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A journey across Bhutan
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Overview
Short Description
Largely untouched by the modern world, Bhutan is an enigmatic mountain kingdom of green valleys crowned with dzongs (fortresses) and chortens (shrines). As the country operates a strict entry policy, it’s essential that your trip is planned thoroughly. Our specialists will use their extensive knowledge to create a carefully arranged itinerary that’s tailored to your interests. We have also worked hard to find the best drivers and guides (the government requires all visitors are accompanied), who can enhance your holiday to Bhutan.
A journey through Bhutan will take you through rich forests, over high mountain passes and to some of the most biologically diverse national parks in the world. The cliff-hugging Tiger’s Nest is one of many white-walled monasteries that overlook yawning valleys, which burst into bloom with wildflowers in spring. And, you’ll find the Bhutanese welcoming in showing you their deeply Buddhist and traditional way of life, where Gross National Happiness is more important than gross domestic product.
Itinerary
Day 1 : International outbound flight
Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Delhi.
Day 2 : Delhi
On arrival spend the rest of the day at leisure to recover from your international flight. If you have time you might like to take a taxi into central Delhi to explore the markets or visit Delhi's Red Fort.
Day 3 : Samdrup Jongkhar
Fly to Guwahati in northeast India and travel to the Bhutanese border with a guide and driver. You have the night in the border town of Samdrup Jongkhar, an important trading post.
Day 4 : Trashigang
Continue by road to Trashigang. The drive will take most of the day but you will have the opportunity to stop and take in the scenery along the way. You will check in to your hotel in Trashigang which sits above the Drangme Chhu River.
Day 5 : Trashigang
Visit Gom Kora a temple filled with colourful Buddhist carvings as well as Chorten Kora. In the afternoon, explore Trashigang which is filled with traditional wooden buildings and original architecture.
Day 6 : Mongar
Continue west to Mongar by road via the biggest and most important monetary in eastern Bhutan: Drametse Goempa. You will also have the chance to visit Mongar Dzong, a more modern monastery.
Day 7 : Jakar, Bumthang Valley
A full day drive to the Bumthang Valley in the heart of Bhutan. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to stop and explore.
Day 8 : Jakar, Bumthang Valley
Take a walking tour of Thangbi Temple and visit Jakar Dzong. One of the largest dzongs in the country, it is set on a ridge above Jakar town with views right across the valley.
Day 9 : Phobjikha
Travel by road to Gangtey, stopping at Trongsa Dzong en route. Trongsa is a huge monastery complex which prints most of Bhutan's Buddhist texts.
Day 10 : Phobjikha
Walk the Tenkhor Yuetshe Sum Trail which links together many local villages and hamlets today. You will also visit the black-necked crane research centre with the chance of spotting some of the black-necked cranes themselves.
Day 11 : Punakha
Continue by road to Punakha. On arrival you will check in to your hotel and have time to relax. You might like to take a walk around the grounds of your hotel which has views across the valley.
Day 12 : Punakha
Take a half day walk from Nobgang to Punakha, a particularly picturesque valley route. In the afternoon, visit the Punakha Dzong which is located at the confluence of two rivers.
Day 13 : Thimphu
Head to the capital and take an afternoon tour of Thimphu. Key points of interest include the King's Memorial Chorten, which is a Tibetan-style chorten or stupa built to honour the memory of the third king. Inside, there are numerous religious paintings and statues of different Buddhist deities, and each day many Bhutanese come here to pray, spin the colourful prayer wheels and walk around the grounds. Inside, the walls are decorated with bright paintings depicting famous Buddhist deities and religious legends.
Day 14 : Paro
Drive to Paro and visit Paro Dzong and Ta Dzong. Paro Dzong is located right up on the hillside and was used to defend Paro from Tibetan invasions.Spend this evening in Paro. You might like to eat in the hotel's pretty courtyard.
Day 15 : Paro
Full day excursion to Tigerâs Nest Monastery and Drukgyel Dzong. A highlight of the trip, it's possible to climb up halfway to simply view Tiger's Nest Monastery if you are not able to climb the entire route.
Day 16 : Delhi
Fly from Paro to Delhi. After checking in to your Delhi hotel, you might like to simply relax or explore Delhi a little. The markets are an excellent place to shop before heading home tomorrow.
Day 17 : International return flight
Transfer to the airport in time for your onwards flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.
Availability
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3,373 Audley Travel Travel Reviews & Ratings
A journey across Bhutan
Company Reviews
Sarah was so great and really…
Thank you Sarah...what a star! You made this process easy from beginning to end :)
So much more than a travel agent
The second and more recent time was on a trip to Vietnam organised by their Indochina expert Ross Cleary.
We were on the final day of a 19 day trip to Vietnam and Cambodia which given the quality the hotels and excursions arranged by Ross was shaping up to be the best holiday we had ever taken.
Unfortunately my wife developed breathing difficulties and I had to take her to hospital. The hospital decided to admit her and we were left very frightened and wondering what to do about our flights which were due to leave in 4 hours time. There is a 7 hour time difference between U.K. and Vietnam so it was the middle of the night in the U.K. However, one phone call to the Audley duty manager had me connected to him via "whatsapp" so that he could update me real time on the situation without the £7 per minute phone charges. The flights were postponed, I was put up in the closest hotel to the hospital and Audley took care of all the minutiae so that I could concentrate on my wife who was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Upon being discharged my wife was told she could not travel immediately. We spent a total of 8 days in a hotel arranged by Audleys local partners Vidotours. A fantastic hotel at a very reasonable price. The hotel bill was covered until I got home and the flights were re-instated for a tiny admin fee.
We don't always use a travel company to book our holidays, but visiting out of the way places where local knowledge and support can be invaluable I would thoroughly recommend Audley.
These guys are so much more than a travel agent.
No prizes for guessing that I will be using them on my next big excursion. Thank you. Pete
Audley helped us have the best trip of…
Could not have been better
The same couple recommended their travel agent – Audley travel - so that is where we went. I was suspicious as to whether they would add any value as I can book my own flights and negotiate deals with hotels but we were extremely pleased with the service from Isabelle – their Caribbean specialist. More on this later.
We worked with her to optimise the price for the flights. Although I have over 500k miles still with BA, reward flights were out of the question but we managed to get Virgin Upper for £5,500 (compared to BA quote of around £10k for Club which is just not quite as good)
Audley managed all of the booking process at our selected hotels so we had a single contact point. The arrangements were faultless and we were kept informed at all times. The itinerary was well presented and we had both an electronic version and a high-quality folder with all the paperwork and recommendations for trips and restaurants as well as quality luggage tags. It all makes you feel good.
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The inter hotel transfer and return transfer to the airport were faultless as was the post holiday catch up call.
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Details
Flight & Transport Inclusions
All internal transport included (including local flights)
Group Size
Intimate Group - 12 max
Trip ID#:
audley-travel-39638
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