Licensed Bhutanese tour operator · Thimphu
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West to centre across five valleys, in the best rooms in the country, with a private blessing at a family temple and a heritage farmhouse dinner arranged around it.
The route runs west to centre: Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Phobjikha, Trongsa and the four valleys of Bumthang, which are the religious heart of Bhutan and where its first temples were built in the seventh century. Crossing the Pele La and the Yotong La to reach them takes two long driving days, and they are worth every hour.
What separates this itinerary is access. A private blessing at a family lhakhang that does not admit tourists. Dinner in a heritage farmhouse in Bumthang, cooked by the family who live in it. An afternoon with a master weaver in Thimphu rather than a demonstration for a group. A monk who will sit down and answer questions properly, at length, in English.
Accommodation is at the top of what the country offers — the lodge and boutique properties in each valley, subject to availability at the time of booking. We will tell you exactly which, in writing, before you commit, and we will not substitute downward without asking you.
This journey is quoted for your dates, your party size, your accommodation preference and anything you want changed. Government fees are shown as separate lines.
Written itinerary and full quotation usually within 24 hours. Nothing to pay to ask.
Written the way we would actually run it — with the drives, the walking hours and the altitude you sleep at, so you can judge the days for yourself. Anything here can be changed before you travel, and most of it can be changed on the morning.
Met on the tarmac and driven the short distance to your lodge. A quiet afternoon: Kyichu Lhakhang, and the river path below Rinpung Dzong.
The Tiger’s Nest with an early start, a packed lunch at the viewpoint and ponies for the first half if you want them. Hot stone bath in a farmhouse in the evening.
East to the capital. In the afternoon, time with a master weaver working kushuthara — the supplementary-weft brocade that takes a year for a single kira — and then Tashichho Dzong at the close of day.
The pass early for the mountains, then the long descent into the warm valley. Chimi Lhakhang across the fields in the afternoon.
The dzong at opening, and later a private blessing at a family lhakhang above the valley, arranged for you alone. Afternoon: Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten through the rice terraces.
Over the Lawa La into the Black Mountains and the glacial valley. Gangtey Goenpa in the afternoon and, from November to February, the cranes coming in to roost at dusk.
East over the Pele La at 3,420 metres and down the Mangde Chhu gorge. Trongsa Dzong is the largest in Bhutan and the seat from which the monarchy came; the Ta Dzong watchtower above it is now the royal heritage museum.
Over the Yotong La into Chumey, the first of the Bumthang valleys, stopping at the yathra weaving workshops. On to Jakar in the afternoon.
Jambay Lhakhang, built in the seventh century as one of a hundred and eight raised in a single day; Kurjey Lhakhang, where Guru Rinpoche left a body-print in rock; and Tamshing, founded by Pema Lingpa. Dinner in a heritage farmhouse with the family who own it.
North-east into the Tang valley for Mebar Tsho, the pool where Pema Lingpa is said to have dived holding a butter lamp and surfaced with it still burning. Afternoon at Ogyen Choling, a manor house museum kept by the family that has held it for centuries.
The domestic flight west from Bathpalathang — forty minutes instead of two days of driving, and a Himalayan skyline the whole way. Afternoon free in Paro.
Transfer to the airport for the morning flight.
Photographs from the valleys this itinerary passes through. Ask us for more — we have a great many, and we would rather send you real ones than stock.
If yours is not here, send it — we answer properly and we will tell you if the trip is wrong for you.
It depends on the season and on availability when you book, and we will not put names on a web page that we cannot guarantee. What we will do is send you the exact property list in writing before you pay anything, and we will not downgrade without asking you first.
Yes, and this itinerary only asks you to do it once — we fly you back. Bumthang is where Buddhism entered Bhutan and it feels different from the west: wider, quieter, older. Most people who go say it was the part they remember.
It usually is. Every itinerary we publish is run privately by default — you, your guide and your driver. Tell us the ages and interests of the group and we will adjust the walking, the driving days and the temple time accordingly.
Read these before you enquire. Everything here is written so that nothing on the page above reads as a promise we cannot keep.
Hot stone baths, farmhouse meals, archery, rafting, meditation sessions and monastery visits are arranged locally and are subject to availability, weather, river conditions and the monastic calendar. Where something cannot run on the day, your guide will offer an alternative.
You sleep between the altitudes shown at the top of this page. Take the first day slowly, drink more than feels necessary, and tell your guide immediately about headache, nausea or unusual breathlessness.
Hotels are named in your final itinerary and quotation rather than on this page. Properties are certified by the Department of Tourism and are confirmed once your dates are held; if a substitution becomes necessary we will tell you before you travel and will not move you to a lower grade without asking.
International flight routes, frequencies and schedules vary by season and change at short notice. Current connections will be confirmed during trip planning. Leave a night either side of your Paro flights rather than booking a same-day onward connection.
The visa application fee is US$40 per person, one-time and non-refundable, and the Sustainable Development Fee applicable to your dates will be identified as a separate line in your quotation. Comprehensive travel insurance, particularly medical and emergency evacuation cover, is strongly recommended; it is not a government visa requirement.
Roads, weather, monastic calendars and local events can all move a day around. Your guide will discuss any change with you at the time, and the shape of the trip is yours to adjust before you travel and, for most days, on the morning.
Every journey is individually quoted. Tell us your travel dates, the number of travellers, your accommodation preference and anything you would like changed about the Five Valleys Signature itinerary, and we will prepare a detailed quotation for your trip.
Fields marked * are required. Prefer to write directly? evergreentcpf@gmail.com · +975 77439181
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