Tiger's Nest & Thimphu Getaway

The flight into Paro is part of the adventure: on a clear day the Himalaya slides past the window before the plane banks between forested ridges and settles onto the valley floor. Your guide meets you outside the terminal with a white kata scarf, the traditional Bhutanese welcome, and the drive to the capital begins along the Paro Chhu.

At Chuzom, where the Paro and Thimphu rivers meet, three chortens in Bhutanese, Tibetan and Nepali style mark the confluence. In Thimphu, after checking in, walk to the National Memorial Chorten, built in memory of the Third King. In the late afternoon it fills with elderly Thimphu residents circling clockwise, spinning the great prayer wheels and telling their beads — a gentle first hour in Bhutan.

Drive: Paro to Thimphu, about 1 hour
Overnight: Thimphu

Begin above the city at Buddha Dordenma, the giant seated Buddha of Kuensel Phodrang, whose body holds many thousands of smaller Buddha figures. The view takes in the whole Thimphu valley. Continue to the Motithang preserve to meet the takin, Bhutan's national animal, which legend says was assembled by the saint Drukpa Kunley from the bones of a goat and a cow.

After lunch, visit the Institute for Zorig Chusum (on weekdays), where young people train in the thirteen traditional arts — painting, woodcarving, embroidery and more — and the Royal Textile Academy, whose collection explains why weaving is so prized in Bhutan. Stroll along Norzin Lam, the main street, to watch the white-gloved policeman directing traffic by hand, and end with the evening view of Tashichho Dzong, seat of government and of the central monk body.

Sightseeing by vehicle with short walks
Overnight: Thimphu

Leave Thimphu after a relaxed breakfast. On the way back towards Paro, stop at Tamchog Lhakhang, a private temple reached by a swaying bridge of iron chains, built in the style of the 15th-century bridge-builder saint Thangtong Gyalpo.

In Paro, walk down through Rinpung Dzong — the "fortress on a heap of jewels" — with its courtyards, carved galleries and monks crossing between prayers, and continue over Nyamai Zam, the covered wooden bridge below. Above the dzong, the old round watchtower of Ta Dzong houses the National Museum. The rest of the afternoon is yours to wander Paro's single main street of painted wooden shopfronts.

Drive: Thimphu to Paro, about 1½ hours with stops
Overnight: Paro

Paro Taktsang clings to a cliff about 900 m above the valley floor. Legend says Guru Rinpoche flew here on the back of a tigress in the 8th century to meditate in the cave around which the monastery was later built. The trail climbs steadily through blue pine and oak hung with prayer flags; most people take two to three hours to reach the top, and a cafeteria halfway up makes a good rest with a view straight across to the monastery.

The final section drops down hundreds of steps to a waterfall and climbs again to the gate. Cameras and bags are left in lockers before you enter the temples. After the descent and a late lunch, visit Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, said to have been founded in the 7th century by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. If you like, finish the day in a wooden tub of river water heated with hot stones at a Paro farmhouse.

Hike: about 5–6 hours return, 900 m of ascent
Overnight: Paro

Enjoy a last breakfast with the valley outside your window. Your guide and driver accompany you to Paro airport and help with check-in for your onward flight — the farewells are often warmer than travellers expect.

If your flight leaves later in the day, there may be time for a last walk along Paro's main street, a visit to the weekend vegetable market by the river or a final cup of butter tea — ask your guide the evening before and we will plan the morning around your departure time.

Drive: hotel to Paro airport, 10–30 minutes