Gangtey Trek

On arrival in Paro airport you know you’ve arrived somewhere special as the airport buildings have the same traditional architecture you’ll see throughout the country. You’ll receive a warm welcome by our local representative and after an introductory lunch we drive to the nearby capital city of Thimphu (approx. 1.5-2 hours). Depending on your arrival time you may fit in a short visit to Ta Dzong (the National Museum) or Paro Dzong before leaving for Thimphu.
In the evening you can go for a stroll around the small centre of Thimphu before or after dinner.

Overnight:

Jumolhari Hotel

Extras and options:

Druk Air flights to Paro from India, Nepal, Thailand or China.
Various hotel upgrade options.

Meals included:

Lunch & Dinner

We start today with a visit to Thimphu’s sprawling weekend market, which is full of fruit, vegetable and produce stalls, as well as a separate clothing and handicrafts section. The rest of the day is set aside for a wide range of sightseeing visits in and around Thimphu. You’ll be able to discuss with your guide which interest you most. Options include the Memorial Chorten, School of Arts & Crafts, National Takin research centre, the Folk Heritage Museum, National Library, National Institue of Traditional Medicine, Textile Museum, a handmade paper factory, and Trashichodzong which is a beautiful medieval fortress/monastery.
If there is an archery tournament taking place, a stop at the national stadium is well worthwhile. Displays of traditional folk dancing also run every day for those who are interested.

Overnight:

Jumolhari Hotel

Extras and options:

Various hotel upgrade options

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

You leave Thimphu this morning and cross the Dochu La Pass where you stop for tea/coffee to view the 108 memorial chortens and great mountain views. A winding forested road then takes you down into the Punakha Valley where you can take a short walk through fields to Chimi Lhakhang, built by Lama Drukpa Kuenley or the Divine Madman. The temple is renowned for blessing barren women with fertility.
In the afternoon, you visit Wangdiphodrang Dzong, whose unrestored state is a distinct change from the Dzongs in Paro & Punakha, and really gives a feel for how these buildings with their joint monastic & administrative functions have run things in Bhutan over the centuries. A walk through Wangdi’s slightly ramshackle old streets follows.

Overnight:

Dragons Nest Hotel

Extras and options:

Amankora Punakha Hotel upgrade

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast, you leave for the Phobjikha Valley, the winter nesting ground for the endangered Black Necked Crane. Before reaching Phobjikha, you visit Gangtey Gonpa which is the oldest Nyingma Buddhist Institute in Bhutan. Gangtey is a beautiful Himalayan meadow surrounded by snow-capped mountains, situated at an altitude of 3000m.

Overnight:

Dewachen Hotel

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

This morning you begin the Gantey Trek, one of Bhutan’s best shorter routes. Riding ponies can be provided if required. The trail winds through meadows and fields of mixed forests of juniper, bamboo, magnolia and rhododendron to the Tselela pass ( 3320m ). (Distance 16 km, time 5-6 hrs).
Full camping equipment including tents, mattresses, kitchen and toilet tents, baggage ponies/mules and crew are provided.

Overnight:

Bhutan trekking camp

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

The day starts with a gentle climb up to Shobjula pass (3390m), before you descend to a wide valley surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges. (Distance 16 km. Time 6-7 hrs.)

Overnight:

Bhutan trekking camp

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

A short ascent will bring you to the Tashila pass (2780m). You then walk through an ever-changing landscape into the drainage of Dangchu (Chu means River), where we meet the road and our transport, and drive to Punakha.

Overnight:

Dragons Nest Hotel

Extras and options:

Amankora Punakha Hotel upgrade

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch & dinner

After breakfast, you drive through the valley to the north of Punakha for a morning walk to Khamsum Yuelley Namgyel Chorten. This Chorten stands majestically on a strategic ridge above the Punakha valley and was visualised out of Buddhist treasure teachings by Thragthung Dudjom Lingpa. A pleasant walk down through fields full of chillie, bean & wheat crops takes us to the riverbank, from where you walk downstream along the river through fields and forests towards Punakha.
Next you visit the spectacular Punakha Dzong, which lies between two rivers known as Phochu and Mochu. Symbolizing masculine and the feminine co-existence, their currents are of different colours and they unite at this spot.
Later in the afternoon you make the return drive, across the Dochu La Pass to Paro (approx. 3 ½ hours).

Overnight:

Janka Resort

Extras and options:

Various hotel upgrade options.

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Today’s highlight is the 2-3 hour walk up to the spectacular Taktshang monastery. Clinging to a sheer rock face, Taktshang is probably Bhutan’s most famous site, and means ‘Tiger’s Nest’. Legend has it that Guru Padmasambhava flew here on the back of a tigress in the eighth century. Riding ponies can be arranged for most of the route if you wish.
After lunch at the cafeteria half way up and a scenic descent, you visit the ruined Drukgyel Dzong. Athough gutted by a fire, this fort is renowned as the stand from which several Tibetan invasions were repulsed. You also stop at one of the oldest and most holy temples in Bhutan - the 7th century Kyichu Lhakhang, which embodies the arrival of Buddhism here.
In the evening you can have a final stroll through the streets of Paro, or enjoy a relaxing traditional hot stone bath to ease any tired limbs.

Overnight:

Janka Resort

Extras and options:

Various hotel upgrade options.

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast and some free time, we transfer you to the airport where we bid you farewell, and you depart with Druk Air to fly out of Bhutan with some treasured memories of a very special country.

Extras and options:

Druk Air flights to India, Nepal, Thailand or China.

Meals included:

Breakfast