Bhutan Signature Journey

Your guide and driver meet you at Paro airport. On the road to Thimphu we pull over where the valley narrows to look across the river at Tamchog Lhakhang, reached by a bridge hung on iron chains.

The afternoon is kept light. We walk round the National Memorial Chorten with the people of the city, drive up to the Buddha Dordenma, and leave you time to find your feet on Norzin Lam, the main street, before dinner.

We begin where Bhutan's arts are taught. At the National Institute for Zorig Chusum you watch students at work on thangka painting, sculpture and woodcarving, and the Textile Museum a few minutes away shows the finest of the country's weaving.

After lunch we climb to Changangkha Lhakhang, the 12th-century temple that watches over the town, and carry on to the Takin Preserve and the Sangaygang viewpoint above it. The last stop is Tashichho Dzong, which opens to visitors when the government offices close.

The road east climbs through forest to Dochu La at 3,100 m. We stop among the 108 chortens for tea and, if the sky is clear, the long view north to the high peaks. Then comes the descent into Punakha, where the air is warm and the fields grow rice, oranges and bananas.

We walk to Chimi Lhakhang across the paddy and spend the afternoon at Punakha Dzong. Built in 1637, it sits on a spit of land between the Pho Chhu and the Mo Chhu and is still the winter home of the monastic body. A short drive upstream, a footbridge about 160 m long sways gently over the river.

Before breakfast is the best time for the walk to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten. The path crosses a footbridge, runs between rice terraces and climbs for about 45 minutes to a ridge with a view down the whole valley.

The drive to Paro takes three to four hours, with lunch at Dochu La on the way and a second chance at the mountains. In Paro we visit Rinpung Dzong in the late afternoon, when the courtyards are quiet, and walk down to the old wooden bridge below it.

Taktsang clings to a cliff high on the north side of the Paro valley. The trail up is steady and shaded, and you set the pace. Most people reach the teahouse viewpoint in about an hour and the monastery in two to three. Your guide takes you through the temples and the cave where Guru Rinpoche is said to have meditated.

After lunch we visit Kyichu Lhakhang and then a farmhouse, where the family will show you how a traditional Bhutanese house is laid out, from the animals' floor to the altar room.

A short drive to the airport after breakfast. Your guide stays with you until you are checked in.