Himalaya only · Saver trips from ₹7,500
Try "Spiti", "snow leopard", "Char Dham", "homestay", "Tiger's Nest"
Comfort Bhutan · Balanced
Twelve nights that cross the Black Mountains into central Bhutan: Phobjikha's crane valley, the great dzong at Trongsa and three nights in Bumthang, the valley of Bhutan's oldest temples. Private car and licensed guide, good hotels and lodges including Dewachen and the Swiss Guest House, and Paro's Tiger's Nest at the end.
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · CommonsMost visitors to Bhutan never pass Dochu La. East of it the country changes: the road climbs over Pele La at about 3,400 m into Trongsa, the dzong that once controlled all traffic between east and west, and on into Bumthang's four high valleys, where buckwheat replaces rice and many of the oldest temples in the country stand in the fields. This trip gives that part of Bhutan the time it needs, with two short days for every long one.
Prices assume Indian nationals, who pay ₹1,200 a night SDF as we understand the current rules; most other nationalities pay USD 100 a night. Over 12 nights that difference is large, so we quote both clearly. The rules have changed several times since 2022; check current status before you travel. Your licensed guide and driver stay with you from Paro and back.
Sleeping altitude, night by night
Red points are nights above 3,000 m. We pace those climbs by the usual advice of no more than 300–500 m of sleeping height a day. This is not medical advice: talk to your doctor before a high trip. Try the altitude planner.
Day by day
Your guide and driver meet you at Paro airport after the steep daylight approach between the ridges. Drive along the river to Chhuzom and up to Thimphu. Check in at Hotel Druk on Clock Tower Square. In the late afternoon, walk to the Memorial Chorten, where residents circle the stupa until dusk, and along Norzin Lam, where traffic is still directed by hand.
About ThimphuVisit Buddha Dordenma above the valley and the Royal Takin Preserve at Motithang. After lunch, see students at the Institute for Zorig Chusum learning painting, carving and embroidery, and browse the Centenary Farmers Market if it is Friday to Sunday. End at Tashichho Dzong at about 5 pm, when government offices close and the flag is lowered.
About ThimphuStop at Simtokha Dzong, built in 1629, then cross Dochu La at about 3,100 m with its 108 chortens. Drop into the warm Punakha valley and spend the afternoon at Punakha Dzong at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu, built by the Zhabdrung in the 1630s and Bhutan's capital until the 1950s. Walk on to the long suspension bridge before dinner.
About PunakhaWalk the field path to Chimi Lhakhang, the temple of the Divine Madman, built in 1499. Then drive past Wangdue and climb through oak and rhododendron forest over Lawa La into Phobjikha, a glacial valley at about 3,000 m. Check in at Dewachen, a 16-room lodge with wood stoves in every room and views over the valley. Nights are cold from November to February.
About Phobjikha (Gangtey)From late October to February, watch black-necked cranes on the marsh at first light. Visit the crane centre run by the Royal Society for Protection of Nature and Gangtey Goenpa, the Nyingma monastery on the spur above the valley. In the afternoon, walk the Gangtey nature trail, about 1.5–2 hours through pine and across the valley floor. A hot stone bath at the lodge is a good end to the day.
About Phobjikha (Gangtey)Rejoin the Lateral Road and climb to Pele La at about 3,400 m, the traditional boundary between western and central Bhutan, where yaks graze in summer and dwarf bamboo covers the slopes. Stop at Chendebji Chorten, an 18th-century stupa built in the Nepali style. Arrive in Trongsa for the evening view across the gorge to the dzong, lit up after dark.
About TrongsaMorning inside Trongsa Dzong, the ancestral seat of the Wangchuck kings, built along a ridge above the Mangde Chhu. Climb to the Ta Dzong watchtower, now a museum of royal history. Then cross Yotong La and descend into Bumthang's Chhume valley, known for yathra weaving; stop at a weaving village before reaching Jakar. Check in at the Swiss Guest House among its orchards.
About Bumthang (Jakar)A walking day in the Choekhor valley. Visit Jambay Lhakhang, said to have been founded in the 7th century by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo; Kurjey Lhakhang, where Guru Rinpoche is said to have left his body's imprint in rock; and, across the river by footbridge, Tamshing, founded in 1501 by Pema Lingpa, with a chain-mail coat pilgrims carry around the inner temple. Afternoon at Jakar Dzong above the town.
About Bumthang (Jakar)Drive into the Tang valley to Membartsho, the Burning Lake, a pool in a gorge where Pema Lingpa is said to have recovered sacred treasures. Keep back from the edge: the water is deep and dangerous. In the afternoon, visit Jakar's Swiss-founded cheese makers and brewery, or walk the town's main street for buckwheat noodles, called puta, at a local café.
About Bumthang (Jakar)The one long day of the trip. Drive back over Yotong La, through Trongsa and over Pele La, then down through the forests to Wangdue and Punakha. We stop for lunch and short breaks, and the guide will time a stop at Trongsa's viewpoint for a last look at the dzong. Arrive in warm Punakha for a late dinner.
About PunakhaMorning hike through rice terraces to the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, about an hour up. Then drive over Dochu La and past Thimphu to Paro. Check in at Zhiwa Ling, hand-built by Bhutanese craftsmen over five years. In the late afternoon, visit Rinpung Dzong across its covered bridge.
About ParoAfter nights at Phobjikha and Bumthang, you are well acclimatised for the hike. Start early from about 2,600 m and climb through blue pine to the cafeteria viewpoint and on to the monastery at 3,120 m. Cameras go into lockers at the gate. Visit Kyichu Lhakhang on the way back. Farewell dinner at the hotel.
About ParoA short transfer to Paro airport for your morning flight. Weather can delay departures, so keep a spare day before onward international flights and avoid same-day connections in India.
About ParoWhere you sleep
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
A long-running city hotel on Clock Tower Square in central Thimphu, open since 1985. Spacious rooms, a restaurant,…
Photo: Phuentsho · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
A 16-room lodge in traditional Bhutanese style at the edge of the Phobjikha valley, near Gangtey village and the B…
Photo: PgyamtshoBT · CC0 · Commons
Budget
A farmhouse-style guesthouse on a hillside a few minutes above Jakar, one of Bumthang's first places for foreign t…
Photo: Xiaojun Deng · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Mid
A hand-built Bhutanese hotel at Satsam Chorten in the Paro valley, opened in 2005 after five years of work by Bhut…
Questions
Yes, if you have 10 nights or more. Bumthang holds many of Bhutan's oldest temples, linked to Guru Rinpoche and Pema Lingpa, and feels quieter and more rural than the west. The drive is long but broken here by a night in Trongsa, so only the return day is truly long.
As we understand the current rules, ₹14,400 per Indian adult for 12 nights at ₹1,200 a night, and USD 1,200 for most other adults at USD 100 a night. Children 6–12 pay half, under-6s nothing. Check current status before you travel.
Sometimes. Bathpalathang airport near Jakar has had domestic flights to Paro, which can replace the long day 10 drive. Schedules are limited and change by season, and weather cancels flights. We check availability when you book and keep the road as a fallback.
From about late October to February, when the cranes winter in Phobjikha. Late October and November are best for this trip, combining cranes with clear skies. The Black-necked Crane Festival is held at Gangtey Goenpa in November.
Yes, all have heaters or wood stoves, which matters in Phobjikha and Bumthang, where nights fall below freezing from November to March. Dewachen and the Swiss Guest House use wood stoves. Hot water bottles are often provided on request.
Ancient temples, Pema Lingpa's Burning Lake, buckwheat dishes such as puta noodles and khuli pancakes, and yathra wool weaving. Swiss development work in the valley left a cheese maker and a brewery in Jakar. Several festivals, including Jambay Lhakhang Drup, fall in autumn.
For active older travellers, yes. Drives are 3–4.5 hours on most travel days, with one long day of 7–8 hours. Sleeping altitudes reach about 3,000 m, so talk to your doctor first. Most temple visits involve short walks and some steps.
Yes. Bumthang's Jambay Lhakhang Drup and Jakar Tshechu usually fall in October or November, and Thimphu Tshechu in September or October. Dates follow the lunar calendar. We can shift the itinerary to include one; check current status before you travel.
Yes. Districts beyond Paro and Thimphu must be listed on your route permit, which our licensed partner arranges before you arrive. Your guide carries it and shows it at checkpoints along the Lateral Road. You do not need to apply separately.
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Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Shared jeep or bus to Jaigaon, then shared vehicle with licensed guide
Photo: Afifa Afrin · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Saver
Shared jeep or bus to Jaigaon, then shared vehicle with licensed guide
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Comfort
Private car with driver
Plan with a local planner
We reply within one working day with a route, a sleeping-altitude profile and an itemised price in your tier. Change anything. Pay nothing until you are sure.