Bhutan Beckons – Festival Traditions of the Dragon Kingdom departing 6 October 2027

Fly direct from Christchurch to Singapore. On arrival, transfer to your 5* hotel at the airport for the night.

Check-in for your flight to Paro, departing at approximately 12.30 pm.
On arrival in Paro, you will be met by your local representative and transferred through the lovely valley of Paro to Thimphu – a scenic drive of around two hours, with a mixture of rice fields, apple orchards and farmhouses. Upon arrival in Thimphu, check in to your hotel and enjoy the remainder of the day at your leisure. You might like to take a stroll around the town and visit the craft bazaar and market. Thimphu has a special charm, and it is fascinating to sit and watch a gathering of local people in the town square, wearing their traditional dress, and going about their business in a typically unhurried Bhutanese way.

Tashi Yid Wong Grand
Accommodation for 4 nights including dinner & breakfast

Resting in a lush green valley of hills and rice paddies, Bhutan’s capital city of Thimphu is the country’s commercial and religious hub and is known for its interesting fusion of ancient and modern elements. Historical architecture and ancient
traditional elements juxtapose with contemporary buildings and sensibilities. The imposing, stately 350-year-old Tashicho Dzong Fortress is currently used as the administrative centre of the county and is also the king’s office. Visitors can explore the gold-spired Memorial Chorten, a revered Buddhist shrine; see the intricate frescoes and slate carvings at Simtokha Dzong; and discover the Bhutanese way of life through exhibits and folk dances at the fascinating National Folk Heritage Museum. The city
bustles with cafes, clubs and restaurants, thereby offering the best of old and new world charms.

Enjoy a sightseeing tour around Thimphu Valley today.
The day begins with a visit to Memorial Chorten, an impressive stupa built in memory of Bhutan’s third King. Here you can often see people “circumambulating” (the ritualistic act of going around a holy structure three times or more as a gesture of respect) the temple. Continue to Buddha Point to see the impressive Buddha Dordenma, reputed to be the tallest statue of Buddha in the world (51.5 metres). Buddha Dordenma is situated on the top of a hill with commanding views of the valley below and houses 150,000 smaller statues of Buddha Dordenma. If you feel like taking a stroll, there is a short and gentle hike to Kuenselphordrang Nature Park. Next visit Zilukha Nunnery also known as Drubthob Lhakhang, established in the 1970’s. This is one of the few nunneries in Bhutan and is home to around 70
resident nuns. Continuing on, a stop will be made at a viewpoint to see Tashichho Dzong, the largest fort in Bhutan. Originally built in 1648, the fort houses secretariat buildings, the King’s throne room and other government offices, and serves as the summer residence of the Chief Abbot of Bhutan. After a break for lunch, your tour continues with a visit to the Traditional Medicine Institute, which collects plants and herbs from remote and high Himalayan regions, prepares medicines and distributes pills, ointments and medicinal herbal teas to all regional health units around the country. Visitors can see a small museum where a collection of more than 300 herbs, minerals and animal parts are displayed. The same are used by traditional doctors to prepare medicines. Continue to visit the National Textile Museum, featuring a stunning display of ancient and modern textiles. The museum showcases the rich traditions of Bhutan’s national arts of thagzo (weaving) and tshemzo (embroidery). Finish the day with a visit to the craft market which sells authentic Bhutanese crafts before returning to your hotel, with time to relax before dinner.

Enjoy a second day exploring the Thimphu Valley area.
Departing from Thimphu, you’ll be driven to Dodina, from where you’ll start a short hike (45 minutes to an hour) to Chari Monastery. The hike will take you through temperate forest of oak, rhododendron, pines, firs and other trees to arrive at the monastery. Built in 1620 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel soon after he arrived in Bhutan from Tibet, Chari Monastery is now used as a retreat centre. The view from the top is stunning.
After your hike, return to town for a hot lunch, and then visit the Postal Museum and Philatelic Bureau for self-image stamps. You can give your picture, and they will instantly print stamps of your own image which you can use to send postcards back home (please pay locally for this). At the end of the day, you will be returned to your hotel for an evening at leisure.

Today is at your opportunity to experience the Thimphu Tshechu Festival. This 3-day Buddhist festival is held at the Tashichho Dzong, featuring traditional masked dances, spiritual rituals, and vibrant cultural celebrations. Today is the first day of the festival and features the Shaw Dcham (Stag Dance) and Peling Ging Sum (Dance of the Three Kinds of Ging).

This morning your guide will collect you from your hotel to commence the drive of just over 70 kilometres through to Punakha.
Leaving Thimphu, the road climbs for about an hour until you reach the Dochula Pass at an altitude of 3,150 metres. Weather permitting, this pass offers spectacular views over the high peaks of the eastern Himalayas. Following lunch and just before you get to the town of Punakha, a stop will be made to visit Chimi Lhakhang, also known as “the temple of fertility”. A walk of around 20 minutes through rice terraces and the village of Yoakha will take you to the temple. This temple, built in 1499, is a popular pilgrim site for couples who are unable to bear children. Locals also visit the lhakhang to get a name for their child by picking up random bamboo slips placed in the altar inscribed with children’s names. On your return walk, you have the option of visiting some of the local farmhouses and interacting with the villagers. Continue to your hotel in Punakha for check in, with the remainder of the afternoon and evening at your leisure.

Hotel Lobesa Boutique
Accommodation for 2 nights including dinner & breakfast Located in the Himalayas of Bhutan, Punakha rests at the confluence of the Puna Tsang Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. This ancient Bhutanese capital serves as an excellent base from which to explore the scenic temple-dotted Punakha Valley and beyond. The town’s star attraction is undoubtedly the incredibly picturesque riverside
Punakha Dzong, a 17th century fortress which plays host to the annual religious Punakha Festival featuring traditional dancing and music. Lucky birdwatchers can spot the critically endangered white-bellied herons. Visitors can enjoy epic views of the Himalayas from the renowned Dochula Pass, explore the Royal Botanical Park, and discover the picturesque mountain-top village of Talo. Other popular activities include hiking through the valley, visiting the Chimi Lhakhang ‘fertility’ Temple and the traditional architecture of Punakha Ritsha Village.

Explore Punakha Valley today. Your tour begins with a visit to the nearby Punakha Dzong, often referred to as the “Palace of Happiness” and arguably the most beautiful dzong in the country, especially in spring when the lilac-coloured jacaranda trees are in full bloom. This dzong was the second to be built in Bhutan
and it served as the capital and seat of government until the mid-1950’s. All of Bhutan’s kings have been crowned here. The dzong is still the winter residence of the dratshang (official monk body).
Continue with a 45-minute hike to a beautiful stupa, known as Kham Sum Yuelley Namgyel Chorten. Begin by crossing the famous 180-metre-long Punakha Suspension Bridge, which is adorned with vibrant colourful Buddhist prayer flags. Kham Sum Yuelley Namgyel Chorten stupa was built in the early 1990’s for the protection of the country and to bring peace and harmony in the world. On a clear day, the view from the temple to the valley below is very
picturesque. Continue to visit Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery and Temple. The complex houses a learning and meditation centre for nuns, providing both religious and life skill training in embroidery, tailoring, statue making and painting. Return to your hotel where the remainder of the afternoon and evening are at your leisure.

Following breakfast and checkout, depart Punakha for Phobjikha (Gangtey) Valley, one of Bhutan’s most pristine glacial valleys, known for its open meadows and pastoral charm. The journey climbs steadily through changing ecological zones, from subtropical river valleys to cool alpine forests. Upon arrival, check into your accommodation and enjoy a hike around the valley later this afternoon.
The Gangtey Nature Trail winds through forests and traditional hamlets, offering expansive valley views and is about 90 minutes in duration. If time permits, visit the Black Necked Crane Information Centre to learn about the valley’s famed winter migrants and the Gangtey Monastery, dramatically positioned on a ridge overlooking the valley and serving as an important centre of the Nyingma Buddhist tradition.

Hotel Phobjikha
Accommodation for 1 night including dinner & breakfast
Embedded on the western slopes of the Black Mountains is the bowl-shaped Phobjikha Valley, a staggeringly scenic glacial valley perched at 3,000 metres above sea level and tucked close to central Bhutan. A large flock of black-necked cranes soar above the vast stretches of luxuriant greenery that swathe the countryside, covering the alpine territory with thick grassland, marsh, and dwarf bamboo. Abundant wildlife also inhabits the
area, including the barking deer, wild boars, sambar, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan serow, leopards and foxes. Highlights include the Gangtey Goenpa Monastery, the Black-Necked Crane Information Centre, and a 2-hour trek along the Gangtey Nature Trail. The valley also serves as a convenient base for the Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, one of the biggest virgin tracks of forest in the Himalayas.

Continue today to Bumthang, the spiritual heartland of Bhutan. The journey (approx. 6-7 hours) traverses dramatic mountain landscapes, dense forests and remote settlements. A stop will be made in Trongsa town for a hot lunch and visit to the Trongsa Dzong, strategically perched above a deep gorge and historically linked to Bhutan’s royal lineage. Continue the ascent toward Bumthang, passing Zhugney Village where traditional pedal-loom weaving can be observed. Upon arrival at your accommodation, check in and enjoy the remainder of your day at leisure.

Mountain Resort / Jakar View
Accommodation for 3 nights including dinner & breakfast

After breakfast, you will be driven to explore some of Bumthang’s most religious and historical landmarks.
Visit Kurje Lhakhang, one of the most sacred temples in Bhutan. It is believed that Guru Rimpoche came here in the 8th century and meditated for several days until his body was imprinted on the back of a rock. He then manifested into different forms and converted to Buddhism. Visit Tamshing Lhakhang containing interesting Buddhist paintings dating back to the 16th century and then visit Koncho Sum lhakhang, which is close to Tamshing.
Stop and visit Swiss Farm – a cheese and beer factory where Bhutanese beer ‘Red Panda’ is produced. Conclude the day with a visit to Jakar Dzong, known as the Castle of White Bird.
Return to your hotel where the remainder of the day is at leisure.

Today’s excursion leads to the remote Ura Valley, one of Bumthang’s four valleys and among Bhutan’s highest inhabited settlements. The drive passes through alpine forests and open landscapes, with possible distant views of Mt Gangkar Puensum – the world’s highest unclimbed peak. Explore Ura Village, noted for its clustered whitewashed houses and pastoral setting. Visit Ura Lhakhang, dedicated to Guru Rinpoche and central to the valley’s annual festival. Return to Bumthang for an afternoon and evening at leisure.

Early this morning, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Paro.
On a clear day, the short flight provides remarkable aerial views of Bhutan’s mountains, forests and deeply carved valleys.
On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check in, where the remainder of the day is at your leisure.

Hotel Kaachi Grand
Accommodation for 3 nights including dinner & breakfast

Situated in the Paro Valley of Eastern Himalaya, Paro is full of legends, heroism and natural splendour. Although the capital of Bhutan is Thimphu, for a longer time in history Paro had control of this part of the country. The town is located at 2,250 metres above sea level with a river flowing gently through, making it one of the most beautiful valleys in the country. Among the sights are the Ta Dzong temple, the Rinchen Pung Dzong temple and the Dungtse Lhakhang temple. It is also the home of Bhutan’s oldest monastery, Kyichu Lhakang which dates back to the 7th century.
Paro hosts an interesting market, held in the weekends, where you can see local produce, local handicrafts and items imported over the mountains from Tibet. There are also many great day walks in the valley as well as being the best place from which to visit the remote Haa Valley, a two hour drive west over the highest road pass in Bhutan.

Explore Paro today. First visit Ta Dzong, an ancient tower which served as the watch tower to Paro Rinpong Dzong, until 1968 when it was converted into the National Museum. Today the museum collection includes displays of spectacular thankas (religious scroll paintings), ancient artifacts dating from the 7th century onwards and an impressive collection of ancient weapons including cannons, guns, shields, bows and arrows and spears.
Continue to the 7th century Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the most sacred and oldest Buddhist temples in Bhutan. Walk down to Rinpung Dzong, the Fortress of the Heap of Jewels, an elegant administrative and monastic complex overlooking the Paro River.
Following your tour, the remainder of the day is at your leisure.

Enjoy a visit to Taktsang Lhakhang (Tiger’s Nest), Bhutan’s most iconic landmark and religious site.

A drive of around 10 kilometres north through the beautiful Paro Valley will take you to the starting point for your hike to Tiger’s Nest, a monastery which clings impossibly to a sheer cliff face 800 hundred metres above the Paro Valley.
The monastery was first built in 1692 at a cave where Guru Rimpoche, also known as the Second Buddha of Bhutan, meditated in the 7th century AD. Legend states that Guru Rimpoche flew to the site atop the back of a tigress and meditated in the cave for three years, three months, three days and three hours in order to subdue evil demons residing within it. The cave has been considered a sacred site ever since and many famous saints have travelled to meditate in it. The trek up to Tiger’s Nest takes around 2-3 hours through beautiful, shady pine forests. As you climb the well-maintained but very steep trail, the monastery
seems to appear and disappear in and out of the trees and the mists. There is a café located halfway, where you can take a break for refreshments.
Finally, you’ll arrive at the entrance to the Tiger’s Nest, a rock outcropping overlooking a vast chasm, with the monastery on the other side. Beneath the promontory of rock, and across the chasm from the monastery, the cliff drops a couple of thousand feet to the gorge below. Navigate the final steps that have
been carved into the exposed cliff face to the Tiger’s Nest monastery.
On arrival at the monastery, explore the several levels within and marvel at the three temples and unreal views from this sacred site. Afterwards, commence the descent back down to the valley below – the return journey takes around half the time, but is equally dramatic. At the bottom of the valley, your vehicle will be waiting to take you back to your hotel for some well-earned rest and relaxation.

Early this morning you will be transferred to Paro Airport for your flight to Singapore, departing at approximately 8.00 am. Stay in transit in Singapore and fly overnight to Christchurch

Arrive home in Christchurch late morning.