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Cultural tour consists of short hikes, sightseeing and historical tours like Incredible Bhutan, Adventure to hidden valley, Himalaya at Glimpse and Pure Beauty of Bhutan. You will also come in touch with local communities and get to learn about Bhutan’s unique development philosophy of Gross National Happiness. Although short, this tour offers you glimpse of this Himalayan kingdom and you would certainly return home with horde of incredible memories. This trip also gives you opportunity to see a place of unmatched beauty with environmentally and culturally pure and unaltered.
Flight from Bangkok, Thailand into Bhutan provides spectacular views of Bhuatn’s landscape as you approach the airport in the Paro valley. The valley is a green bowl surrounded by jagged Himalayan Mountains and forested hillside, crossed by beautiful rivers and dotted with medieval fortresses. The first thing that you will notice as you disembark in Bhutan is the absence of noise and a feeling of peacefulness that is rare in most other Asian countries. The Paro valley has kept its pastoral nature and is one of the most scenic valleys in Bhutan. The houses are considered to be among the most beautiful in the country.
After completion of airport formalities you will be received by our local guide and transferred to our first hotel where you will have light lunch. This afternoon you will visit the National Museum (Ta Dzong) which was built in 1775. The Ta Dzong was once the watchtower for the massive Paro Dzong. You will then walk down to the Dzong, the religious and secular center of Paro.
Next you will take a short drive to Drukgyel Dzong, a ruined fortress where Bhutanese worriers fought Tibetan invaders centuries ago. This Dzong was built in 1649 to commemorate Bhutans victory over the Tibetan invaders, and sits at the point where the trail from Tibet enters into Paro valley.
Fortresses are perhaps the most visibly aspect of the kingdom and the huge citadels dominates the landscape of the major towns and acts as the administrative headquarters for the respective region. In the clear weather, you may see scared Mt. Jhomolhari (7329m) which lies along the border of Tibet and Bhutan.
After an early breakfast, we say goodbye to Paro and move to Punakha. The road to Punakha crosses the Dochu la Pass offering a great view of eastern Himalayan Mountains. From the pass the road decends through magnificent pine and rodhodendron forest and wanders through some of the Bhutans most picturesque countryside. After reaching the Punakha valley we will stop in a small village where we take a short to Chimi lhakhang, famously known as the “temple of fertility” built by Devine madman.
Early breakfast, and will drive to Punakha valley; we will begin our walk by ascending a series of swtichbacks to the Khamsum yuely namgyel chorten. We then descend from the temple and walk along the female river. Along the way we are rewarded with stunning views- the terraced rice paddies providing an exotic backdrop to the river. After enjoying the picnic lunch along the river side, we then proceed to visit Punakha Dzong, one of the most important and beautiful fortress of Bhutan.
A short walk from the Dzong takes us to our evening tea spot and our waiting transportation to bring us back to our hotel for evening.
A winding and twisting route via Pelela pass brings us to Trongsa, an ancestral home for the royal family. We will visit the sprawling Trongsa Dzong and one of the most aesthetic and magnificent works of the Bhutanese architecture. Its strategic location high above the Mangdue Chuu is often described as being perched so high on a mountain that clouds even float below.
After lunch and our visit to the Dzong we will again continue our journey to Bumthang along the road over the YotongLa pass. On our way we will visit the Yathra weaving center, where hand woven, hand spun wool strips with patterns specific to Bumthang region are created. Bumthang is spacious and open and ideal for walkers and hikers. It is also commonly called second Switzerland.
While in the Bumthang valley, we will visit many of the valley’s significant sites. We will visit Jamba Lhakhang, which according to the legend was one of the 108 temples built in a day by the Tibetan King. We will also visit Kurjey Lhakhang, a place where Buddhism first came to Bhutan and followed by to the Tamshing Monastery.
In the afternoon, we will take a short walk across the Bumthang River. In the evening we will sample local specialties such as buckwheat noodles and pancakes, local Swiss cheese and locally made wheat beer. If you choose you can also take part in local singing and dancing.
Today we will have long drive back to Punakha.
Today we will have short drive to Thimphu and after reaching Thimphu, we will visit some of the remaining sites. And, after lunch we will drive through the countryside surrounding Thimphu bringing us to the wildlife Sanctuary, the largest protected area in the country.
Our walk will begin from small local bridge and the trail starts by climbing steadily to Cheri Monastry. After visiting the monastery, we will continue along the riverside trail and pass through the small rural village before returning to Thimphu and back to hotel.
Late in the afternoon we will move to Paro. We will have dinner at farm house and traditional hot stone bath at farm house.
Your guide will take you to the airport for the departure.
Please note that some of the sights/itinerary may change due to time limit, season, weather, national holidays, and special events. We maintain the rights to alter the itinerary since tours are made in advance and unforeseen circumstances that mandate change may arise. Itinerary changes are made to improve your overall travel experience in Bhutan.