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Bhutan's highlights: Thimphu, Punakha & Paro
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Overview
Short Description
Climb up to Tiger's Nest Monastery in Paro. Experience Bhutan's unique culture. Take in spectacular Himalayan scenery. Visit Punakha's Dzong.
Itinerary
Day 1 : International outbound flight
Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Kathmandu.
Day 2 : Kathmandu
On arrival in Kathmandu airport you're met by an Audley representative. Drive to your hotel by private transfer.After some time to relax and recover from the flight, your local guide will show you around the chaotic metropolis of Kathmandu. Starting off in Durbar Square, visit the market quarter on Thamel and the House of the Living Goddess before exploring some of the more off-beat areas that you would only find with a local.
Day 3 : Thimphu
Today drive to Kathmandu airport by private transfer to take a short one and a half hour flight to Paro. On arrival, meet your private driver and guide who will stay with you for the rest of your trip. Getting to know your personal preferences, they can suggest stops along the way that suit your personal interests.Driving the one and a half hour journey from Paro airport to Thimpu, you can stop at Simtokha village which is home to a Dzong said to guard the locals from a daemon who vanished into a nearby rock. The road into Thimpu closely follows the Paro Chhu (river) with scenic views back across the Paro valley.
Day 4 : Thimphu
You have the whole day today to discover Thimpu with your driver and guide. The city is best explored on foot, but your driver is on hand if you wish to visit one of the sites of interest located on the surrounding hills.The King's Memorial is of particular interest, built in honour of the third king. Each day many Bhutanese come to pray and spin the vibrant prayer wheels - it's a great spot to people watch.
Day 5 : Punakha
A scenic drive today to Punakha, over the Dochu La pass offering stunning views. The drive takes about three hours but it's worth stopping to visit the Chimi Lhakhang temple before reaching Punakha. The temple can't be reached by road so your guide will lead you on a short walk through rice paddies to the temple itself, a particularly memorable way to arrive.On arrival in Punakha check in to your hotel and have the remaining part of the day free to relax.
Day 6 : Punakha
The Punaka Dzong is situated on the confluence of the Mo (Mother) and Pho (Father) river, and today your guide can show you around the temples, towers and courtyards. Over the years it has suffered from several fires and flooding but it's still one of the most impressing dzongs in Bhutan.
Day 7 : Paro
Return to Paro by road today which takes about five hours. Your guide can suggest places to stop along the way to enjoy the scenery and take light refreshments.On arrival in Paro you have the rest of the afternoon to relax. Your hotel has an open-air terrace with views right across the valley.
Day 8 : Paro
An early rise is recommended today as you drive 12 km (7 miles) out of Paro to Taksang, better known as Tiger's Nest Monastery. The highlight of most trips to Bhutan, the monastery is perched on a high rocky ledge with incredible views.The climb from the car park takes two to three hours depending on your fitness, with small cafes to stop off for tea or coffee along the way. Once you have reached the hermitage itself, you then retrace your steps back to the car park.If you feel you might not make it to the hermitage itself, we would still suggest a visit, climbing part of the way up to view the monastery from a viewpoint with a stunning vista of the cliff face.
Day 9 : Paro
Spend the day at Cheli La today, one of the highest passes in the area. Here your guide might suggest walking to some local villages for a taste of local life and to admire the mountain views.
Day 10 : Kathmandu
Today drive to the airport by private transfer to catch the short flight back to Kathmandu. On arrival in Kathmandu meet an Audley representative and drive to your hotel by private transfer.Depending on the time of your flight, you may have some extra time to explore Kathmandu - visit the Thamel market for some quirky souvenirs.
Day 11 : International return flight
Today you be driven by private transfer to Kathmandu airport for your onwards flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.
Availability
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3,373 Audley Travel Travel Reviews & Ratings
Bhutan's highlights: Thimphu, Punakha & Paro
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.
On landing in Antigua we were met at the bottom of the jetway by a representative of Audley (St James travel) who took us straight to the front of the queue at immigration (we never knew such service existed). Having passed through that, our bags were just coming round the carousel so the rep took them off, led us into the outside world where we had to wait about 5 minutes for our private transfer (only because we were early!). We were in the car less than 20 minutes from touching down. Last time I achieved that was on a hand baggage only trip with Ryanair to Salzburg. All thanks to Audley.
The inter hotel transfer and return transfer to the airport were faultless as was the post holiday catch up call.
Were already working with Audley on next years break using Isabelles extensive knowledge of the hotels and options
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Details
Flight & Transport Inclusions
All internal ground transport
Group Size
Intimate Group - 12 max
Trip ID#:
audley-travel-39636
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