Nepal & Bhutan Explorer

We will be happy to help with flights into Nepal if you wish, and on your arrival our local representative will greet you and transfer you to your hotel in the centre of Kathmandu. We normally use the Shanker Hotel, which is built around a former royal palace and located in large quiet gardens close to the main touristic area of Thamel.

Overnight:

Shanker Hotel

Extras and options:

Various hotel upgrade options available.

Meals included:

None

There is the option early this morning for a spectacular mountain viewing flight up around Everest.
After breakfast, and an introduction to your city guide, we take you on a tour of the fascinating, sprawling city of Kathmandu. We start by walking from your hotel, through the tourist centre of Thamel, and then through narrow winding streets, passing several street corner temples and stupas to Durbar Square. Here your guide will explain some Nepalese history as you explore the array of Hindu Temples and the old Royal Palace. We then head by car to the outskirts of the city and climb up the many steps leading to the immense Swayambhunath Stupa. Also known for good reason as the 'monkey temple', the stupa sits upon a hill overlooking Kathmandu and gives a spectacular view out over the city. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the city further (further sites can be visited during the tour if you wish).

Overnight:

Shanker Hotel

Extras and options:

Everest mountain flight

Meals included:

Breakfast

We transfer you to the airport for the spectacular flight to Bhutan (try to sit on the left side of the plane for great views of Everest). When you arrive in Paro airport you’ll know you’ve arrived somewhere special as the airport buildings have the same traditional architecture you’ll see throughout the country.
After an introductory lunch and check in to your hotel, you visit Ta Dzong, originally the Watch Tower for the Rinpung Dzong in Paro. Now the National Museum of the Kingdom it boasts a wide range of antique thangkha paintings, textiles, weapons & armour, household objects and natural and historic artifacts.
Next you walk to the nearby Rinpung Dzong or the 'fortress of the heap of jewels'. Dzongs are impressive buildings and host the seat of the district administration and the residence of the monastic school.

Overnight:

Janka Resort

Extras and options:

Various hotel upgrade options available.

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Keen birdwatchers may do a pre-breakfast tour this morning and drive up to the Che Le La Pass for sunrise to look for the distinctive Blood Grouse and colourful Himalayan Monal.
After breakfast, you drive to the Punakha Valley (77km, approx. 3hrs). On the way, and after a winding climb through mixed forests, you’ll stop at the Dochula Pass (3050m) for tea/coffee and in clear weather, to enjoy spectacular views of the Eastern Himalayan range.
After descending past the new Botanic Gardens the road winds through beautiful forests and gradually opens out into the Punakha Valley where after lunch, you can take a short walk through fields at the bottom of the valley to Chimi Lhakhang, built by Lama Drukpa Kuenley or the Divine Madman. The temple is renowned for blessing barren women with fertility.

Overnight:

Dragons Nest Hotel

Extras and options:

Pre-breakfast birdwatching trip to the Chele La Pass (no charge)
Amankora Punakha hotel upgrade.

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You start this morning with a 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 can either drive, or extend your walk through fields and forests downstream along the river towards Punakha.
After lunch 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.

Overnight:

Dragons Nest Hotel

Extras and options:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This morning, you visit Wangduephodrang 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 before you drive up the valley, passing the site planned for a new rebuild of the whole town centre on the far side of the river.
Further interesting short hikes are also available in the valley, or you can have lunch and then head back over the Dochu La Pass to Thimphu.

Overnight:

Jumolhari Hotel

Extras and options:

Various hotel upgrade options available.

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

One of the main highlights in Thimphu is its vast weekend market with its hundreds of different stalls selling a huge range of fresh vegetables, spices, and of course, chillies. There is also a handicrafts & clothing market here, and overall this is a great place to pick up some souvenirs as a memory of your time in Bhutan.
After visiting the market first thing in the morning, the rest of today is set aside for sightseeing tours and visits with your driver and guide. You have a wide choice of options and can discuss with your guide which are of most interest to you. Options include the national Takin research centre, the Memorial Chorten, the School of Arts & Crafts, the Folk Heritage Museum, the National Library, the National Institute of Traditional Medicine, a traditional hand-made paper factory, the Textile Museum, and Trashichhodzong which houses most of the government offices and the King’s throne room. Lunch will be included during the day, and if there is an archery tournament taking place, a stop at the national stadium is well worthwhile.
Several short half-day hikes are also available around the valley. Displays of traditional folk dancing also run every day for those who are interested.
In the evening you enjoy a Bhutanese meal at a hillside restaurant overlooking the city.

Overnight:

Jumolhari Hotel

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You have more time this morning to do more sightseeing in and around Thimphu, or to do a short walk into the surrounding hills.
Sometime in the afternoon, we make the short drive of around 2 hours back to Paro.

Overnight:

Janka Resort

Extras and options:

Various hotel upgrade options available.

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You start early today for the 2-3 hour walk uphill to reach the Taktshang monastery, giddily perched on a sheer 800m rock face. Taktshang is probably Bhutan’s most famous site, and means ‘Tiger’s Nest’, as legend has it that Guru Padmasambhava flew to this spot on the back of a tigress in the eighth century. You’ll break for lunch at the Taktshang Cafeteria about two thirds of the way up. Riding ponies can be arranged for most of the route if you wish.
In the afternoon you visit Drukgyel Dzong, the fort of the victorious Drukpas. Although gutted by a fire, this fort is renowned as the stand from which several Tibetan invasions were repulsed. You will also visit one of the oldest and most holy temples in Bhutan - the 7th century Kyichu Lhakhang. This was one of the 108 temples built in the Himalayas by the Tibetan King, Songtsen Gembo and 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

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

After breakfast, you fly back to Kathmandu and visit the ancient centre of Bhaktapur. Formely a capital of the Kathmandu Valley, the pedestrianised centre of Bhaktapur is full of squares and temples, with some stunning wooden architecture. You have a guided tour here, as well as time to explore the bustling narrow and winding streets around the central squares.
After lunch we drive uphill to the village of Nagarkot on a ridge at the NE edge of the Kathmandu Valley. Accepted as probably the best of the valley’s mountain views, you can see all the way from Kanchenjunga in the east, past the tiny (from here!) peak of Mt. Everest, to Dhaulgiri in the west. You can check the weather and the hotel will wake you if the morning is clear so you can see the sun rise over the distant Himalayas.

Overnight:

Country Villa

Extras and options:

Upgrade to Dhulikhel Mountain Resort.

Meals included:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

After an early rise to enjoy the sunrise views, you have breakfast before walking downhill from Nagarkot, striking off up through some pine forest and then following a ridge which brings you down through tiny Chhetri villages with wonderful views to either side, to the beautiful Changu Narayan Temple. You can now either drive back to Kathmandu, or carry on walking and descend to the valley floor and the Manohara River, which you leave to pass the old Gokarna Safari Park to reach Boudhnath with its huge Stupa and strings of colourful, fluttering prayer flags. The walk today can be made as long or short as you would like it.
Before returning to the hotel, you have a tour of Pashupatinath, the most important Hindu temple in Nepal. Although non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple itself, you can see into the temple complex from the holy riverbanks where there are bathing and cremation ghats. You also visit the huge Buddhist Boudhnath stupa.

Overnight:

Shanker Hotel

Meals included:

Breakfast

Your time is free in Kathmandu today until we pick you up and transfer you to the airport for your flight home.

Extras and options:

Extra days in Kathmandu; various extension options including long or short treks, visits to National Parks for wildlife viewing, and white water rafting.

Meals included:

Breakfast