Day 1 Arrive

Fly into Paro Bhutan from Delhi or Kathmandu. On this flight, you can see breathtaking views of the Great Himalayas. Upon arrival at Paro International Airport, you will be welcomed to the Kingdom by your guide from Shangrila Bhutan Tours & Treks.

15-20 minutes drive from the airport will reach you to the hotel. Check in at hotel. Lunch served at the hotel. After lunch, Orientation talk and introduction video show on Bhutan with tea and snacks. Overnight Paro.

The people of Paro are known for their hard work which they like to show in their big and traditional country houses. If you marry a girl from Paro, be prepared to put metal roofing over the traditional shingle roof in your wife's house and purchase farming machinaries, to show that you are capable and well-to-do husband, so we joke among ourselves. Paro's sightseeing is full of gems such as the 200 year old Watch Tower which has been renovated and converted into National Museum in 1968. It houses a fine collection of national costumes and fabrics, gallery of thangkas, an impressive stamp gallery with three dimensional and CD stamps issued as early as 1960 that are remarkable, and other galleries showcasing armour and silverware with the handsome Royal tea pots. On the top floor there is a four sided temple complex depicting the history of Buddhism and its propagation. Visit Drugyel Dzong, although mostly now in ruins. Built in 1647 by Shabdrung Nawang Namgyel to commemorate the victory over Tibetan Invaders, which indicates by the name of the Dzong meaning Victorious Bhutanese Fort. Visit Drugyel High School and Kychu Lhakhang, the oldest monastery in the valley built in 7th. century. Take a look at the shops in Paro town. Lunch at the hotel. After lunch drive up-to Chelila Pass (Alt. 3,780m) to view the spectacular scenery of Mt. Jumolhari as well as Haa and Paro Valley. Overnight Paro.

Watch Paro festival whole day. Overnight Paro.

Watch The Great Thangka and Paro Festival. Get up early morning at around 4 a.m. Go to see the UN-furling of Great Thangka of Guru Padmasambhawa, believed as the re-incarnation of Lord Buddha who came to Bhutan in the 7th Century and introduced Buddhism in Bhutan. Watch festival whole day. Lunch will be served at the Hotel. Evening drive to Thimphu for Overnight at hotel. The drive from Paro to Thimphu is spectacularly scenic. Magnificent monasteries and stupas in the valleys and mountain tops. Experience the "Last Buddhist Himalayan Kingdom" on Earth and take precious memories back home.

- Change money from the Bhutan National Bank.
- Purchase world's most beautiful postage stamps, collector's items and postcards at face value from general post office which is right next to Bhutan National Bank.
- Visit Arts and crafts school where one can see young children at work.
- Visit Traditional Medicine Institute where the ancient healing arts are still practiced.
- Visit Memorial Chorten built in 1974 to honour memory of Late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, popularly known as the Father of Modern Bhutan. A multi-storied stupa that will introduce you to the vitality of Tantric Buddhism.
- Observe traditional paper making from Daphnia and Edgeworthia shrub to the finished product and purchase some beautiful writing sets from the factory.
- Visit Botanical garden (Zoo) where one can see Yak and Takin, the National wild animal of Bhutan.
- Drive up to view point and take a hike beyond to see the clear picture of Thimphu Valley.
- Downtown Thimphu on foot visiting Handicrafts Emporium and other Arts & Crafts stores. Buy stunning kiras which can be used and bed covers or wall decoration, jewleries and many more. O/n Thimphu.

Day 6  Thimphu - Wangdi

After breakfast 3 hours drive will take you across Dochula Pass (10,500 feet) to the valley of Wangdi Phodrang and Punakha. Check in at Hotel Dragon Nest. Lunch will be served at the hotel. After lunch drive to Punakha valley for Sightseeing. Overnight Wangdi.

After breakfast at the hotel drive to Gangtey and Phobjikha valley. Phobjikha valley has been declared as the first eco-tourism destination of Bhutan by the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN). The valley falls under the Black Mountain Natural Park. Phobjikha valley is the winter home to rare and endangered black necked cranes (grus nigricllis) which migrate in large folks to Bhutan from Tibet & Sikang, Yunnan and Tonkin in eastern China. For centuries the cranes have captured the human imagination with their intelligence, poise, sociality, beauty and freedom, which have given rise to several myths, legends, folktales and songs. In 1998 there were about 250 cranes and the numbers are increasing. By mid February, the cranes fly back across the Himalayas to their summer homes in Tibet and China. Besides cranes, there are lot's of other wild animals in the surrounding valleys like wild boar, barking deer, Himalayan black bear, red fox, leopard and many more which if you are lucky, then you can spot all along the route.

Visit the Nature Education center and talk to the experts there. Visit the cranes roosting area. Visit the carpet factory and the Sacred Gangtey Monastery which dominates the valley.

Lunch at Gangtey. Return to Wangdi for Overnight.

Day 8 Wangdi - Paro

After breakfast, 3 hours drive to Thimphu. Lunch will be served at Thimphu. After lunch, walk around Thimphu town for 1 to 2 hours for last minute souvenir shopping. Evening drive to Paro. Overnight at Hotel, Paro.

Day hike to Taktsang Monastery view point. Taktsang, meaning "Tiger's nest," is built around a cave in which Guru Rimpoche (Padmasambhawa) mediated, clings seemingly impossible to a cliff of rock at 3,000 feet above the valley floor. For the local people it is a place of pilgrimage, but for a tourist, a hike up to the view point opposite the monastery is exhausting, thrilling and mystical. The legend has it that Guru Rimpoche is said to have flown to the site of the monastery on the back of a tigress from Tibet and meditated in the cave there for three months.

Although the main building of the temple was destroyed by fire on 19 April 1998, the hike up to the view point is still worth a visit once in a lifetime. The reconstruction works have already started and soon it will be restored in it's
original form. In the Evening cocktail farewell party and cultural show will be arranged for the group. Overnight Paro.

Depart to Bangkok by Druk Air flight. Your guide will assist you to complete the departure formalities and bid TASHI DELEK!