Nepal and Bhutan culture & hiking holiday

Planet

There are no domestic flights on this trip. The only flights within the itinerary are Kathmandu–Paro and back. Instead, you travel by road in one modern vehicle shared by your group, guide and driver. This is also the best way to see this beautiful Kingdom. During the pandemic, when the country was closed to guests, the government spent a lot of time and money improving the quality of the roads, making road travel a much easier alternative to domestic flights.

We have hand-picked properties such as the charming Dhumra Farm in Punakha, a family farm where much of the food served is grown seasonally on site.

Bhutan charges visitors a daily Sustainable Development Fee, currently $100 per person per day, as part of its ‘High Value, Low Volume’ tourism policy. The government uses the fee to fund projects including conservation, education and training for workers in Bhutan’s tourism sector. By keeping visitor numbers low, the policy means you’ll often have Bhutan’s temples, trails and viewpoints almost to yourself.

People

Community-based tourism is a key element of our trips to Bhutan. Throughout the trip we aim to involve local communities in our activities, from experiences like the National Institute for Zorig Chusum, which offers local people courses in the traditional arts and crafts that form the backbone of local culture and traditions, to visits to an authentic working farm. The aim throughout is to provide non-touristy, authentic cultural experiences that benefit the people from those communities directly.

We also avoid any international chain hotels, prioritising independent, locally owned properties where possible. This keeps more money in the immediate area and helps provide business and employment opportunities for local people, whilst giving us and our guests a more genuine and enriching stay. All of our guides and drivers are also from the local area, which is a requirement for tour operators registered to operate in Bhutan. Part of the daily Sustainable Development Fee is invested back into local communities, so tourism benefits each valley rather than working against it.