BHUTAN: Boutique Cultural & Textile Small Group Tour - 14 days

Destination:  BHUTAN

Tour Commences In:  Thimphu

Tour Concludes in:  Paro

Number of Days:  14 days / 13 nights

Tour Style:  Luxury / Delux

Accommodation:  Luxury Modern & Boutique Hotels

Meals:  Breakfasts; 13: Lunches; 10: Dinners; 7:

Leaders: Australian Tour Host & professional private textile guide

Transportation:  Deluxe chauffeur driven air-conditioned private buses

Tour Grading:  MODERATE: Suitable for travellers with an average to above average level of fitness and mobility

•   Meander the colourful weekly market in Thimphu

•   Pause and watch the artists in the School of Traditional Arts in Thimphu

•   Changangkha temple in Thimphu

•   Tashicho Dzong in Thimphu  

•   Immerse yourself at the craft workshops in Thimphu

•   Discover Chimi Lhakhang, Temple of Fertility in Punakha

•   Learn the history of the Trongsa Dzong and it’s museum

•   Mingle with the traditional local weavers in Zungney village

•   Be in awe of Gangtey Gompa and the Phobjikha valley

•   Stroll through Ugyenchholing Palace in the Tang Valley Bumthang

•   Paro Rinpung Dzong.

•   Walk upto (Buddhist Temple Tiger Nest Monastery ("TAKTSANG" Monastery)

•    Drugyal Dzong Ancient Ruins

•   National Museum  (fortfied tower of Ta Dzong) Watch Tower of Paro Rinpung Dzong

•   Kyichu Temple

Day 1:   Tuesday:    Arrive Paro – Thimphu:    (D)
Welcome to Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge, is known for its monasteries, fortresses (or dzongs) and dramatic landscapes that range from subtropical plains to steep mountains and valleys.
Arrive at Paro International Airport where you will be met by your guide and transferred to Thimphu. 
Paro is situated in a beautiful valley at 2280 metres and is a fitting introduction to this charming kingdom.  Our drive from Paro to Thimphu is about one-hour and takes us along the picturesque river valleys. We will stop on the way to view the magnificent Tamchhog Lhakhang, the hereditary place of worship for Bhutan’s iron bridge builder.
Thimphu is Bhutan’s capital, at 2320 metres.  If there is time this afternoon you can browse the bustling weekly market. (Wednesday – Sunday) Your guide will talk you through all that is on offer at the market.  Then explore the wonderful craft market on the west bank of the river – where you can find prayer flags, prayer wheels, beautiful textiles and jewellery. In the evening, meander around town and soak in the atmosphere of the magic of this capital with its busy shops and bazaars and photogenic locals in national dress.
You may wish to arrive a day earlier to shop or maybe just to get your bearing and recover from any jetlag you may have. If you do choose to arrive early, we can extend your hotel bookings and provide any information or advice you may need in order to make the most of your time and become familiar with the local surrounds and the altitude

 Day 2:    Wednesday:    Thimphu:    (B)
This morning we will introduce you to some of Bhutan’s traditional culture and crafts. We will visit the Choki Traditional Art School in the village of Kabesa which is 10km north of Thimphu. It trains disadvantaged young people in the traditional arts of painting, sculpture and carving. On the way back to Thimphu, we visit the Folk Heritage Museum to meet some locals and see a traditional Bhutanese farmhouse and how some of the traditional crafts are put to use. We continue with a visit to the National Textile Museum to browse the striking collection of intricate textiles and watch a short film introducing the various styles, designs and techniques in Bhutan. From here we walk through to the craft bazaar which has an array of stalls run by local handicraft shops selling purely home-made articles. In the afternoon we visit the goldsmith’s workshop where you can watch metalworking. The craftspeople here make sacred objects to decorate temples and Dzongs, such as the Serto (golden pinnacle) which you will see in the middle of the roof of all temples and Dzongs. They also make smaller objects used in religious rituals, jewellery and the metal tools used by the Bhutanese people for everyday tasks. We also visit another traditional weaving centre and meet local women weaving intricate fabric for the traditional Bhutanese dress of gho (for men) and kira (for women). You’re welcome to browse their showroom which displays their finished articles. We continue on and visit a local incense factory and see how the herbs are mixed, ground, coloured and then formed into incense sticks. 

Day 3:    Thursday:    Thimphu:    (B)
We continue our local tour and visit the revered Memorial Chorten and the huge statue of Buddha Dordenma which commands a tremendous view of Thimphu valley.  The impressive 3-storey throne holds several chapels and the body itself is filled with 125,000 smaller statues of Buddha. We then visit Changangkha temple, perched on the hilltop overlooking the town.  Devotees flock throughout the day to circumambulate and turn the prayer wheels. The temple also contains beautiful wall paintings and hundreds of religious scriptures written in gold.
In the afternoon, we visit a Handmade Paper factory, which produces traditional Bhutanese paper from the daphne bush. Watch the process of cooking and soaking the daphne bark before forming it into sheets of beautiful paper for pressing and drying.  Again, a small showroom on site displays the finished articles, including sheets of paper, notebooks and beautiful paintings done on traditional paper. We later visit Simtokha Dzong, widely considered to be the first dzong built in Bhutan.  The dzong contains a line of over 300 fine slate carvings depicting saints and philosophers and the dark murals inside the central temple are some of the oldest and most beautiful in Bhutan.
(Perhaps bring a smaller bag with you, to leave shopping and any other goodies – we will have it transferred to our hotel in Paro so it’s there when you arrive there at the end of the tour)

Day 4:   Friday:    Thimphu – Punakha:    (B)
This morning we drive approximately 3 hours to the old capital, Punakha, via Dochu La pass at 3050 metres where we will stop for a hot drink and enjoy the spectacular panoramic views of the Eastern Himalaya ranges. Note the change of climate and vegetation as we approach low-lying Punakha at 1250 metres.
There’s an optional walk for an hour or so across the terraced fields of Sopsokha village to Chimi Lhakhang (Temple of Fertility) built in the 15th century by the ‘Divine Madman’ (Lama Drukpa Kuenley). In the afternoon we visit the imposing Punakha Dzong, “Palace of Great Happiness” built in 1637. it is strategically placed at the confluence of two rivers, the Po Chu and the Mo Chu. 

Day 5:    Saturday:    Punakha:    (B)
This morning there is another optional walk to Khamsum Yuelley Namgyel Chorten via the village of Yebisa. The walk starts from the suspension bridge below Khamsum Yuelley Namgyel Chorten. Continue on at a gentle pace for around 10 minutes from the bridge through the paddy rice fields of Yebisa village. Then it’s about 40 to 50 minutes up to the Temple. The walk is still fairly gentle but there are some steeper parts. From the top you will see a beautiful view of the valley and surrounding villages.  The Temple is 30 metres tall and is dedicated to the fifth King.  After visiting the Temple, descend for around 30 minutes until you reach the suspension bridge where you will be rendezvous with you bus. From here we then drive to Chorten Ningpo, which dates back to the 17th Century.
The Chorten is a little-known spot with a magnificent statue of Maitreya (the future Buddha) and images of the great lamas of the Drukpa lineage. This magical spot was once a dense forest inhabited by evil spirits. The great oak tree outside the monastery is said to have grown out of the blazing log that the ‘Divine Madman’ threw (the tree’s bark is still black from where it was burnt).
In 2005 the monastery began to house orphans from the nearby village, founding a small Buddhist educational institution where the children can study traditional Buddhist scriptures and texts as well as Western subjects.  We will arrange a picnic lunch for today. Your guide will choose the best spot for the picnic depending on timing.  If there is time, we may visit a Nunnery and Talo Nobgang village. The nunnery has one of the biggest bronze statues of Avalokiteshvara, a bodhisattva embodying infinite compassion – created entirely by local Bhutanese artisans. The Temple complex also houses a permanent higher learning and meditation centre for nuns, for both religious training and life skills. Nobgang monastery, dating back to the 17th century, was built as the residence for Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, a Tibetan Buddhist lama.  

Day 6:    Sunday:    Punakha - Bumthang:    (B)
This morning we drive approximately 4.5 hours to Trongsa, the gateway to central Bhutan which is at 2180 metres. Set amidst spectacular scenery, Trongsa Dzong, the ancestral home of Bhutan’s royal family and commands the eye from miles away. You can also visit Ta Dzong, the museum in the watchtower dedicated to the Wangchuk dynasty, which tells the stories of the Dzong and the valley it has watched over for centuries and features personal belongings of the Kings and Queens of Bhutan. We continue our drive a further 2.5 hours through some of Bhutan’s most beautiful landscapes to Bumthang, an area of high valleys at 2580 to 3100 metres.

Day 7:   Monday:    Bumthang:    (B)
Sightseeing in Bumthang is splendid. It is the spiritual heartland of Bhutan with its many legendary monasteries, temples and palaces. We visit Bhutan’s largest Dzong (Jakar) with its magnificent, picturesque location overlooking the Chokhor valley. We will continue onto the lovely Jamba (Lhakhang) Temple. Following this we walk along a local road through farms to Kurjey (Lhakhang) Temple and then we drive to Tamshing Lhakhang. We then visit a cheese factory.
Today we also visit a home to see local weaving.

Day 8:    Tuesday:    Bumthang:    (B)
Bumthang is the collective name for an area of 4 valleys - Chokhor, Tang, Ura and Chumey. Today we drive to Tang valley, the most remote of Bumthang's valleys. The road climbs past the trail to Membar Tsho (the burning lake) which is one of Bhutan’s most important pilgrimage sites. We drive on to Drangchel, Pema Lingpa's birthplace. Here we visit some lovely, picturesque villages and temples including Ugyenchholing Palace which is now a museum and gives us an interesting insight into the life of an aristocratic family in the last century. We later return to Bumthang.
On the way visit Ta Rimochen Lhakhang - this Nyingma monastery's name is associated with the stripes of a tiger that are visible on the rock behind the temple. Legend holds that Guru Padmasambhava and his consorts meditated on this rock, leaving their footprints. Founded in the 14th century by Tertoen Pema Lingpa, its establishment was foretold by Longchen Rabjam. The temple was later restored by a descendant of Dorji Lingpa. The exterior features two large rocks representing male and female Garudas, and a throne seat of Guru Padmasambhava. There are also door-like markings on the rock's face, believed to hold the keys to sacred hidden treasures.

Day 9:   Wednesday:    Bumthang – Gangtey:    (B)
Following breakfast, we drive approximately 5-6 hours to Gangtey at 2900 metres. We pass amazing scenic views of the immense and remote Phobjikha valley and the black mountain ranges. We stop and visit the beautiful Gangtey Gompa, one of Bhutan’s oldest monasteries. This is the site where black-necked cranes visit in their hundreds in November each year after spending the summer in Tibet.

Day 10:    Thursday:    Gangtey:    (B)
Today enjoy some fabulous sightseeing around the Phobjikha Valley. We start by visiting the Norsang Carpet Factory and mingle with the artisans and observe their skills. We later drive to the Black-Necked Crane Information Centre, which has information on the valley and its famous migrating birds. From here we drive to Beta Village where we stop and visit a small school. We continue to Gangtey Gompa from where you can walk 1.5 hours along the Gangtey Nature Trail, (optional) past Semchubara village, through forests of blue pine trees covered with lichen (known as old man’s beard) and where you can hopefully see some birds. Your driver will meet you at the end of the trail and take you to Kingathang village where you can visit a temple built for the Queen Mother.  Gangtey altitude is about 2,000 metres.

Day 11:    Friday:    Gangtey – Paro:    (B)
Today we return to Paro, at an altitude about 2,200 m (7,200 ft) is a drive of approximately 6 hours, via Wangdi.  Wangdi (also known as Wangdue Phodrang) was originally considered Bhutan’s secondary capital and it commands an important central position. Wangdi Dzong was gutted by fire in June 2012, destroying in a few hours not only a magnificent building that had stood proudly for hundreds of years, but also the painstaking work that had been in progress for many months to rebuild damage from a recent earthquake using traditional construction methods.  10 years of renovation work is finally complete and it is now open to visit. After visiting the Dzong, we continue with splendid scenic views to enhance the drive.

Day 12:    Saturday:    Paro:    (B)
This morning we visit the National Museum located in the Ta Dzong (watch tower) which was built on top of the hill above Rinpung Dzong to defend Rinpung Dzong and the Paro valley during times of war, in an unusual circular construction resembling a conch shell. The Ta Dzong houses a magnificent collection of Bhutanese artefacts including costumes, religious paintings, arms, textiles and a fascinating collection of Bhutan stamps. From the National Museum, we take a leisurely 1-hour hike (optional) along the forested hillside to Zuri Dzong. The walk passes Gonsaka Lhakhang and then Zuri Dzong and provides wonderful views down over the valley and of Paro Dzong. Zuri Dzong dates from 1352 and is home to the valley’s local protector gods. Continue our walk down to the Uma Resort junction where you turn right towards Paro Dzong and here again you should have a good view of Paro Dzong and town. Our driver will be waiting at the Paro bridge for us. After lunch we visit the impressive Paro Rinpung Dzong, one of the finest examples of Bhutanese architecture. Nearby we also visit the 7th century Kyichu Lhakhang, a temple of historical significance and one of the most sacred shrines in Bhutan. Afterwards, if there is time, you may like to visit Dumtse Lhakhang, a temple built by Thangtong Gyalpo, the iron bridge builder.

Day 13:    Sunday:    Paro:    (B)
Our walk today is to the famous ‘Tiger's Nest’, (optional) the sacred Taktshang monastery which clings to the rock face 900 metres above the valley floor. Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown to the site riding on a tigress. He subsequently meditated here for three months. It is one of Bhutan’s most holy sites and draws pilgrims not only from Bhutan but also from neighbouring Buddhist countries. We can have lunch at the Taktshang cafeteria from where you get a spectacular view of the monastery. This afternoon is at your leisure. We rendezvous later for our farewell dinner. 

Day 14:    Monday:    Depart Paro:    
Our small group tour concludes early this morning and for most guests today it is time to say farewell to acquaintances, new-found friends and Bhutan. We wish you Tashi Delek. (goodbye and good luck). 

We wish you Tashi Delek. (goodbye and good luck).

At your leisure before transferring with our guide to the airport for your onward or homebound journey.

Some guests may wish to stay another day or more, please don’t hesitate to contact Boutique Tours & Travel for further travel arrangements.

 UNESCO Sites:

•   Ancient Ruin of Drukgyel Dzong (2012)
•   Sacred Sites associated with Phajo Drugom Zhigpo and his descendants (2012)
•   Tamzhing Monastery (2012) 

·     A specially curated itinerary private for Boutique Tours & Travel
·     Exclusive and private airport arrival and departure transfers for all guests
·     5 or 4/3 star hotel accommodation   Twin Share / Single Supplement Available – book early)
·     Meals as indicated in Itinerary; B = Breakfast: L = Lunch: D = Dinner:
·     Private services of a bilingual tour guide
·     Private air-conditioned vehicles for some of our transportation
·     Admission fees to all sightseeing & shows
·     An exclusive BT&T Travel Information APP
·     Bottled water whilst in vehicle

Not included:

·     International air or train fares
·     Arrival / Departure Taxes, levies and other charges
·     Domestic airfares / Helicopter Charter Services
·     Passport and visa fees
·     Excess baggage charges
·     Cost of any ‘luggage delivery’ via FedEx or postal services
     Personal travel insurance
·     Porterage, tipping and gratuities for extra service
·     Meals not included as per the itinerary
·     Personnel expenses : Alcoholic beverages / Laundry etc
·     Water on city walking tours
·     Personal expenses