8 Day Private Bhutan Tour Phobjikha Punakha Tigers Nest

Day 1: Paro – Thimphu: Into the Land of the Thunder Dragon

1. Buddha Dordenma
   45m · Admission ticket included
   Your guide meets you at Paro airport (about 2,200 m) for the scenic drive up the river valley to Thimphu: about 55 km, roughly 1.5 hours. At about 2,300 m, Thimphu is a capital famous for running without a single traffic light. Check in to your hotel and enjoy lunch, then begin your sightseeing at Buddha Dordenma, one of the largest seated Buddhas in the world: 54 m of gilded bronze holding 125,000 smaller Buddhas inside, watching over the valley from the hillside.
2. Thimphu Chorten (Memorial Chorten)
   1h · Admission ticket included
   Next, join locals at the Memorial Chorten, built in 1974 in memory of the Third King, where people circle and pray from dawn to dusk. End the day with an easy stroll around town.

Day 2: Thimphu, Your Way

1. Cheri Gompa Monastery
   3h
   Today is shaped around you. Walkers can hike to Chari (Cheri) Monastery: a 25 to 30 minute drive north of town to the trailhead at Dodena, then about 2.4 km and 300 m of steady climbing, roughly 1 to 1.5 hours up through pine and oak forest, to around 2,850 m. Look out for the rock painting of Guru Rinpoche on the way, and sometimes mountain goats near the temple. Founded in 1620 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unifier of Bhutan, Chari is where the country's first monastic community began, and it is still a place of meditation today. Prefer something gentler? We'll plan an easy day of sightseeing in town instead.
2. Thimphu’s Weekend Market
   3h · Admission ticket included
   In the afternoon, visit the Royal Textile Academy's museum (open Monday to Saturday), a showcase of Bhutan's weaving tradition, then browse the Authentic Bhutanese Crafts Bazaar on Norzin Lam: around 80 stalls of handmade thangkas, textiles, bamboo work and wood carvings, sourced mainly from rural artisans. Wander the Centenary Farmers' Market by the river, full of local produce, red chillies and dried yak cheese, and if time permits, see paper still made by hand from daphne bark. End the day at Tashichho Dzong, home to the King's throne room and government offices and the summer seat of the Je Khenpo, open to visitors after office hours on weekdays and all day at weekends.

Day 3: Thimphu – Phobjikha: Valley of the Cranes

1. Dochula Pass
   45m · Admission ticket included
   Today's drive is about 134 km, roughly 5 to 5.5 hours with stops. First stop: Dochula Pass (about 3,100 m), 30 km from Thimphu, with its 108 chortens built to honour Bhutanese soldiers after the 2003 campaign. Here you hoist your own prayer flags, a Bhutanese way of sending blessings out on the wind for all beings. On clear days, especially October to February, you can see the snow peaks of the eastern Himalaya, including Gangkar Puensum (7,570 m), Bhutan's highest mountain. The road then drops to Wangdue and climbs again into Phobjikha (about 2,900 to 3,000 m), a wide glacial valley that is the winter home of the rare black-necked crane and, since 2014, a protected Ramsar wetland.
2. Gangtey Monastery
   45m · Admission ticket included
   On arrival, visit Gangtey Goenpa, on a spur above the valley at about 3,000 m. Founded in 1613 by Gyalse Pema Thinley, grandson of the great treasure revealer Pema Lingpa, it is the main seat of his tradition.
3. Phobji Nature Trail
   2h
   An easy 4 km walk, mostly downhill, about 1.5 to 2 hours with stops. It starts by the mani wall just north of Gangtey Goenpa and drops through blue pine forest and dwarf bamboo, past Semchubara village, to Khewang Lhakhang on the valley floor, a temple said to date from the 15th century. Your car meets you at the end. Optional meditation or a butter lamp offering. In the evening, try archery, Bhutan's national sport, at your hotel in Phobjikha (included).

Day 4: Phobjikha – Punakha: Butter Tea, Cranes & the Divine Madman

1. Phobjikha Valley
   30m
   Start the morning in a traditional Phobjikha farmhouse. Sit on the wooden floor of a beautifully painted room, share butter tea and zaw (roasted rice) with your hosts, and see how a farming family lives in this high valley.
2. Black Necked Crane Center
   45m · Admission ticket included
   Visit the Black-Necked Crane Information Centre. The cranes fly in from the Tibetan plateau in late October and stay until about mid-February, and the Crane Festival at Gangtey Goenpa welcomes them every 12 November.
3. Chimi Lhakhang Temple
   2h · Admission ticket included
   Then down to Punakha: about 87 km, roughly 3 hours, dropping from about 3,000 m to about 1,300 m into a warm valley of rice fields. On the way, stop at Themakha, a village that still lives by an old seasonal rhythm: families winter here and move up to Khotakha and Phobjikha for the summer. Step into a Themakha farmhouse to see the family's daily life, from tending the fields and animals to cooking over the hearth. Then walk through the rice fields to Chimi Lhakhang, built in 1499 and blessed by Drukpa Kunley, the beloved "Divine Madman". Couples come from around the world to seek blessings for children here.

Day 5: Punakha: The Palace of Great Happiness

1. Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten
   3h
   A short drive up the valley to the suspension bridge at Yebesa, then a hike up through rice fields and pine forest (about 45 minutes uphill) to this chorten, built by the Queen Mother to remove obstacles and bring peace to Bhutan and the world. Its four floors hold the meditational deities of the Vajrakilaya (Dorji Phurba) mandala, with sweeping views of the Punakha valley from the top. Lunch follows from the monks' kitchen at Chorten Nyingpo in Kabisa, where young monks study and you can sit quietly or offer a butter lamp.
2. Punakha Dzong
   1h · Admission ticket included
   Built by the Zhabdrung in 1637–38 where two rivers meet, at about 1,300 m. Bhutan's seat of government until 1955, it is where the First King was crowned in 1907, where the present King married in 2011, and where the Zhabdrung's sacred remains are kept. Optional rafting on the Mo Chhu (extra cost, depends on river conditions). If time allows, drive up to Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Nunnery on the ridge above Wolakha, a college for nuns with a 14-foot bronze Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara), one of the largest in Bhutan, and wide views over the Punakha and Wangdue valleys.

Day 6: Punakha – Paro: An Iron Bridge, a Goddess of Plenty & Little Buddha

1. Tachogang Lhakhang Bridge
   30m
   Today's drive is about 125 km, roughly 4 to 4.5 hours with stops, back over Dochula (about 3,100 m) and past Thimphu to Paro (about 2,200 m). Before Paro, stop at Tachogang Lhakhang, founded by Thangtong Gyalpo (1385–1464), the saint often called the Leonardo da Vinci of the Himalayas: engineer, physician, artist and founder of Tibetan opera, who built more than 50 iron chain bridges across Tibet and Bhutan. His bridge here was washed away in 1969; the one you cross today was rebuilt in 2005 using his original iron chain links.
2. Paro
   45m
   In Paro, visit Tengchen Goenpa (Tenchen Choeling), a college for nuns above the valley and the abode of Miyo Langzangma, one of the five Tsheringma sisters, goddesses of long life. She rides a tigress and is prayed to for food and prosperity; Sherpas believe she lives on Mount Everest.
3. Rinpung Dzong
   1h · Admission ticket included
   End the day at Rinpung Dzong, the "Fortress on a Heap of Jewels", consecrated by the Zhabdrung in 1646, home of the Paro Tshechu festival and a filming location for Bertolucci's Little Buddha. Then explore Paro town at your own pace.

Day 7: Paro: The Tiger's Nest

1. Paro Taktsang
   5h · Admission ticket included
   A short drive from town to the trailhead, then the hike to Taktsang (3,120 m), clinging to a granite cliff about 900 m above the Paro valley, where Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived on the back of a flying tigress in the 8th century to meditate. The trail is about 4 km each way, roughly 4 to 5 hours return at a gentle pace, with a halfway cafeteria (about 2,950 m) for tea and the classic photo view. Ponies can carry you as far as the cafeteria (extra cost). Inside the monastery, bags, cameras and phones go in lockers, and shoulders and knees must be covered. Later, ease tired legs in a traditional hot stone bath in Paro (included).
2. Kyichu Lhakhang
   45m · Admission ticket included
   If time permits, visit this 7th-century temple, built by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo as one of 108 temples to pin down a giant demoness.

Day 8: Paro: Farewell, Tashi Delek

1. 20m
   After breakfast, your guide sees you to Paro airport for your onward flight, with one last look at the valley.

Pickup details

Your guide and driver will meet you just outside the arrivals hall at Paro International Airport. Paro is a small airport with one exit for arriving passengers, so you will see them as soon as you come out. Your guide will be in Bhutanese national dress (gho) and will hold a Mad Monk Travels sign with the lead traveler's name. We will send you your guide's name and WhatsApp number before you travel.

• Specialized infant seats are available
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• Bhutan government fees are not included in the tour price and are paid separately before your visa is issued: Sustainable Development Fee USD 100 per adult per night (USD 50 for ages 6-12, under 6 free) plus a USD 40 visa fee, which comes to USD 740 per adult for this tour. We arrange your visa and SDF after you book.