Kathmandu is Nepal’s colorful capital city, constantly buzzing and pleasantly chaotic. Narrow alleys, and secreted temples and shrines hide hundreds of century’s history while the mighty Himalayan mountains are ever watchful and present in the distance.

On arrival, you will be met at the airport and taken to your hotel half an hour’s drive away. This transfer is included in the cost of the tour. 

Since arrival times differ, we have not planned any specific activities for this day and you are free to spend it as you wish. Maybe you would like to take the easy ten-minute walk to the heart of town, take a look around and later try some of the tasty Nepalese traditional cuisine. The downtown Thamel area has a variety of good restaurants and we suggest you choose one with a rooftop terrace from where you can observe the goings on in the streets and squares below. The Nepalese dumplings, for instance are a very good initiation into the local food. Here they are called momos and consists of steamed vegetables wrapped in a flour based dough. You might next like to try dal bhat, the delicious lentil soup served with curried vegetables and rice. The Kathmandu cuisine is an interesting mixture with influences from many regions with a profusion of flavors and colors.

Today a local guide is taking you on an exciting sightseeing tour of the city, starting with the historic Durbar Square where you will see temples, palaces and courtyards erected during three hundred years of Malla, Rana and Shah dynasties. You will also pay a visit to the Asan ceremonial market square, as well as the residence of the living goddess, the Kumari Devi worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists alike.

 Later in the day we plan a visit to maybe the most sacred Shiva temple in the world, namely the Pashupatinath Temple located on the Bagmati river banks. This is also Nepal’s holiest and oldest Hindu shrine. The Bagmati River is revered as it eventually meets up with the holy Ganges and its ghats are crowded with pilgrims coming to bathe in the river’s waters. The ghats, the steps which lead down to the water, are also an important cremation site for commoners and royals who have their ashes scattered on the water that later joins the holy Ganges. Please note that cremations may be underway during our visit as they take place in the open air next to the river.

We return to the city to admire the highest stupa in the entire Kathmandu Valley, the 131 ft./40 m high Boudhanath Stupa. The massive mandala of this marvelous temple makes it one of the largest spherical stupas on the globe and definitely the largest in Nepal. The all-seeing, ever-present eyes of the Buddha painted on the spire look down on monks and pilgrims while hundreds of prayer flags move in the breeze.

Your driver will take you to the airport in Kathmandu for your Drukair flight to Paro. If visibility is good, you will be happy to see the wonderful Himalayan Mountains from the plane, just the thing to put you in the right mood for what is to come.

The flight leaves at around 9:10 a.m. and arrives in Paro at 10:30 a.m. The cost is around 285 USD per person.

While traveling in Bhutan you will have your own guide and a driver, all included in your tour cost. Your overnight stays, excursions and three meals a day are also included.

After all entry formalities have been dealt with, you are ready to start to discover what Bhutan has in store for you. We take to the road for the 1.5-hour drive from the airport in Paro to Thimphu, capital city of this Himalayan kingdom.

Once in Thimphu, we will start a full day tour of the city to see the main attractions. First on the itinerary is the Tashichho Dzong, a 17^th century monastic fort also referred to as the Fortress of the Glorious Religion. This magnificent complex is Bhutan’s religious center and has been the seat of government ever since the 1960’s. We continue to the Takin Zoo to see the kingdom’s national animal, a gnu goat or takin up close, before either watching a workshop on thangka painting or otherwise witness the process of paper making at a factory. If you are interested, and we are sure you will be, we can stroll through the market of traditional handicrafts for a few memorable souvenirs to take back home. In Bhutan all the city buildings must constructed in the traditional design and decorated in religious symbols and Buddhist motifs. We will also pay a visit to the King Jigme Dorji Wanhchuk Memorial, built in Tibetan style, in honor of Bhutan’s 3^rd king. The chorten sits in the heart of the city and is the focus of the local people’s daily worship.

Depending on the time, we will end the day with a stroll through the buzzing streets of Thimphu, emerge ourselves in the vibrant ambience of this unique capital, so singular in fact, that there is not one single traffic light in sight.

Tip: Thimphu’s weekend markets are worthwhile; this is when traders from all around the region gather to sell their goods.

Your hotel in Thimphu is centrally located so you can easily strol to the huge archery stadium and main street.

In the morning your guide and driver will meet you for the two to three-hour drive on pretty curving roads to Punakha, our next destination.

The Black Mountain roads lead through the scenic landscapes up to Dochula Pass at 10,499 ft./3,200 m above sea level. It is a beautiful journey past expansive terraced rice fields and small scattered villages. As we get nearer the summit of the pass, more and more multi-coloured prayer flags grace the sides of the road. If the day is clear, this serpentine highway surprises with spectacular views of the Himalayan Mountain Range as well as Bhutan’s highest peak, the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, Gangkhar Punsum towering 24, 741 ft./7,541 m up into the heavens.

As we descend into the Punakha Valley on the other side of the pass, there is a change in scenery. Oak and pine forests, cypresses, alders and fields of rhododendrons are replaced by more tropical vegetation. The milder climate of the valley floor allows for cacti, bamboo and orange groves to thrive here. This is fertile farmland, fed by the Mochu and Phochu Rivers that flow through the valley.

We make a stop at the so-called ‘Mad Monk Monastery’, Chimi Lhakhang. The lama Drukpa Kenley was a controversial figure who allegedly managed to subdue the Dochu La demoness. Highly revered, his teachings razed many an eyebrow amongst the more conventional and traditional Buddhists. He would often go to outrageous excesses in order to deliver his messages. The yogi was of the opinion that the strict doctrines of the time isolated the monks from the ordinary people. He intended to overcome these rigid barriers by calculated provocations, by using ‘…fair and foul words for mantras’, to quota him directly.

You are booked in a traditional style hotel some 3 mi./5 km from the city center. Lunch is an introduction to the kingdoms national dish called Ema datse, a hearty soup made with chilli peppers and cheese. Suitably restored, we embark on a two-hour round trip hike to the Khamsum Yulley Chorten, walking past houses and farmlands. At one of the farmsteads we will stop for some yak butter tea, talk to the people and see what life on a traditional Bhutanese farm is really like.

We have breakfast in our hotel and then continue to explore the beautiful Punakha Valley. Water from the glaciers flow down into the valley, making the soil moist and fertile, conditions which suit the cultivation of large fields of rice. One of the most uncommon kinds of rice on earth, red rice is also grown here. It is rare since only one crop is sown and harvested per year. If you would like to find out more, your guide can accompany you to a rice field where the farmer can tell you more about this labor intensive process. You will learn that as rice plants grow older, they need less water and so are moved to higher terraces with less water.

Undeniably one of the largest and most striking monastic forts in the kingdom of Bhutan is the Punakhu Dzong, and this is where we head next. Located on a sandbank between two meeting rivers, is was the former seat of Bhutan’s government. Today however, the 17^th century construction serves as winter residence for the chief abbot of the kingdom, his Holiness the Je Khenpo and his entourage. We come face to face with golden spires, numerous courtyards, tiered walls, a main temple with treasures inside, and the utse, all of which withstood floods, earthquakes and fires through its long history. Maybe your arrival coincides with a prayer meeting and you are lucky to observe the monks deep in prayer in the flickering light of candles with the tinkle of bells and beating of drums as background sounds that seems to engulf the whole space.

After this uplifting spiritual experience we drive back across the Dochula Pass to Paro, a four-hour journey.

 Spreading out along the Paro Chhu River, the city of Paro has a beautiful location surrounded by terraced fields and forested valleys, the perfect setting for the numerous large ancient dzongs which form the region’s military, religious and political centers.

Your overnight stay in Paro is in a traditional stone cottage, decorated with beautiful carvings and the typical bright colors of Bhutan.

Depending on the time, we may make a short orientation tour through Paro and pay a visit to the Rimpung Dzong, a high point in Bhutanese architecture.

This morning you will see one of the most impressive sights in the world when we follow the trail to the highly revered Taktsang Monastery sitting precariously on a steep cliff face 2,953 ft./900m from the valley floor. Popularly called the Tiger’s Nest, the story goes that the founder of the Drukpa Order and of Buddhism in Bhutan, Guru Rinpoche was transported on a flying tiger to a cave at this location. Here he spent the next few months in meditation before he established the famous monastery. The 1.9 mi./3 km hike is steep and quite demanding, and depending on your level of fitness and pace, the round trip will take between four and five hours to complete. Stone steps make up most of the way and you will be walking through pine and oak forests, eventually reaching a ridge where you will be delighted with wonderful views of your surroundings and the monastery.

We will spend the afternoon visiting this pretty town’s other attractions. The Paro Dzong is a huge monastic fort with numerous courtyards and temples. Above the dzong stands the historic watch tower which serves as the National Museum. Here you will find a wealth of information on the history and life in Bhutan, Land of the Dragon. Take some time to enjoy the fantastic views of the Paro Valley.

On our way back we stop at the Kyichu Lhakhang Temple, one of the kingdom’s oldest temples said to date back to the 7^th century. It was erected by Songtsen Gampo, a Tibetan king as part of a series of more than 100 temples constructed to halt a giant female ochre from preventing the spread of Buddhism in Bhutan and Tibet. Apparently this temple secures the left foot of the humongous demoness.

Today is a day filled with happy crowds, masked dances, music and other festivities. We will join the locals and thousands of people from all over the kingdom to celebrate the Paro Festival.

We are up before the crack of dawn to witness the unfolding of the huge thangka painting for display on the monastery walls. This occurs only once every year on the final day of the festival and allegedly the sins of those who witness it, will be cleansed. It is a very special and unique occasion and definitely worth such an early start.

When the festival finally winds down, you are free to relax and spend the rest of the day as you please.

After a week filled with thrilling experiences of all kinds, you will take a flight back to Kathmandu in Nepal. On arrival in the capital, your driver will transport you to Chitwan.

The flight leaves at around 7:10 a.m. and arrives in Kathmandu at 8:10 a.m. The cost is around 270 USD per person.

The drive to the national park lasts around four hours and follows the mountains east. Formerly the hunting grounds of the royals, Chitwan was declared a conservation area and nature reserve in 1973. Thick forests and jungle make up large parts of the park where we will spend the next two nights. Optional activities are a ride on an ox cart to see Tharu Village or a dance show in the evening. Both of these will add to your knowledge and understanding of the fascinating details of tribal village life.

Often nature is at its most beautiful at sunrise, and Chitwan Park is no different. A thin mist of mystery and hidden secrets moves across the plains while sunlight slowly starts to illuminate the villages. Around the waterways and rivers animal and human life begin to stir, and working elephants slowly make their way across the shallow water. Fishermen in canoes cast their lines and an old ferry crosses the river.

This morning you will go on a Jeep safari through the park. The reserve covers around 356 square mi./923 square km of the low lands of southern Nepal, the terai. On both the plains and in the forested areas, the opportunity of seeing wildlife is excellent and you can expect to spot sambar, the one-horned rhino of India, chital deer, Rhesus monkeys and languor, guar, jackal, crocodiles and mongoose. With a little luck, one of the rarer animals will show itself, maybe a tiger, leopard, sloth beer, leopard cat or Indian bison. It is also a bird watcher’s paradise with more than 500 species recorded in the area.

In the afternoon your guide will take you for a trip in a dugout canoe. Floating down the Rapti River for a relaxing half hour you will pass crocodiles sunning themselves on the river shore. Afterwards the jungle tour continues on foot and you follow narrow nature trails surrounded by forest. Although the thought of rhinos, tigers and leopards roaming here may scare most people, you need not be alarmed as you will be accompanied by a very knowledgeable guide who knows how to avoid danger and dangerous animals in this specific habitat.

Returning to the lodge, you have the remainder of the day to just relax and enjoy the sounds of nature, or to look around on your own.

Back in Kathmandu after a road trip with your competent driver, you will book into the same hotel you previously stayed in.

Today you can discover more of the treasures of the city and its surroundings unescorted. Here you can pick and choose; Bhaktapur is a Newari town which has been preserved almost intact. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley towards the eastern corner. The City of the Devotees, as it is also known, is a medieval town where time seems to have come to a halt. In its hay day it stood central on the prosperous India, China and Tibet trade routes. The ancient city center is filled with palaces, monasteries and temples, ready to rope you into its beguiling cultural and historical embrace. Watch potters shaping lumps of clay on their traditional wheels, and jewellers and other artisans at work in this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pick up a few bargains while you take your time to wander through interesting stalls and shops.

Alternatively, take a trip to the charming so-called ‘Monkey Temple’ where the omniscient, all seeing eyes of the Buddha keep watch over the Kathmandu Valley from the hilltop Swayambunath Temple. Watch out for the brazen monkeys living in the temple’s ancient walls, they will happily relieve you of food, your camera, bag or other personal items.

If you feel like relaxing and let all the wonderful experiences of your Bhutan and Nepal Tour properly sink in, make your way to a rooftop restaurant or café on Durbar Square, order a coffee, sit back and just enjoy the comings and goings of the people down below. Do not forget to lift up your eyes every now and then for the fabulous view of the serene mountain landscape outside the city.

After a last breakfast at the hotel your tour comes to an end and the driver will take you to the airport in time to catch your home bound flight. Please send us an email, relating your experiences and travel stories, we would love to hear from you.