Highlights of Kathmandu & Bhutan Tour

Explore the cultural treasures of Kathmandu in our guided tour and immerse yourself in the vibrant array of bustling streets, incomparable historic buildings and heritage, exquisite temples and religious sites. The tour includes the holiest Hindu pilgrimage site of Pashupatinath Temple, the colossal stupa of Bouddhanath, Swoyambhunath Stupa also known as The Monkey Temple and the historic Kathmandu Durbar Square with ‘Kumari Ghar’ and other age-old monuments scattered around the vicinity.

The flight to Paro is an amazing chance to contemplate the scale of Himalayas. Keep your eyes open for Gauri Shankar, Everest, Makalu, Kanchenjunga in Nepal, and then the striking form of Jhomolhari welcoming you into Bhutan. You’ll love Bhutan from the moment you descend the steps of the plane. The fragrance of pine forests is detectable on the air. You’ll be greeted by our guides, of course wearing colourful national dress, the Kho. It’s a calm hour’s drive to the growing capital of Thimpu. After checking in, we’ll eat a good lunch and visit some of the nearby sites in the afternoon, the informative cultural centre and zoo, where you can see Bhutan’s curios national animal the Takin. Night in Hotel.

Another fresh morning start as we drive east, first winding through forested slopes to cross the Dochu La with its 108 stupas and an excellent mountain view(provided we start enough). Look out for langu monkeys as we descend towards Punakha. Here, on the confluence of the Pho Chu (meaning male) and Mo Chu( female) rivers, you’ll see the deeply impressive Punakha Dzong. We’ll give you the shawl you must wear to enter and we’ll explore inside. It’s a truly wondrous monastery. Later, we’ll make the drive to rural village of Phobjikha, famous winter nesting spot for rare Black Necked Cranes. Here we are: broad yak pastures, rhododendron and pine forests and the winding narrow roads leads to a serene bowl shaped valley made to look more remote by the non-existence of power cables and telephone connections. Night in hotel.

In the morning we’ll pay a visit to the 450 year old Gangte Monastery which houses one of the largest prayer halls in Bhutan and gives shelter to about 100 resident monks. We head out of the valley towards Trongsa. On arrival, we’ll take tea and then visit Trongsa Museum and impressive Dzong. Night in hotel.

Today’s drive to Thimpu will be broken up by stops in villages and viewpoints. We’ll briefly stop in Wangdue, a market town, whose Dzong was sadly badly damaged by fire recently. Night in hotel.

In the morning we’ll drive to Paro, check into the hotel and then drive to the head of the valley toward the infamous Tiger’s Nest. Your excitement will grow as you catch the first glimpses from the window. Keeps some small money with you to buy souvenirs from local people at a few points along the trail. We’ll walk slowly and savour the views through the trees towards this amazing architectural sight. On returning we’ll eat a lunch befitting our efforts before visiting Paro Dzong and Museum(subject to opening times). In the evening , a final chance to enjoy ema datsi, Bhutan’s national dish. Night in hotel.

Again a chance to enjoy mountain views on the flight from Paro. Back in Kathmandu we’ll visit other two cities within the Valley – Patan and Bhaktapur, with an extraordinary array of temples, statues and artwork with exquisite carvings. First, we will visit Patan – ‘The City of Fine Arts’, with its ornamented courtyard at Durbar Square, Hiranya Varna Mahabihar known as ‘The Golden Temple’, and Mahabouddha Temple. After having lunch amidst the canopy of Temples and Stupas worth admiring, we drive to another equally fascinating and imposing ancient city of Bhaktapur. The Durbar Square of Bhaktapur shares some similarities to its counterpart of Patan but is of a more expansive architectural feast. The age-old monuments around Taumadi Square, Dattatreya Square, and Potter’s Square are the feat of sightseeing in the ‘City of Devotees’. It is a beautiful place to be in the late afternoon as locals congregate on the steps of the temples to meet and chat about the days.

Start your morning with a glorious sunrise view over the Himalayas! Take care of any last minute souvenir shopping or sightseeing as time permits. We hope that you enjoyed your packaged tour with Purple Journeys! Our representative will transfer you to the airport approximately 3 hours ahead of your flight time. We bid you farewell and hope to see you in Nepal again, soon.