Every Journey is a Story
Nine nights to the spiritual heartland
East of the Black Mountains the valleys widen, the temples get older, and the road becomes the journey. Nine nights to Bumthang and back.
Most visitors turn around at Punakha. Going further east means longer days in the vehicle, but it also means the glacial bowl of Phobjikha where black-necked cranes winter, the great ridge fortress of Trongsa, and finally Bumthang — four valleys holding some of the oldest and most revered temples in the Himalaya. This is the journey for a second visit to Bhutan, or a thorough first one.
Suits a second visit, or a thorough first one with time to spare. Expect several long driving days over high passes — the reward is the part of Bhutan most itineraries never reach.
Where you sleep, and for how long. Every transfer is by private vehicle with your guide.
Distances and walking times are honest estimates for an unhurried pace. Nothing here is fixed — we move days around to suit the weather, the festival calendar and how you are feeling.
Met at the airport, with an easy afternoon in the valley to let the altitude settle.
Kyichu Lhakhang, then the capital: Buddha Dordenma, the Memorial Chorten and, if you would like it, an hour at the school of thirteen traditional arts.
The climb to 3,100 m and the 108 chortens, then the long descent into the rice valley. Afternoon at Punakha Dzong.
We turn off the east–west highway and climb into a glacial valley at about 3,000 m, wide and treeless and quite unlike anywhere else in Bhutan. Gangtey Goenpa stands on the ridge above it.
A morning on the valley’s nature trail, then the road over Pele La at about 3,420 m and along the Mangde Chhu gorge to Trongsa, whose dzong appears across the valley long before you reach it.
Trongsa Dzong in the morning, then over Yotong La at about 3,425 m and down into Chumey, the first of the Bumthang valleys, where the yathra weavers work.
Jambay Lhakhang, said to be one of the temples founded in the seventh century; Kurjey Lhakhang, built where Guru Rinpoche left the imprint of his body; and Tamshing, with its old wall paintings. In the afternoon, the walk between them along the Chamkhar Chhu.
A day valley — Tang for the Burning Lake and the Ogyen Choling manor museum, or Ura for the highest and most photogenic village in Bumthang. Your guide will pick according to the weather.
A long but beautiful driving day back over the passes to Punakha or Wangdue, breaking the return in two.
Back over Dochula to Paro. If you are strong, the climb to Paro Taktsang goes here; if you would rather not, we walk the valley floor instead and let the mountain keep its mystery.
The short drive to the airport and your flight out.
Altitudes and walking times are approximate and vary with conditions. Festival dates follow the Bhutanese lunar calendar and are confirmed annually by the Department of Tourism, so festival journeys are built around the year’s published dates. Road works and weather can change a driving day; your guide will always discuss an alternative with you before anything is changed.
Yes — every journey we publish is a starting point. Add a valley, drop a dzong, move the whole thing to a festival week, or slow the whole pace down. Most itineraries go through two or three drafts before anyone books anything.
Only the people you book with. Every journey is private: your own guide, your own vehicle and your own driver, whether you are one traveller or eight.
You get a written day-by-day itinerary with hotels named and a full quotation, usually within one to two working days. Nothing is payable while we work it out.
For March–May and September–November, six to nine months ahead — the Paro flights and the better hotels fill first. Off-season, six to eight weeks is usually enough.
Written itinerary and full quotation, usually within one working day.
Every journey is private and rewritten around you — add a valley, add days in Haa, or move the whole thing to festival week.
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are, and we will come back with a written day-by-day itinerary for Central Bhutan & Bumthang and a full quotation. No deposit, no obligation, and a real person answering.
Paro · Haa · Thimphu
Cross Chele La at 3,988 m into the valley that only opened to visitors in 2002 — barley fields, blue pine, two ancient temples and the people we grew up with.
Tailor-made
Quotation by email
Paro · Thimphu · Punakha
The three western valleys, unhurried: the capital, the pass with 108 chortens, the great fortress at the river junction, and the Tiger’s Nest to finish.
Tailor-made
Quotation by email
Paro · Festival valley · Punakha or Haa
A tshechu is not a performance for visitors — it is the year’s most important religious gathering, and the dances have been danced in that courtyard for centuries.
Tailor-made
Quotation by email
