Top 6 Things to Do in Thimphu Bhutan 2024/2025
07 September 2022 Last updated at 11:07
Besides visiting the attractions in Thimphu, you have a lot of things to do in Thimphu: trekking into the forests and field to experience its wildness; wandering in the weekend market to meet with the locals; joining the Tsechu Festival to celebrate with the nation; looking up to the gigantic golden Buddha to feel its enduring religious influence; appreciate the exquisite ancient items in different museum to learn about its history with even more emotion attached with the nation...
What to Do in Thimphu
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Trek into the Pristine Land of Thimphu
Located on the west edge of Himalaya, Bhutan offers a wide range of treks all over the country. Among these treks, the Druk Path is the most popular one, stretching from Paro to Thimphu. Along the trekking path, you can enjoy the alpine scenery like the pristine forests, rugged summits, yak pastures, traditional villages, elusive wildlife, and enduring monasteries and Dzongs. Most people usually choose to hike during spring and autumn. It takes about 4 days to finish the route, and the trekking experience is a temperate physical activity for most people. Also, through a reliable travel agent like us, you will be accompanied by a tour guide and cook for the full-route exploration, and you can just focus on sightseeing without worrying about the safety and camping chores.
Druk Path Trekking Tour: 9 Days Druk Path Trekking with Bhutan Highlights
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Join Thimphu Tsechu Festival
Thimphu Tsechu Festival has been celebrated since 1670 to commemorate the birth of Guru Rinpoche. It is one of the biggest festivals in Bhutan with almost the whole citizens of Thimphu and thousands of domestic and foreign tourists joining in. According to the Bhutanese calendar, the Thimphu Tsechu usually falls into September or October and lasts for 3 to 4 days. The yearly social gathering and dancing are usually held in the beautiful Trashi Chhoe Dzong. The actual celebration involves a lot of traditional dance, continuous prayers, solemn rituals to their gods. It is like Christmas for western people and the Spring festival for Chinese. To most people in Thimphu, the Tsechu Festival offers a break from normal farming life and people receive blessings and pray for happiness, health, harvest for the coming seasons.
Recommended Tour: 7 Days Thimphu Tshechu Festival Tour
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Wander around the stalls of Thimphu Weekend Market
Located on the west bank of the Wang Chhu River, Thimphu weekend market runs every Friday to Sunday, and vendors from throughout the region start arriving on Thursday. It is very clean and well-organized, shaped like a maze-like pavilion seen afar. The bustling weekend market has a wide variety of commodities, including food like a pungent collection of dried fish, strips of fatty pork and discs of datse (soft cheese), as well as dried chilies, local pickles and condiments and bottles of wild honey from southern Bhutan. You can also find handicrafts market to get one as a souvenir of your Bhutan tour. In the incense area, you can find a wide range of aromatic ingredients, including the pink camphor cubes and saffron for flavoring in Dzong and Lhakhang.
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Enjoy Local Cuisine of Thimphu
As the capital of Bhutan, Thimphu gathers a lot of traditional Bhutanese cuisine, and most of these cuisines are served in a wooden bowl and the local people can skillfully use their fingers to eat, and the nation here “addicts” to cheese and red peppers. Strolling around the Clocktower Square and its surroundings, you can find many local and authentic Bhutanese food restaurants as well as some inexpensive Indian food restaurant. The recommended dishes are Ema datshi (Chillies & Cheese), Kewa Datshi (Scalloped Potatoes), Shamu Datshi (Cheese & mushrooms), Shakam paa (dried beef & dried chilies), Shakam Shukam Datshi (dried white chilies & cheese), Yaksha shakam (dried yak meat), Juma (Bhutanese spicy sausage), Gondo Datshi (butter egg fry), Jasha matu (Bhutanese Chicken Stew), Jaju (milk and vegetable soup), etc.
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Learn about Buddhism Culture in Thimphu
As the Buddhist Kingdom, Bhutanese culture has been greatly influenced by Buddhism. Going to the southern Thimphu, you can witness one of the largest golden sitting statues of Buddha, Buddha Dordenma, at measuring 51.5m in height, or kora around the landmark of Thimphu, Memorial Chorten. Moreover, you can visit the oldest monastery on Thimphu, Changangkha Lhakhang, and overlook the scenery of Thimphu from the highland, and walk into the first Dzong of Thimphu, Simtokha Dzong to appreciate the beautiful slate cravings, exquisite Bhutanese paintings, sacred Buddha statues, and spinning prayer wheels. Have a Bhutan tour in Thimphu, and visit these Buddhism sites with a local guide with you sharing about their faith and stories behind.
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Visit Different Museums in Thimphu
Besides visiting monasteries and temples and trekking around, in Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan, you can appreciate the culture of Bhutanese nation by visiting different kinds of Museums, such as National Textile Museum, Simply Bhutan Museum, National Institute for Zorig Chusum, Folk Heritage Museum, and General Post Office Museum. From these museums, you will learn about the nation’s textile culture and history, the lifestyle of the local Bhutanese, the traditional contemporary art forms of Bhutan, the folk culture, and the evolution story of Bhutan’s postal system with joining activities in these museums like trying on the traditional Bhutanese clothes, visiting the local family, and DIY your own stamps and postcards, etc.
How to Plan Your Bhutan Tour
A Bhutan trip usually starts from Paro where the Bhutan’s only international airport is located in, then travel eastward to Thimphu and Punakha, which is the most classic itinerary in Bhutan, taking 5~6 days to finish. Never miss the icon of Bhutan - Tiger’s Nest (the symbol of Bhutan) in Paro. If your time is quite limited, you can skip Punakha. If you want an in-depth Bhutan tour, we suggest you extend your trip to Phobjikha, Gangtey, Trongsa and Bumthang in central Bhutan, which costs you about 9~10 days. You can also spend more time in Bhutan to explore more features of Bhutan, such as trekking, birding, Tshechu festival, etc. It is strongly recommended to travel Bhutan with Nepal. Check Nepal Bhutan tours to find a suitable tour or contact us to customize your own unique experience.
☞ 5 Days Bhutan Classic Tour (Paro & Thimphu & Punakha)
☞ 9 Days Bhutan In-depth Natural and Cultural Tour
☞ 12 Days Nepal Bhutan Leisure Vacation Tour Package
Travel with Us
Traveling with Himalayas Discovery, you are assured to use our high-quality travel services, including vehicles, professional tour guide and experienced driver, well-organized itinerary, assistance of visa and permits application and other travel related services. We will settle all arrangements in advance to make sure you always enjoy a worry-free journey.
Our dear guests visiting Bhutan
Thimphu Travel Guide
Bhutan Travel Guide
Most Recommended Bhutan Tour Packages
Following are 3 most recommended Bhutan tour packages that you may be interested in. All tour packages are customizable to meet your personal requirements. You can also contact us to customize a trip if you want.
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9 Days Bhutan In-depth Natural and Cultural Tour
Paro / Thimphu / Punakha / Phobjikha / Trongsa / Bumthang / Wangue Phodrang / Paro
