Punakha Festival Tour Itinerary
Day
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Destination
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Itinerary
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01
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Arrival Paro
(Paro to Thimphu)
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After breakfast drive to airport for your departure to Bhutan.
Arrive in Paro by druk air, the only national carrier. The flight offers you beautiful view of mountains and landscapes. Upon arriving the Paro Valley and after completing visa formalities, you will be met by Gawaling Tours & Treks’ representative at the airport. We will then drive to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. The journey would take us one and half hours.
Upon arriving Thimphu, we will visit the National Painting school to see the young men and women at work in the production of handicraft items. Some specialize in mask making, some in wood curving, some in slate curving, and others in embroidery & scroll painting. Overnight stay in a hotel. | |
02
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Thimphu
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Morning, we will attend the Weekend Market, where all manner of goods are for sale: everything from handicrafts to dried yak meat is available to the hundreds of people who shop at this weekly event. It will be also interesting to see especially how the farmers engage themselves in carrying out commerce.
Afternoon, visit Changangkha Lhakhang built in the 14th century. Next visit the National Memorial Chorten, built in memory of third king. If there is an archery contest in progress, we can stop to witness it. Visit
# Handicraft emporium
# Traditional Handmade Paper Factory
# Takin zoo/ Mini Zoo
In the evening stroll around Thimphu town. Overnight stay In Hotel.
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03
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Thimphu to Punakha
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Drive over the DochuLa pass in the morning. On clear weather, we can see around 200 miles of Himalayan summits bordering northern Bhutan.
As we descend from the pass, we will notice that the vegetation changes from sub-alpine to sub-tropical. At the lower elevation, we can see banana plants, cactus and other semi-tropical plants, and the green terraced rice fields of Punakha.
We begin our explorations with a visit to Wangdiphodrang Dzong built in 1638 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and then take a hike to Chimi Lhakhang, the monastery dedicated to Lama Drukpa Kunley ” Divine Madman” knows for his outrageous behavior. Overnight stay at hotel.
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04
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Punakha
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After breakfast witness Punakha festival.
# mask dances
# Bhutanese traditional dance
# Interact with local people
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05
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Punakha to Thimphu
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In the morning, witness Punakha festival. Afternoon drive towards Thimphu. Night halt at hotel.
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06
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Thimphu to Paro
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After breakfast drive to Paro; en-route stop to visit Simtokha Dzong, the oldest fortress built in 1629 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (the man who unified Bhutan).
Afternoon, visit Ta Dzong (watch tower) that houses the National Museum. The museum has an interesting collections of different costumes and thangkas from various parts of Bhutan. And then Vist Rimpung Dzong/Paro dzong. After Paro Dzong visit, we drive towards the north to see the Drukgyel Dzong, which is in ruins. Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel built it in 1649 to commemorate a victory over the Tibetan forces. Unfortunately the fortress was destroyed by fire and was never rebuilt. On clear weather, we will be able to see Mt. chomolhari from the Drukgyal Dzong. En-route visit Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the two oldest monasteries built in Bhutan by the King of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. Overnight at a hotel in Paro. | |
07
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Hike to Tiger’s Nest
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Paro is a valley of religion and myth. The most famous landmark, the Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest), stands on a granite cliff about 800m above the valley. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche, a famous Buddhist saint, flew to Paro on a tigress and meditated at Taktsang. The monastery is considered as a national treasure of Bhutan.
The hike to Taktsang would take us around two and half hours. To reach a cafeteria, a point from where one can enjoy a great view of the monastery is more than an hour walk from the road-head uphill. Those interested can walk further 45 minutes uphill to get a closer view of the monastery and return to the cafeteria for lunch. The journey downward to the road-head would take us less than one and half hours.
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08
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Departure
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After breakfast drive to the airport for departure.
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