutanreceived
by the representative of Bhutan All Seasons Tours- your local Bhutan
travel agency who will be your tour guide throughout your entire travel
in Bhutan.
Check into the hotel. After the refreshment, visit the National Museum,
housed in the Ta Dzong (watchtower). Here an intriguing collection
of artifacts provide a wonderful introduction to the rich culture
and heritage of the Kingdom.
Walk down to Paro Dzong, a fine example of Bhutanese historic architecture.
From the Dzong, walk further down to Nyamai Zampa, a traditional cantilever
bridge. Evening free after dinner. Overnight at the hotel in Paro.
DAY
02:PARO-THIMPHU TRAVEL AND THIMPHU TOUR
Distance:55 km
Driving time: 1 hour
After breakfast, drive to Thimphu and check into hotel in Thimphu.
After the refreshment, sightseeing in Thimphu which includes visit
to:
• National Textile Museum which is a good place to see the art
of traditional weaving being kept alive and preserved through exhibition
and has a good collection of old textiles which are rich in colors
and designs.You will also see people weaving with intricate designs.
• The folk heritage museum, an outdoor museum that gives an
insight into rural life.
• The School of Traditional Painting of Arts and Crafts where
students undertake a six-year course on the 13 traditional arts and
crafts of Bhutan.
•
Pivate weaving centre at Changzamtok where you will find women weaving
beautiful and colorful silk and cotton textiles to be mostly worn
by women- mostly as dresses or shawls or scarves or a Bhutanese traditional
women’s dress.
• Drive to see the Takin Zoo, which houses the national animal
the Takin that is only found in Bhutan. This is an extremely rare
member of the goat family. Found in herds in the very high altitudes
(13,125ft and over). They live on a diet of grass and bamboo. It can
weigh as much as 550 pounds.
•
The Memorial Chorten which was constructed in 1974 as a memorial for
the third King of the country, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, who is
widely regarded as the father of modern Bhutan.
• Tashichhoe Dzong, a fortress of the glorious religion. It
was built in 1641 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel and was reconstructed
into present structure by the late King, His majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
in the year 1962-1969. It houses the secretariat building, the throne
room and the office of the king, and the central monk body.
• Government-run Handicrafts Emporium and local crafts shops,
to browse through examples of Bhutan’s fine traditional arts.
Here you can buy hand-woven textiles, thangkha paintings, masks, ceramics,
slate and wood carvings, jewelry, and other interesting items made
from local materials.
Overnight at the hotel in Thimphu.
DAY
03:THIMPHU-PUNAKHA/WANGDUE TRAVEL & TOUR
Distance: 77km
Driving time: 2½ hrs
After early breakfast, drive to Punakha through Dochula Pass (3,088m/10,130ft).
If you have a clear sky, the view of the Himalayan Mountain ranges
is spectacular and you can even see the Gasa Dzong as a white dot
in the horizon. Visit the beautiful 108 chortens built on the hill
by Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo (Queen of Bhutan) for the security
and well being of His Majesty, the King of Bhutan. Then have refreshment
at Dochula pass.
After lunch visit the Punakha Dzong, located on the island of the
Pho - Chu (male) river and the Mochu (female) river and also visit
the Dho Jha Gha Lam Temple.
Drive
to Wangdue, visit Wangdue Dzong, situated on a ridge overlooking a
river junction. In the 17th century, Wangdue played a critical role
in unifying the western, central and southern regions of the country.
Also visit the local market.
Overnight at hotel in Wangdue.
DAY
04: WANGDUE-THIMPHU TRAVEL
Distance:
70 km
Estimated
driving time: 2½ hrs
After
breakfast, walk to Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal Chorten (50 Mins) temple
built by the Queen Of Bhutan for peace and stability in this ever-changing
world.
Visit
Wangdue Dzong and drive back to Paro driving through the idyllic countryside,
dotted with villages and paddy fields and natural forests to Thimphu.
On arrival at Thimphu check into your hotel and after refreshments,
visit Kuenselphodrang where world's largest Buddha statue is located
and view from the hill top is breath taking.
Evening,
free for strolling around Thimphu Town, shopping, etc. Overnight at
hotel at Thimphu.
DAY 05:THIMPHU-HAA-PARO
Thimphu-Haa,Distance:
108 km,estimated travel time:3 hrs
Haa-Paro,Distance: 65km, estimated travel time:1 ½ hrs
After early breakfast,
drive to the beautiful Haa valley ( extreme North west of Bhutan).This
route will take you through villages of Doga,Susuna and Jabana villages
spaced apart by forested areas.You will see villagers at work in their
fields. Drive further onto beautiful Haa valley and Lunch at Haa.
Afternoon,visit two famous monasteries, Lhakhang Karpo (White Temple)
and Lhakhang Nagpo (Black Temple) The central shrine in Lhakhang Nagpo
is said to be almost identical to that of the Jowo temple in Lhasa.
Legend has it that local deities assisted in the construction of Lhakhang
Karpo. As a result, the place came to be locally known as ‘Hay’
(meaning ‘surprise’) which later became ‘Haa’
due to varying interpretations and pronunciations over time.
The three giant hills looming over the fringes of Haa valley were
called ‘Me Rig Puen Sum’ especially after the event of
the Lhakhang Karpo construction. Today the three hills are popularly
known as ‘RigSum Gonpa signifying three deities, Jambayang,
Chana Dorji and Chenrezig (known in Sanskrit as Manjushri, Varjapani
and Avalokiteshvara, respectively). These are the three principal
bodhisattvas (Buddhas to be) among the thousand future Buddhas to
come, and representations of them are to be found in every Lhakhang
(temple) and household shrine room.
Later, other Buddhist saints like Guru Rinpoche and ‘Machi Labdorn’
came to this place, Jungney Drag, in Haa and blessed the locality.
After Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal unified the country under the Drukpa
Kagyupa sect of Mahayana Buddhism in the early 17th century, the chief
guardian deity of Haa became Ap Chundu.
After that,drive to Paro through Chele-la (3,810m/12,573ft), On a
clear day there is a superb view of Mts. Chomolhari and Jichu Drake
from this point, so if the weather is favorable we will stop here
briefly to stroll around and enjoy the lovely mountain scenery.Then
drive through blue pine & rhododendron forest towards paro valley.
Overnight at Paro.
DAY
06: PARO HIKE TO TAKTSANG( TIGER'S NEST MONASTERY
After
breakfast, drive to the base camp and then hike up to the Taktsang
Monastery (Tiger's nest). The climb up to the viewpoint will take
approx. 3hours. Enjoy the stunning view of the monastery, where Guru
Padmasambhava flew on the back of a tiger and landed there in the
8th century, and meditated for three months. The monastery was later
built in this holy place in 1684. After tea in the cafe', walk back
to the road point and drive to hotel for lunch. Drive to Drukgyal
Dzong (fortress) now in ruins, which were built in 1646by Shabdrung
to commemorate his victory over the Tibetan invaders, led by Mongolian
Warlord, Gushri Khan. Historically and strategically this dzong withstood
all its glory and had captured western eyes in 1914 in National Geographic
magazine.
In
the afternoon, visit Kichu temple one of the 108 temples built in
the 7th century by the Tibetan King Songsten Gampo. The story goes
that a giant demon lay across the whole area of Tibet and the Himalayas
and was preventing the spread of Buddhism. To overcome her, King Songtsen
Gampo decided to build 108 temples, which would be placed on all the
points of her body. Of these 108 temples, 12 were built in accordance
with precise plans. Thus, it happened that in about the year AD 638
the temple of Jokhang in Lhasa was built over the very heart of the
demon. Visit the Dungte Lhakhang.Overnight at hotel in Paro
DAY
07:PARO DEPARTURE
After
breakfast, Bhutan All Seasons Tours, your local Bhutan travel agents
will escort you to the airport for your onward destinations.