Welcome to Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon! Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your local travel guide and driver at Paro International Airport, and then be escorted to Thimphu, the capital city to start your wonderful journey.

Your will firstly visit National Memorial Chorten (shrine), a monument dedicated to the past 3rd king of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. More than a memorial stupa, it is also one important religious center for Bhutanese daily worship. Afterward, drive to Buddha View Point Where a massive bronze statue of Buddha Dordenma sits. The statue is placed on a lotus and below it is a meditation hall housed with 125,000 small statues of Buddha. This Buddha dominates over the valley of Thimphu, and you can hardly tell whether the view from Buddha Dordenma or the view of Buddha Dordenma is more spectacular. If you happened to visit Thimphu on weekends, don’t miss the Weekend Market in which there are organic farm products and souvenirs for sale.

Arrival Ideas: 1) you are able to take an international flight from Kathmandu (1 hour), Kolkata (1 hour), New Delhi (2.5 hours), Guwahati (55 minutes), Siliguri (30 minutes), Bangkok (3 hours), Singapore (5 hours) and some other cities in India in peak seasons; 2) so far, all the flights to Paro depart and arrive in the morning.

In today's morning you will be escorted to attend the Tsheche Festival in Tendrel Thang - the festival ground in front of Tashichhoe Dzong. In the early morning, lots of locals will put on their finest clothes and jewelry and carry their elaborately cooked food to share with far-flung friends and relatives while celebrating this big day. The highlight of today is watching the spectacular and theatrical dances (called cham). The costumed and masked dancers usually form a circle or a line and move in a complicated series of steps with graceful arm movements to delight. Most of the dances tell the interesting religious stories or commemorable historical events.

After a full appreciation of the performance, you will pay a visit to Tashichhoe Dzong - the seat of government and the religious center. It also enjoys an impressive structure Immerse yourself in the impressive structure, flying pigeons and echoing prayer wheels. Then, drive to Buddha View Point Where a massive bronze statue of Buddha Dordenma sits. The statue is placed on a lotus and below it is a meditation hall housed with 125,000 small statues of Buddha. This Buddha dominates over the valley of Thimphu, and you can hardly tell whether the view from Buddha Dordenma or the view of Buddha Dordenma is more spectacular.

Stay overnight in Thimphu town

This morning, you visit Tendrel Thang for the festivities first as well. After that, you will go to the National Memorial Chorten (shrine), a monument dedicated to the past 3rd king of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. More than a memorial stupa, it is also one important religious center for Bhutanese daily worship. Then go to visit National Institute for Zorig Chusum, a school where students are taught to make Bhutan’s 13 traditional arts and crafts, like painting, woodcarving, embroidery, statue-making and so on. Next, go to Bhutan Post Office Headquarters, an informative and indulging museum with excellent exhibition of the evolution of Post & Telegraph in Bhutan as well as good details on historical and symbolic interpretation behind stamps.

After sightseeing, drive back to your hotel in Thimphu.

Tshechu Festival reaches its climax when a huge thangka of Guru Rinpoche is unfurled before sunrise. So get up early morning to make sure you won't miss the highlight of thangka unfurling. It is believed that one's sins are washed away and merits are created upon viewing the impressive thangka. Everyday performances are different and you can spend longer time watching them if you have interest. Or you could turn to Simply Bhutan Museum from which you get a quick understanding of Butanese lifestyle and their simplicity in details.

Leaving Thimphu, drive through a forest of pine and hemlock, up to cross over the Dochu La Pass (Alt: 10142ft/ 3,050 m). From the place, you can enjoy the panoramic views of the majestic Himalaya Mountains. Keep driving along the winding road to the fertile valley of Punakha (Alt: 4430ft/ 1,350 meters).

After breakfast, you will go to visit Punakha Dzong, situated between Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu (male and female rivers) and featuring in three docheys (one more than other dzongs). It is praised by many people as the most beautiful one in Bhutan’s 21 dzongs, especially in spring when the lilac jacaranda trees in blossom. Next, move to Wangdu Phodrang Dzong, where you can get a commanding view of the below valleys. In fact, Wangdu Phodrang Dzong enjoys an important status in the history as well, and it was the second capital city in the early days. Since Wangdu Phodrang is situated on the ridge, you can walk down to the bridge and have a short hiking to the village of Rinchangang. After the wonderful sightseeing, drive to the Chimi Lhakhang, a mysterious temple built in 1499 by the legendary “Divine Madman” - lama Drukpa Kunley. There is a tradition that the childless women can visit this temple to receive a wang (blessing) from the saint, then they will have a child.

After lunch, drive about 3.5 hours back to Paro. Have a good night in Paro Town.

Start the day with short drive to Paro’s upper valley. If the day is clear, you’ll have an unforgettable view of the “Goddess” – Mt.Chomolhari (23,640 feet).

Afterward, it’s a short drive to Taktsang trail ahead. Take a challenging but necessary 2~3 hours’ trek to Taktsang Monastery, the most famous monastery in Bhutan, also known as “Tiger Nest Monastery, because Guru Rinpoche reportedly flew to the site on the back of a flying tiger late in the 7th century. Between blue pines and a blue sky, the monastery perches miraculously on a cliff nearly 2,700 feet above Paro’s valley floor. Break along the way for tea and snacks in small tea house, and the view of both Taktsang Monastery and Paro Valley is magnificent.

Hike down the mountain, then drive back to Paro for accommodation.

Tips: 1) it takes about 2 ~ 3 hours to trek from the parking lot to Taktsang Monastery, and you could ride a horse for the first hour; 2) photography is strictly forbidden in the monastery, but you can take a nice shot on your road to Taktsang Monastery; 3) travelers have to deposit all belongings (cameras, phones or other electronic equipment and bags) at the entrance.

Your journey in Bhutan comes to an end today! After breakfast, your guide will pick you up from your hotel in time then transfer to the airport to catch your flight to next destination. Before that, you can take a rest at the hotel or go for a walk nearby.

Tips: Please pack your luggage carefully and make sure all your belongs are packed, especially small things like camera charge, power adaptor, mobile phone, phone charger, wallet, towel, etc.