5 nights / 6 days · Kingdom of Bhutan

Bhutan with Punakha

Three valleys in five nights — Thimphu, the Dochula pass down into Punakha, then Paro and a full day on the Taktsang climb.

Plan this trip See the day-by-day

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Duration: 5 nights / 6 days
Where you stay: Thimphu → Punakha → Paro
Style: Multi-city

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About this trip

The first of the programmes that crosses the Dochula pass, and the one most first-time travellers should take. Two nights in Thimphu open it, a night in Punakha sits in the middle, and the last two are in Paro with a full day given to Taktsang.

The Punakha day is what changes the trip. You climb to Dochula and its 108 Druk Wangyal chortens, drop into a warmer valley, walk through the fields to Chimi Lhakhang, cross a suspension bridge of around 520 feet strung with prayer flags, and finish at Punakha Dzong where the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu meet. It is a full day, and you are back at the Punakha hotel the same evening.

What you go for

Dochula pass and the 108 Druk Wangyal chortens
Punakha Dzong at the junction of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu
The Punakha suspension bridge, around 520 feet of it
Taktsang Monastery, about five and a half hours return

The route

Day by day

Times are the operator's planned schedule. They shift with the season, the light and the traffic on the day.

Day 1
Arrive Paro, transfer to Thimphu
Overnight: Thimphu
Morning
The mountain approach
On a clear day this is one of the more remarkable arrivals in aviation, whether the leg comes along the range from Kathmandu or over the foothills from Kolkata. Our representative meets you after immigration and customs, and the road runs across to Thimphu.
Buddha Point (Kuensel Phodrang)
A short drive from the city centre for the panoramic view down the Thimphu valley. The Buddha Dordenma statue, Simthokha Dzong and the city itself are all in the frame from here.
Evening
Check in at your hotel in Thimphu. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 2
Thimphu sightseeing
Overnight: Thimphu
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
Simply Bhutan
The recently commissioned museum of Bhutanese architecture and the older ways of living, staged rather than glassed in.
Motithang Takin Preserve
A protected area for the takin, Bhutan’s national animal. It began as a mini-zoo; the king judged it wrong to hold the national animal inside a boundary and had the area made a preserve instead, so the animals move freely. Half an hour on the path.
Afternoon
Textile Museum and the Craft Bazaar
After lunch, the museum first — weaving techniques, the styles of local dress, the cloth made by women and by men — then the Craft Bazaar and its hand-woven textiles and craft products.
Evening
Dinner and overnight in Thimphu.
Day 3
Over Dochula to Punakha
Overnight: Punakha
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel, then the drive east.
Dochula Pass
The 108 Druk Wangyal chortens stand in tiers at the top of the climb, with the landscape opening out behind them.
Chimi Lhakhang
The temple of fertility, on a hillock in the middle of the valley. You reach it on foot through the village and the fields.
The suspension bridge
Roughly 520 feet across the Tsang Chu, linking Punakha Dzong to the villages of Shengana, Samdingkha and Wangkha, and permanently dressed in prayer flags. Steadier underfoot than it looks. The east bank is where several multi-day treks into the mountains behind begin.
Afternoon
Punakha Dzong
The Palace of Great Happiness, built in 1637 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal where the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu meet, and once both the religious and the administrative centre of the country. Some 600 feet by 240, with a six-storey gold-domed tower, courtyards and statuary.
Evening
Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Punakha.
Day 4
Punakha to Paro
Overnight: Paro
Morning
Breakfast, then the drive west to Paro.
Tamchog Lhakhang
A stop at the old bridge below the temple, which is the picture everyone takes on this road.
Afternoon
Ta Dzong and Rinpung Dzong
On arrival, the watchtower that now holds the National Museum, then Rinpung Dzong below it — fortress of the heap of jewels.
Evening
Dinner and rest at the hotel in Paro.
Day 5
Taktsang, then Paro town
Overnight: Paro
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
Full day
The climb to the Tiger’s Nest
Allow about five and a half hours on foot for the excursion, to a monastery on the side of a cliff 900 metres above the Paro valley floor. Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived on the back of a tigress and meditated here, which is where the name comes from.
Evening
Paro town
Down in the town afterwards, where the handicraft shops are the best-stocked of the trip.
Day 6
Departure
Morning
Early breakfast, then the drive to Paro airport for your onward flight. Our representative runs through the exit formalities.

Where you stay

Hotel options

Pick a line and the whole trip is costed against it, so you can see what the difference actually buys.

3★ Deluxe
- Thimphu — Lhayuel Hotel or Cholay Khangzang, 2 nights
- Punakha — White Dragon or Punakha Boutique, 1 night
- Paro — Taktshang Village Lodge or Dorjiling, 2 nights
Quoted on enquiry
4★ Deluxe
- Thimphu — Capital Hotel or Overland Thimphu, 2 nights
- Punakha — Lobesa Boutique or RKPO Green Resort, 1 night
- Paro — Tashi Namgay Resort or Resort Thim Dorji, 2 nights
Quoted on enquiry
5★ Deluxe
- Thimphu — Le Meridien or Yarkay Seleqtion, 2 nights
- Punakha — Dhensa Boutique, 1 night
- Paro — Le Meridien or Dawa at the Hill Top, 2 nights
Quoted on enquiry

Per person, twin share. Land only — international flights are not included. Rates move with the season, the number of you travelling and the hotel line you choose, so we confirm the final figure against your dates before anything is booked.

The detail

What is included

Included

Five nights — two in Thimphu, one in Punakha, two in Paro — on the hotel line you choose above.
Accommodation as set out in the hotel options above.
All transfers and sightseeing as set out in the day-by-day.
An accompanying English-speaking guide throughout.
Meals on a MAP basis: breakfast and dinner daily.
Two 500ml bottles of mineral water per person, per day.
Private vehicle sized to the party — an SUV for two travelling, a Toyota HiRoof for three to six, a Toyota Coaster for seven to fifteen.
Bhutan’s Sustainable Development Fee, included in the package. No amount is quoted for it separately; we confirm what applies to your party in writing with your quotation.

Not included

Airfare and airport taxes.
Entrance fees at the sights named in the day-by-day.
Lunch.
Tea and snacks.
Beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
Insurance of any kind, and medical expenses.
Expenses of a personal nature — tipping, laundry, telephone and fax calls, camera and video fees.
Anything not set out under inclusions.

Meal upgrades

Half board as standard: Every programme is quoted on MAP: breakfast and dinner daily. Full board is not offered on any of the five.
Lunch, tea and snacks: Not included on any of the five programmes, including on the days where the itinerary names a lunch stop. There is no published add-on rate, so we quote them with the package.
Beverages: Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks sit outside the package price on every programme.

Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.

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