Today (or tonight), you’ll arrive to BKK airport. Your flight is likely to come in late, so we’ll pick you up from the airport and transfer you to a nearby hotel for rest.

In the morning, we’ll travel as a group back to the airport to get on our flight to Paro. Food will be available for purchase at the hotel.

Meals: N/A

Today you’ll arrive on a morning flight to the Paro International Airport, where a representative from our team will be there to greet you. After arrival, we’ll jump right in! Today, we’ll be exploring the National Museum in Paro and the Rinpung Dzong (fortress). Afterward, we’ll have lunch together and you’ll get your first taste of Bhutanese cuisine! 

After lunch, we’ll drive to Punakha via the scenic Dochula Pass where you will be able to see the Himalaya Mountains and meditation caves (a 4-hour drive). Also at the pass are the Dochula Chortens and Druk Wangyal Monastery. 

Today we’ll be visiting the Chimi Lhakhang Monastery today, a fertility temple in Punakha We’ll be going on a light walk through paddy fields to reach this village. 

If you get carsick, we recommend taking medication prior to this mountain drive. If you suffer from altitude sickness, we recommend talking with your doctor to begin doses 1 to 2 days prior to arrival.

Meals: L, D

Hotel: Drubchhu Resort, Punakha

Today you’ll be taking in the beautiful sights of Punakha, the former capital of the country, set between two flowing rivers. We’ll start our day with a trip to the Punakha Dzong, a stunning and important sight to see. We’ll also take a walk along Bhutan’s longest suspension bridge.

Lunch today is at a local homestay, providing you the opportunity to see how the Bhutanese live and to experience an authentic home-cooked meal. Bhutanese cuisine trends spicy, so let us know if you have any dietary preferences.

This afternoon, you’ll meet an Aum Karma, a traditional Bhutanese dye expert, for the chance to learn more about this form of artwork. Her family has served the royal family for generations, and her property adjoins royal property. It’s truly stunning and this is a great chance to interact with a prominent Bhutanese woman and learn more about her life.

After lunch, we’ll visit the temple of the divine madman. You won’t want to miss it!

Meals: B, L, D

Hotel: Drubchhu Resort

Today is a very unique and special day.

This morning after breakfast, we’ll hike to Khamsum Yuelley Namgyal Chorten, a stupa built by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck, to ward off evil spirits and bring peace to the world. It’s about a 45 min moderate hike that winds through rice-paddy fields and into the forest.

At the top, you’ll be rewarded with gorgeous views of the Punakha valley. After lunch, we will begin the drive to Gasa. The drive today will take roughly 3 hours, and will wind through the Jigme Dorji National Park.

This is a Damesly exclusive adventure — most travelers never make it to Gasa due to its remote location. 

We are coming here for one very special reason: to experience a set of natural hot springs that are revered for their healing effects. Buddhists travel from around the world to find healing from physical and emotional ailments. Gasa tshachhu is believed to cure rheumatism, arthritis, ulcers, indigestion, skin diseases, and even tuberculosis and other ailments.

Because of their curative powers these waters are held sacred by the Bhutanese, and believed to have been touched by divine hands. It is said that Bhutanese warriors wounded in battles sought tshachhus to soak in and applied the warm mud as a salve for wounds. Sometimes they traveled for weeks to bathe their wounds in the water. Traditional medicine doctors have long since been prescribing the healing waters for their patients.

There are no hotels in this part of Bhutan, so tonight, you’ll be staying at a Bhutanese family’s farmhouse. You’ll meet Aum Chador, a self-educated man who worked most of his life delivering telegraphs.

He’ll welcome you with a roaring fire and colorful tales of his life. Meet his whole family and enjoy hot tea and perhaps some adult beverages, as well. 

Accommodations may be a bit more basic tonight, but still lovely. This unique homestay experience will be one we’re sure you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Meals: B, L, D

Hotel: Chador Homestay, Gasa*

*Note: Double-occupancy only for this homestay.

After breakfast, you’ll head to the Gasa hot springs to experience the effects of the healing hot springs for yourself. Gasa is the most mountainous part of the country and has a rugged and wild feeling to it. This chance to get off the beaten path and uncover an area this remote is truly one-of-a-kind. Today’s lunch will be served picnic-style.

Afterward, we’ll begin the drive back to Thimpu, roughly a 5-hour drive. 

Our accommodation tonight is lovely and warm, set within a private residence where the female owner grows much of the food in her own gardens. 

Overnight at Kuenrab Cottage in Thimpu

Meals: B, L, D

Today you’ll begin to explore Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan. There is a lot to see today! 

After breakfast, we’ll begin by visiting the National Memorial Chorten, built to honor the third King, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. 

From here, we’ll visit the Buddha Dordenma Statue, a giant gold statue of the Buddha that overlooks the mountains. It’s a sight to see! 

Afterward, we’ll take an easy and meditative hike that meanders through the forest, from kuenselphodrang to changangka, a monastery. The hike will take three to four hours, bringing us through a pine forest with city views. Be sure to wear sunscreen and a hat for this hike as there is not much foliage to provide shade.

By this point, we know you’ll be hungry, so we’ll head to a restaurant known for traditional Bhutanese home cooking.

After lunch, we will visit a traditional Bhutanese paper factory, which provides more history about the rich arts culture in Bhutan. 

Overnight at Kuenrab Cottage in Thimpu 

Meals: B, L, D

After breakfast, we’ll drive to Paro and hike to the Kila Goemba Nunnery, the oldest nunnery in Bhutan (referred to by some as “mini Tiger’s Nest” as it is similarly cut into the mountainside. There are roughly 20 nuns in residence here, ranging in age. While this hike does have elevation gains, we consider it a moderate hike.

After the nunnery, we’ll have lunch together. This afternoon, you’ll receive an herbal medicine consultation and treatment session at the Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary, where a traditional Bhutanese medicine doctor will create a personal well-being program, including dietary advice, focused on balancing your body, mind and spirit. 

Tonight you’ll rest up at the Naksel Boutique Resort. Get to bed early, as tomorrow morning, we hike to Bhutan’s most incredible attraction: the Tiger’s Nest. 

Overnight at Naksel Boutique Resort

Meals: B, L, D

Early this morning you’ll be hiking to the Tiger’s Nest, an incredible monastery set high in the cliffs above Paro. This hike is between 5 and 7 hours long and is challenging, but the rewards and the chance to sit inside this incredibly spiritual monastery and feel its history are beyond worth the effort. 

This is a once-in-a-lifetime journey, something no trip to Bhutan would be complete without. If open, we will even have the opportunity to enter the cave underneath the monastery where the tigress slept!

After descending from the mountain, we’ll have lunch together in Paro, and then you’ll have time to rest. Tonight, we’ll have dinner and a hot stone bath at a traditional homestay, the perfect way to say goodbye to the Kingdom of Bhutan. 

Overnight at Naksel Boutique Hotel.

Meals: B, L, D

It’s departure day, and we’re bummed to see you go, but we know you’re leaving with memories, photos, and stories to last a lifetime. Bhutan is a magical and very unique country, and not a place many people ever get to see. We’re so honored to have been able to show it to you in such a unique way.

Today we’ll be flying back to Bangkok airport. Your tour officially ends at BKK.

See you next time! 

Meals: B