Explore Mystical Bhutan

Our first day together is dedicated to arrivals. A member of your LHO Team will be waiting for you at the airport to take you to our accommodation in Thimphu where your LHO Team Leader will be waiting to check you in. Most flights to Bhutan arrive in the morning, so we’ll have lunch prepared for everyone on our first day together. Early arrivals will have the opportunity to explore the Bhutanese capital and enjoy the local market streets. Your LHO Team Leader will provide you with a list of recommendations closer to the time.

In the afternoon, we’ll head out for our first experience of the trip by visiting the Buddha statue above the town. We’ll be driving up to it and then taking a short walk through the forest to make our way back to town. The trail is quite easy and mostly downhill. It’s a great appetizer for the adventures that lie ahead. After the trek, we’ll head to the hotel to rest, shower, and have our first dinner together. The welcome dinner, hosted by your LHO Team Leader and local lead guide, is the first opportunity for you to meet everyone, hear a detailed briefing about our adventure, and ask any questions you may have. We’ll also be checking your gear to make sure you have everything you need for all the activities we’ll be doing. After dinner, it’s possible to head out for an evening stroll around the town. There isn’t too much nightlife in Thimphu, but it’s beautiful.

Distance: 6.1 KM | Ascent: 411 M | Descent: 411 M | Max Altitude: 3,600 M

Our first full day together starts after breakfast. We’ll be checking out of our accommodation, loading up our private bus, and heading east in the direction of Punakha. The drive to Punakha heads up to the Dochula Pass, where we’ll disembark our bus to begin our first trek of this adventure to Tashigang Goemba (3,600 meters). The trail begins along the roadside before veering off and ascending through a deep forest. Although the ascent is substantial overall, the trail itself is very gradual and can easily be done when taken at a slow and steady pace. Your LHO Team Leader and local lead guide will be there to help you find a sustainable pace for yourself. As we approach the high point, the trees begin to thin as they start opening up to large meadows. That’s a sign that we’ve almost reached our high point for this trek. Finally, we’ll reach a series of prayer flags that indicate the arrival to a holy place. At the top is a temple where we’ll stop for a break and to enjoy the spectacular views of the Bhutanese Himalayas. We’ll also have a snack at the top before beginning our descent back to the Dochula Pass where a hot lunch awaits. The total walking time for this hike tends to be close to 5 hours and can be cut shorter for those of us who prefer not to exert ourselves too much. After lunch, we’ll continue to Punakha by a private bus and check-in to our hotel. If time permits, we may be able to visit the fertility temple before dinner. Dinner will be at our hotel where we’ll also go over the plan for the next day.

There’s a lot to do today, so we’ll get an early start. After breakfast, we’ll head out for a short hike up to the Khamsum Yuelley Mamgyal Chorten, a temple built to overcome the negative forces in the changing world. The trail is a gradual incline that starts at the river and winds its way up through rice paddies to the beautiful temple at the top. Ascending this trail usually takes around one hour, and the descending trail is shorter. Once back at the bus, we’ll take a short ride to the riverside to the starting point of our river rafting journey! This marks the starting point of an entirely new and wild element of this adventure as we will be traveling down the river over two days with a night spent along an extremely remote beach in the middle of the forest. We’ll begin this part of the adventure with a safety briefing led by our rafting expert. Once the team is satisfied that we are now able to board our raft, we’ll begin our journey down the river, past the incredible Punakha Zhong and onwards into the wilderness. After a series of rapids and relaxing flats, we’ll pause on the riverside for a picnic lunch before continuing onwards to our campsite further down the river. The scenery here is spectacular. Upon arrival at our campsite, we’ll check in to our tents and prepare to participate in the food making for the evening. Our stuff will be transported to the campsite so we’ll have access to warm clothes to change into. Dinner will be under the stars against one of the most beautiful backdrops of all our LHO adventures.

Cycling Distance: 18 KM | Ascent: 400 M | Descent: 1,205 M | Max Altitude: 3,100 M

After a beautiful night under the stars, we’ll prepare breakfast and enjoy it together before jumping onto our private bus for a short journey to the Punakha Zhong, an iconic fortress on the riverside. There will be a guided tour of the Zhong, which is home to a monastery and several ancient artifacts of Buddhist heritage. After our visit, we’ll board our private bus again and head back up to the Dochulla Pass where lunch will be served. During lunch, we will hear a briefing about our upcoming biking adventure down to Paro from the pass. We’ll be met by our local experts who will explain to us how to efficiently and safely bike on the winding road that is predominantly descending the mountain. After we’ve digested, we’ll mount our bikes and begin the incredible ride. Our private bus will be following the team from the back, so anyone who may feel tired or would like to take a break can simply stop by the roadside and wait for the bus. Our cycling adventure leads us all the way to Thimphu where we’ll jump on our bus for the short ride to Paro, our home for our remaining nights together. Once we arrive, we’ll check in to our accommodation, enjoy our warm showers, and have dinner together.

Distance: 5.9 KM | Ascent: 643 M | Descent: 643 M | Max Altitude: 3,120 M

The classic highlight of our experience in Bhutan is the iconic Tiger’s Nest monastery. The monastery is situated on the mountainside perched high above the valley floor and is one of the most well-known Buddhist religious sites on Earth. After breakfast, we’ll make our way by a private bus to the trailhead. Here, we will have the option to either ride mules or walk the entire trail. Those of us choosing to ride mules will have to disembark at the midpoint of the trail to continue the rest of the way on foot. The trail to the midpoint is inside a pine forest that quickly begins to thin as we gain a little bit of altitude. It is possible to gain glimpses of the monastery between the trees towering high above. At the midway point is a tea house where we’ll stop for a break. For any of us who may have overpacked, it is possible to leave some stuff here since we’ll be returning to the tea house for lunch. From here, we’ll follow a series of staircases that wind up the side of the mountain, leading first to the famous viewpoint of the monastery and then to the monastery itself. The trail takes about two hours to complete from the midpoint. Once we arrive, we’ll be taken on a guided tour. For those of us who’d like to just sit and meditate or enjoy the experience on our own, this is entirely possible. We’ll set up a meeting point and time for everyone to get together for the descent. Lunch will be at a tea house at the midpoint on the trail. From there, we’ll descend on foot back down through the forest until we reach the bus. In the afternoon, there is a tourist market at the exit of the trail. We’ll give everyone enough time to explore it before heading into the center of Paro for some free time to explore the shops and market streets of this vibrant Bhutanese town. The last leg of our adventure is a trip to The Farm, a cultural destination just outside Paro where we’ll be treated to traditional archery lessons, have a traditional hot stone bath, and enjoy a cultural show with our last team dinner. We’ll be taken back to our accommodation by a private bus after dinner.

The last day is dedicated to airport transfers. Breakfast at the hotel is included. Please be sure to include the correct departure information when filling out your team details form before the trip start date. If any information has changed or may be incorrect, please inform your Team Leader as soon as possible for arrangements to be made.