Bhutan

Upon arrival in Kathmandu’s airport you’ll be met by a private driver and taken straight to our hotel, located right in the center of town. If you’re arriving early, our team will be available to help with suggestions or arrangements. In the evening we’ll meet up for our orientation meeting, followed by a great local dinner for a first taste of Himalayan cuisine.

After breakfast today, we’ll head out for a half-day introduction to Kathmandu, a city where temples, shrines, traffic, daily rituals, and old architecture all sit side by side. We’ll ride by tuk tuk to Durbar Square, the old royal center of the city, where palace courtyards, carved wooden windows, and multi roofed temples give a strong first sense of Kathmandu’s long history.

From there we’ll continue on foot through nearby streets and market areas, passing neighborhood shrines, small shops, spice stalls, flower sellers, and the everyday movement that makes this part of the city feel so alive. For lunch we’ll stop at a momo place to try one of Nepal’s best loved dishes in the city where it has become such a staple.

Afterwards there will be free time, with options such as joining a Nepali yoga class, treating yourself to a massage, or continuing to explore more of the city at your own pace.

This morning we’ll leave Nepal behind and take the short flight to Paro, flying right next to the majestic Himalayan mountain range. We'll arrive in stunning Bhutan and immediately step into a very different rhythm.

From the airport we’ll drive an hour to Thimphu, the country’s capital, where wooded slopes, traditional architecture, and a calmer pace create a very different first impression. After checking into the hotel and having some time to rest, we’ll head out to a local ceramic studio for a pottery experience. Pottery has a quieter place in Bhutan’s craft traditions than weaving or painting, but it still offers an interesting look at the materials, forms, and practical objects that have long been part of daily life.

Later we’ll visit the School of Astrology for a personal astrology reading by a local Buddhist monk, offering a particularly fascinating introduction to a practice that still plays an important role in Bhutanese life.

We’ll begin the day with a short and easy walk up to Wangditse, a small temple and lookout set on a ridge above Thimphu. From here, the views open across the valley and toward the hills beyond, making it a wonderful place to ease into the day.

We’ll enjoy breakfast in this peaceful setting before preparing and offering butter lamps, an ancestral Buddhist ritual that remains part of everyday spiritual life in Bhutan.

Later, we’ll take part in a weaving and natural dye workshop, where we’ll get a closer look at one of Bhutan’s most important artistic traditions and the way natural colors, patterns, and handwork still shape textile making today.

In the evening, we’ll be welcomed into our friend’s home for a delightful dinner with his family, a warm and personal experience that offers a lovely glimpse into Bhutanese hospitality.

We’ll depart Thimphu this morning and make our way farther into the mountains, with the landscape gradually opening into a very different side of Bhutan. As we climb higher, we’ll stop at Dochula Pass, one of the country’s most memorable mountain crossings, where 108 white chortens stand against the backdrop of forested slopes and, on clear days, distant Himalayan peaks.

From there, we’ll enjoy a light walk along part of the Trans Bhutan Trail, an old route that winds through woodland, giving us a feel for the paths that once connected communities across the country.

After lunch, we’ll visit Richtenang \village, a quiet, traditional community located on a slope overlooking the valley. We'll walk through the village, meet with locals, learn about their culture and get a truly up close and personal look at daily life in rural Bhutan.

We'll then continue to the broad glacial valley of Phobjikha, known for its open landscapes, scattered farmhouses, remote location and tranquil atmosphere. Upon descending into the valley, we'll attend an evening prayer session at Gangtey Shedra Buddhist temple, adding another special moment to the day before checking into our lodge and settling in for the night.

This morning we’ll explore the Phobjikha Valley, with its rolling hills, small villages that feel calm the moment you arrive and even yaks roaming the plains. We’ll start at a Buddhist monastery, a spiritual center for the valley, where you’ll learn why this place matters locally and how it continues to shape community life. From there we’ll take an optional leisurely hike into the valley, offering fresh air, sweeping views and time for personal reflection.

After lunch, we’ll drive over the Lawala Pass and through changing mountain scenery as we make our way toward Punakha. The drive will take approximately 2 hours. We'll arrive in the evening, check into our hotel and enjoy dinner in one of Bhutan’s most scenic regions.

We’ll spend the day getting to know Punakha through some of its most important places and everyday traditions. Our morning will begin at Punakha Dzong, the extremely impressive, and ancient, fortress monastery set at the meeting point of two rivers, where whitewashed walls, tiered roofs, painted woodwork, and inner courtyards make it one of the most striking buildings in Bhutan. As we explore, we’ll get a better understanding of what a dzong is and why these spaces remain so important in both religious and public life.

From there we’ll continue to a nearby nunnery, where we’ll have the chance to learn more about the women who live and study there, and enjoy lunch with the nuns, a special opportunity to experience a quieter and more personal side of Bhutanese Buddhist life.

In the evening, dinner will become part of the experience with a cooking class focused on traditional Bhutanese food, giving us the chance to learn how local dishes are prepared before sitting down to enjoy them together.

After breakfast, we’ll leave Punakha behind and drive to Paro, following one of Bhutan’s classic mountain roads as it threads through valleys, over passes, and past villages that seem to appear and disappear along the hillsides.

This is a drive that gives a fuller sense of the country, with rivers running below, prayer flags stretched across ridge lines, colorful houses perched above terraced fields, and small temples and chortens marking the route.

We’ll stop for lunch along the way and continue through a landscape that keeps shifting as we go, before arriving in Paro in the late afternoon. Once there, we’ll settle in and have time to rest, making for a gentler evening before tomorrow’s hike to the magical Tiger’s Nest.

After an early breakfast, we’ll set out for one of Bhutan’s most unforgettable experiences, the hike to Tiger’s Nest Monastery, also known as Paro Taktsang. Clinging dramatically to a cliffside high above the Paro Valley, this sacred Buddhist site is tied to the story of Guru Rinpoche, who is believed to have arrived here on the back of a tiger and meditated in the caves that later became the monastery.

The hike is approximately 4 miles round trip and moderate/high in difficulty, with a steady climb that rewards you with ever wider views as you go. For those who prefer a lighter option, you can hire a mule to take you halfway up the path, to a cafe that offers an extraordinary view of the monastery.

The walk can be done at your own pace, and we'll have plenty of support staff along the trail. Once at the top, we’ll enjoy a guided visit through each of the temples built into the cliff, offering deep insight into one of those most surreal locations in the Himalayas.

For those who prefer not to do the hike, there will be optional activities for this morning.

In the afternoon, we'll all regroup, have time for a rest and to enjoy a walk and some shopping in the center of Paro. In the evening, our farewell dinner will be accompanied by a special cultural performance, where we'll also have a chance to join a traditional dance class, making for a most fun and memorable way to end our time in Bhutan.

We’ll transfer to the airport in the morning for our 1.5-hour flight back to Kathmandu. Upon arrival, the tour will officially come to an end and you can connect to your onward flight home, taking with you the unforgettable memories of our journey through Bhutan and Nepal!

*IMPORTANT: Please make sure your departure flight out of Kathmandu is later than 1:00 PM in order to have enough time to transfer to the International Departures area of the airport.