3 nights / 4 days · Kingdom of Bhutan

Paro and Thimphu Short Stay

Three nights split between the capital and the Paro valley, with the whole of the last full day given to the Taktsang climb.

Plan this trip See the day-by-day

Scroll

Duration: 3 nights / 4 days
Where you stay: Thimphu → Paro
Style: Classic city

Comparing a few? Shortlist them and one consultant prices the whole list together.

About this trip

The shortest of the five, and it moves. You land at Paro and drive straight over to Thimphu for a single night, spend the following morning on the capital’s museums before turning back west, and give day three entirely to Taktsang. Nothing is repeated and nothing is padded.

It works well bolted onto a trip that already has you in Delhi, Kathmandu or Bangkok. It is the wrong choice if the Tiger’s Nest is the reason you are going: one weather day is all it takes to lose it, and there is no spare here. The four-night version buys that margin back.

What you go for

Taktsang Monastery on foot, around five hours return
Buddha Dordenma at Kuensel Phodrang, above the Thimphu valley
Rinpung Dzong, with the National Museum in the old watchtower
Kyichu Lhakhang, a seventh-century temple in the Paro valley

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 descent into Paro
The approach flies along the Himalaya and turns between ridges on the way down. Our representative meets you after immigration and baggage, and the road then runs across to Thimphu, the capital.
Buddha Point (Kuensel Phodrang)
A short drive from the centre of Thimphu, on a rise that gives you the whole valley at once. The Buddha here is the largest statue in the country; you can pay your obeisance and then walk the terrace round it for the view.
Textile Museum
Weaving in Bhutan is a working national art rather than a heritage display. The exhibitions set out the major techniques, the local styles of dress, and the cloth made by women and by men.
Craft Bazaar
Hand-woven textiles and craft products from across the country in one row of stalls. The handicraft trade is one of the things Bhutan leans on hardest to keep its traditions in daily use.
Evening
Check in at your hotel in Thimphu. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 2
Thimphu museums, then west to Paro
Overnight: Paro
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
Simply Bhutan
A recently commissioned museum putting the older Bhutanese architecture on record before modernisation finishes it off, with age-old ways of living staged room by room. The least reverent stop of the trip and the most useful one to take early.
Motithang Takin Preserve
A protected area on the edge of Thimphu for the takin, Bhutan’s national animal, which was a mini-zoo until the king judged it unfair to keep the national animal behind a boundary. Half an hour on the path is enough; birds and other animals move through it freely.
Afternoon
Ta Dzong and the National Museum
Lunch, then the drive back to Paro. On arrival, Ta Dzong — built as a watchtower and now holding the National Museum.
Rinpung Dzong
Fortress of the heap of jewels. Along the wooden galleries round the inner courtyard are wall paintings of the four friends, the old man of long life, the wheel of life, scenes from the life of Milarepa, Mount Sumeru and a cosmic mandala.
Evening
Check in at your hotel in Paro. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 3
Taktsang Monastery
Overnight: Paro
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
Full day
The climb to the Tiger’s Nest
Allow five hours for the walk, to a monastery on the side of a cliff 900 metres above the Paro valley floor, at 3,150 metres. Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived here on the back of a tigress and meditated on the spot, which is how it got its name. Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal came in 1646; Bhutanese come at least once in a lifetime. The fire of 19 April 1998 severely damaged the main structure, and what stands now is the restoration.
Kyichu Lhakhang
Back down in the valley: a seventh-century temple, one of the 108 the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo is said to have built across the Himalaya. Its founding marks the arrival of Buddhism in Bhutan.
Evening
Dinner and overnight in Paro.
Day 4
Departure
Morning
Early breakfast, then the short drive to Paro airport for your onward flight. Our representative runs through the exit formalities before you go through.

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, 1 night
- Paro — Taktshang Village Lodge or Dorjiling, 2 nights
Quoted on enquiry
4★ Deluxe
- Thimphu — The SEVA or Overland Thimphu, 1 night
- Paro — Tashi Namgay Resort or Resort Thim Dorji, 2 nights
Quoted on enquiry
5★ Deluxe
- Thimphu — Le Meridien or Yarkay Seleqtion, 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

Three nights — one in Thimphu, 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.

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.

Also consider