8N 9D - Signature Druk Path Trek

Drive to Satsam Chorten and spend the day hiking up the forested path to Taktsang Monastery, also known as Tiger’s Nest, Bhutan’s most famous and scenic icon. The climb is steep and takes about 4 hours round trip. An important place of pilgrimage and refuge for more than 1200 years, Taktsang Monastery clings to sheer cliffs two-thousand feet above Paro Valley, and from your closest vantage point on a rocky ledge directly across from it, you will still need 200-300 mm lenses and a steady tripod to get tight photographs.

This sacred place got its name when Guru Rinpoche rode there on the back of a flying tiger and meditated in a cave behind the present-day monastery. Sadly, in 1998, the central temple was destroyed by fire, leaving the country in mourning for their holiest of spiritual places. But religious leaders and the King quickly developed a plan to rebuild Taktsang and donations started pouring in from Buddhist centres all over the world, and today, the magnificently rebuilt exterior is complete. Tiger’s Nest is once again the subject of cloud-shrouded posters that say, "Bhutan, Land of the Thunder Dragon." Picnic lunch on the hillside cafeteria.

Duration: 5 to 6 hours

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard

Overnight Hotel: 2,280m

Our trek begins near Dhangrim chorten, heading up through apple orchards, smallholdings and ancient pine forests to a whaleback ridge. Today’s altitude gain is significant so the pace is slow and steady. We visit Jele Dzong, perched on the ridge, where monks’ welcome visitors. The dzong was the former residence of Ngawang Chhogyel, cousin of the saint Lama Drukpa Kuenley, known locally as the Divine Madman. The views of Paro town and Mt. Jhomolhari (7,314m) are breathtaking on a clear day. We cross the Jele La pass (3,490m) and descend below the ridgeline to reach a pasture at Jangchu Lakha, with outstanding views of the Himalayan range, where you will camp at 3,780m.

Duration of drive: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Duration of trek: 7 to 8 hours (16km), guided with picnic Difficulty: Hard (altitude gain: 900m / altitude loss: 0m)

Overnight Camping: 3,780m

After breakfast, the trek continues through dwarf rhododendron trees to a view of Thimphu and Paro valley. From here, you’ll go uphill towards Jangchu Lakhala (4,190m) before a steep descent to camp at Jimilang Tsho Lake (3,880m). The lake is home to a large number of trout, believed to have been introduced by the British in the 20th century. Near the camp there are good mountain views, as well as a glacier stream joining the main lake.

Duration of the trek: 6 to 7 hours (11kms), guided with picnic lunch

Difficulty: Hard (Altitude gain: 410m/ altitude loss: 310m)

Overnight Camping: 3,880m

As today’s trail twists, you’ll enjoy views across the deep valley, spotting the route from day one and across to Jele Dzong, now a tiny white dot in the distance. Crossing a spur, the Simkotra Tsho (4,110m) can be seen below. The trek continues until you reach a yak pasture where you’ll camp overnight, with magnificent views of the eastern Himalayan ranges.

Duration of the trek: 6 to 7 hours (15kms), guided with picnic lunch

Difficulty: Hard (Altitude gain: 410m/ altitude loss: 0m)

Overnight Camping: 4,120m

The day begins with an ascent to Labana La pass (4,210m), which is adorned with prayer flags and rock pillars given as offerings to the God of Mountains. This is the highest pass in the trek. From here, you can see Thimphu far below. The trail descends to the pilgrimage site at Phajoding (3,870m), then into pine and juniper forest until the road at Motithang on the outskirts of Thimphu.

Duration of the trek: 4 to 5 hours (12kms), guided with picinic lunch

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard (Altitude gain: 90m/ altitude loss 1,810m)

Overnight Hotel: 2,320m

The drive to Punakha winds snake-like up the 3,000m-high mountain pass of Dochu La, offering views of 108 chortens, forests of cluttering prayer flags and, on a clear day, sweeping views of the Himalayan ranges.

Chimmi Lhakhang & Punakha Dzong

This is a full day of exploration through the lush Punakha Valley, which at 1,200m is low enough for bananas and oranges to grow. The morning starts with a short walk across farmhouses and rice paddies to reach Chimmi Lhakhang, a 15th-century fertility temple dedicated to Drukpa Kuenley, a Tibetan Buddhist saint, perhaps better known as the ‘Divine Madman’. This site has long been a pilgrimage site for couples hoping to start a family.

Heading further down the valley, the 300-year-old Punakha Dzong comes into view. Built in the 17th century by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (who founded the Kingdom of Bhutan), the fortress once housed the country’s government. It is now the winter home of Je Khenpo, the head abbot of Bhutan, along with a retinue of 1,000 monks.

Duration: 6 to 7 hours

Difficulty: Easy

Overnight: Hotel

Retrace your steps back over the Dochu La pass for another chance to view the Himalayan mountain range. Returning to the Chuzom (the confluence of the rivers Wang Chhu and Paro Chhu), you can glimpse the three nearby shrines, built to ward off evil spirits, each with a different style of architecture: Nepali, Tibetan and Bhutanese.

Time-permitting, there will be a visit to Tamchog Lhakhang, a temple built by Thangtong Gyalpo, a pioneering engineer who introduced the construction of suspension bridges into Bhutan and Tibet (several of which are still in use today). The final part of the drive to Paro is through apple orchards and rice paddies. Spend your time doing some last minute shopping or strolling the town.

Evening, visit a typical village home for a traditional Bhutanese style dinner accompanied by the local liquor called “Ara” (tastes somewhat like the Japanese Sake). Then luxuriate in the Bhutanese equivalent of a Jacuzzi called a “Chu Tse.” River rocks are heated and dunked into a large wooden tub with herbs. This type of bath is considered to have medicinal properties of healing. Overnight Paro farmhouse (Alt; 2280m)

Duration: 3 to 4 hours (126 kms)

Difficulty: Easy

Overnight: Hotel

Druk Air normally departs in the morning to avoid adverse weather conditions so after breakfast, your transfer to the airport will be arranged depending on the flight schedule.