Bhutan holidays, cultural tours
| country: | Bhutan |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | 2008: 19 Sep, 25 Sep, 4 Oct, 11 Oct, 23 Oct, 28 Oct, 9 Nov, 18 Nov 2009: 7 Sep |
| price: | From £905 (11 days) excluding flights. Price includes accommodation on a full board basis, internal flights and transport |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Bhutan is a beautiful Buddhist Kingdom which is situated between Tibet in the north and India in the South. It is a unique destination for visitors to explore ancient and historical temples and monasteries, real Buddhist culture and philosophy, flora and fauna, trekking and mountaineering. It is the most adventurous destination in terms of bio-diversity, untouched by modernization and provides stunning views of the Himalayas. A trip to Bhutan is considered a once in a lifetime experience. We welcome you to explore this fascinating and mysterious land.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Prior to landing at Tribhuvan Int'l Airport in Kathmandu, you may have some excellent views of snow-capped mountains. After custom clearance meet with our tour co-ordinator and transfer to hotel. |
| Day 2-3: | Explore ancient and historical cities including Kathmandu's Durbar square with its stone paved lanes and colourful market, virgin Goddess and many temples of different kinds of architecture. Pasupatinath, Bouddhanath Stupa, Swoyambhunath stupa. Discover Patan, the city of art and beauty and finally visit Bhaktapur, with its famous wood-carving. Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu. |
| Day 4: | Early morning fly with Druk Air over the panoramic Himalayan ranges from Kathmandu to Paro. Arrive at Paro airport and take the 2½ hour drive to Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan. Overnight at hotel in Thimpu. |
| Day 5: | Commence sightseeing in Thimpu including a visit to Tashichhodzong, the beautiful medieval fortress/monastery which houses most of the government offices and the King's throne room. It is also the summer residence of Je Khenpo, the chief Abobot of Bhutan. Also visit the Institute of Zorig Chusum where students undertake a course on the 13 traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan, the National Library, which holds an extensive collection of Buddhist texts and manuscripts, some dating back to several hundred years back, as well as modern academic books, mainly on Himalayan culture and religion, the post office, the Institute of Tibetology, the National Memorial Chorten and the handicrafts emporium which displays a wide assortment of beautiful handwoven and crafted products. Overnight at hotel in Thimpu. |
| Day 6: | After breakfast drive from Thimpu to Punakha with a short stop at Dochula pass (3050m) that heralds the most enchanting views of Bhutan. Visit to Punakha Dzong, the 17th century fortress that has played an important role in building up of modern Bhutan followed by a visit to a local market. Then visit, Khamsum Yulley Namgyel Chorten, the newly built Stupa. After that drive to Wangduephodrang visiting Dzong and another local market. The district of Wangduephodrang is also famous for its bamboo products, slate and stone carvings. Overnight at hotel in Punakha. |
| Day 7: | After breakfast drive from Punakha to Paro enroute visit Simtokha Dzong, the oldest fortress of the Kingdom built in 1627, it now houses the School for religious studies. Afternoon in Paro, visit Ta Dzong, the National Museum of the Kingdom. Originally built as a watch tower, since 1967 it has served as the National Museum of the country holding a fascinating collection of art, thankgkha paintings and Bhutan's exquisite postage stamps. Then walk down the trail to visit Rinpung Dzong which has a long and fascinating history. Overnight at hotel in Paro. |
| Day 8: | After breakfast drive north of Paro valley to the ruins of Drukgyel Dozng. From this fort the Bhutanese repelled several invasions by Tibetan armies. Nearby visit a traditional Bhutanese farm house which offers good insight into the everyday lifestyle of local people. Then take an excursion to Taktsang Monastery, the most famous of Bhutanese monasteries. It is said that Guru Rinpoche arrived here on the back of a tigress and meditated at this Monastery, hence it is called "Tiger's Nest". The excursion to monastery's view point takes about 5 hours, round trip. On the return to Paro town visit enroute Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest and most sacred shrines of the Kingdom. Overnight at the hotel in Paro. |
| Day 9: | After breakfast depart from hotel to Paro Airport for your onward flight. |
| Day 10: | Leisure day in Kathmandu. |
| Day 11: | Departure to airport. |
small group cultural tours
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.how this holiday makes a difference
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Tourism generates income for local communities in Bhutan. We encourage our customers to purchase local products such as fresh fruits, handloom products, meat, drinks, and fresh vegetables and visit local markets for this purpose. We help to provide job opportunities and use local Bhutanese guides and drivers on this trip. We use the best tourist standard category hotels on full board basis in Bhutan.
We support the local school and health post, for example, by donating money and educational materials to the children according to the condition of the school and students. We support the local health post by giving medical materials. We support the Kvresthali Women society by donating a certain percentage of the income raised from this trip, to help repair the Culvert Bridge and provide training in goat farming and adult literacy for women. We provide information on how to preserve the environment in Bhutan, for example, place rubbish in the proper place like rubbish box or establish a fire pit and burn waste like papers etc, or keep in underground wastage things. Non disposable things bring back with you and hand over to the garbage management organization. The group size, 4-12 people, is small and thus we ensure that we are minimizing our impact on environment. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |