Nine days through Bhutan's spiritual heartland — the jacaranda valleys, the Four Sacred Mountains and the cliff temples of Kurjey.
Highlights
Punakha Dzong and the jacaranda season
Wangdue suspension bridge
The three Kurjey Lhakhang cliff temples
The Four Sacred Mountains of Bumthang
What is included
Licensed cultural guide throughout
Eight nights in heritage lodges and farm stays
All meals, including a Bumthang cheese and red rice dinner
All monastery fees, permits and SDF
Private vehicle with driver and a local tea-house stop
Traditional Bhutanese dinner and folk music evening
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 01 — Thimphu to Wangdue & the suspension bridge Leave Thimphu after breakfast, stopping at the Chimi Lhakhang en route before descending to Wangdue Phodrang. The afternoon is spent on the new suspension bridge above the Wang Chhu, 180 metres above the water, with the rapids audible and the dzong town on the far bank.
Day 02 — Punakha Dzong, Rigu Gompa & the orchards A morning inside Punakha Dzong, the most graceful of the dzongs, built on the spit where the two rivers meet. After lunch, the walk up to Rigu Gompa — a treasury of early wall paintings and one of the finest views of the valley — and an afternoon in the raspberry orchards south of town.
Day 03 — Khuruthang, the chorten forest and Punakha The site of the 1959 Uprising and the memorial chorten forest at Khuruthang, then the climb to the chapel above Khuruthang with its frescoed entrance. The afternoon is free in Punakha — a spa treatment, a walk to the dzong, or simply an hour doing nothing, which is also a legitimate Bhutanese plan.
Day 04 — Into Trongsa, the most unusual dzong The road south passes Wangdue Phodrang and climbs to Trongsa, where the dzong has a tapering four-storey watchtower rather than the usual two. Beside it stands the Ta Dzong, built as a guard post and now the country's folk art museum — the only museum in Bhutan is a dzong.
Day 05 — Trongsa to Bumthang & the four mountains Turn east into the Golden Thumb of the Kingdom, arriving in Bumthang as the light goes amber on the ring of sacred mountains. Evening walk through Jakar's main street to the Jakar Dzong, and dinner of red rice, buckwheat pancakes and Bumthang cheese in a restored lodge.
Day 06 — Kurjey Lhakhang: three temples on a cliff The sacred centre of Bumthang, where Guru Rinpoche is said to have left a body imprint in rock. Three temples sit on a single cliff above the river — Kurjey, Wangchsek and Deche Pema — and the walk between them passes through the forest above the valley. A full day in the valley of the four mountai…
Day 07 — Takerthing Lhakhang & the Bumthang loop The great red-trunked Takerthing Lhakhang above Jakar, with its enormous gilded tree and the relics kept in its upper chapel, then the loop around the valley to the hot springs at the Bumthang dairy farm. The evening is a traditional dinner with folk music, played by a family ensemble rather than a…
Day 08 — Ura valley, the last valley of Bumthang The road climbs to Ura, the most beautiful of the Bumthang valleys, with wood shingle villages, terraced fields and a landscape that feels a decade behind the rest of the kingdom. A slow day of walking, weaving-farm visits and long lunches, then back to Jakar for the night.
Day 09 — Return to Thimphu & departure A morning flight or a long drive back west, with a stop at the Wang Chhu rapids below Thimphu if the day allows. Your guide handles the SDF reconciliation and accompanies you to the airport, with a final cup of butter tea and a promise that Bhutan will be here when you return.