Eight days built for two — private lodges, a blessing at a temple, and the quietest corners of the western valleys.
Highlights
Private riverside lodge in Punakha
Blessing at a family temple, arranged privately
Phobjikha valley at dawn
Raspberry orchards and a jacaranda walk
What is included
Private guide, driver and vehicle for the full itinerary
Seven nights in private suites, farm stays and a riverside lodge
All meals, with a private candle-lit dinner arranged
Private temple blessing ceremony for two
All permits, SDF and a surprise gift arranged locally
Professional photography session in Punakha valley
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 01 — Arrival in Paro & the private villa evening Met at Paro airport and driven straight to a Punakha valley villa, where nothing is scheduled and the river is audible from the veranda. Champagne on the terrace at sunset, a private traditional dinner, and the beginning of a week with no alarms in it.
Day 02 — Punakha Dzong and a photographer's walk A slow morning inside Punakha Dzong, then an afternoon with a photographer who knows exactly where the light falls on the jacarandas, the orchards and the river. The session is unhurried, on foot, and ends with the images edited and delivered before dinner — this is a honeymoon, not a shoot.
Day 03 — The private temple blessing A blessing arranged with a family temple above Punakha, with no other guests and no set schedule — the two of you, a lama, butter lamp smoke and an hour of quiet. It is the single most personal hour of the trip, and it is arranged privately a week in advance.
Day 04 — Phobjikha at dawn Up before first light and up to the Laya ridge, with a picnic breakfast carried up by the crew and the glacial valley below in blue shadow. The afternoon is for the cranes' marshes and the winter meadow, then a return to the Punakha villa and a slow evening.
Day 05 — Riverside afternoon in Punakha A day with nothing in it: a long lunch, a walk along the Wang Chhu, an hour in the hot stone bath, and a table set for two as the light goes. The car is on call all afternoon and is rarely needed, which is rather the point of staying in one place.
Day 06 — Thimphu, the capital and a candlelit dinner Up to the capital for the craft quarter, the market and the archery ground, with time to buy things properly rather than quickly. The evening is a private candle-lit dinner with a local family hosting, and a slow drive back down the valley afterwards.
Day 07 — The Tiger's Nest & the return to Paro An early start for the walk to Taktsang, timed so the monastery is lit from below and the valley below still full of mist. Breakfast at the viewpoint, then the drive back to Paro for the final night in a private room with the valley through the window.
Day 08 — Chimi Lhakhang & departure A last slow morning at the Chimi Lhakhang, the temple of the Great Blessing, with a final blessing for the road home. The afternoon is yours until the transfer to Paro airport, where your guide handles the departure formalities and the SDF reconciliation.