Bhutan Himalayan Highlights & Tiger’s Nest Journey — 7-Day Itinerary

Route: Paro — Thimphu — Dochula Pass — Punakha — Paro

Day 1: Arrive Paro (2,250m) — Welcome & Orientation

• Arrive at Paro International Airport (PBH). Your Summit Routes representative and licensed guide meet you on arrival. The approach to Paro through the mountain valley is itself one of the most memorable moments of any Bhutan visit — the runway sits in a narrow valley at 2,235m, and the descent through the mountain corridor is one of the most spectacular in commercial aviation.
• Transfer to the hotel, check in, and rest. Paro town in the afternoon at leisure — the main street’s traditional carved-timber shophouses, the Rinpung Dzong visible on the hillside across the valley, and the Paro Chhu river below.
• Evening orientation briefing with your guide: Tiger’s Nest preparation, daily programme, cultural guidance for temple visits, and an overview of Bhutan’s tourism framework and the SDF.
• Overnight: Hotel Olathang or similar, Paro
• Meals: Dinner

Day 2: Tiger’s Nest Hike & Paro Valley

Hike: ~4–5 hours return | 400m elevation gain to the monastery complex

• The day around which the rest of the programme is organised. Depart for the Tiger’s Nest trailhead early in the morning to beat cloud build-up. The trail ascends through pine and rhododendron forest to a ridge viewpoint at approximately 2,900m — from here Taktsang Palphug Monastery is visible across the gorge at 3,120m, clinging to a sheer cliff face that drops 900m to the valley floor. The monastery complex, built in 1692 and restored after a 1998 fire, is painted white with gold trim and appears, impossibly, to grow directly out of the rock.
• Descend from the viewpoint into the gorge, cross a waterfall, and climb to the monastery entrance. Your guide leads you through the six sacred temples of the complex. The hike is the most physically demanding element of the 7-day programme — allow a full 4–5 hours for the return journey at a comfortable pace. Horses are available for hire for the ascent to the viewpoint if needed (payable locally).
• Afternoon visit to Kyichu Lhakhang — one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, built in the 7th century by the Tibetan Emperor Songtsen Gampo. A peaceful and beautiful counterpoint to the drama of Tiger’s Nest.
• Overnight: Hotel Olathang or similar, Paro
• Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3: Drive Paro to Thimphu (55 km) — Buddha Dordenma & Memorial Chorten

Drive: ~55 km | ~2 hours via the Tachogang suspension bridge

• After breakfast, drive east to Thimphu. En route, cross the Tachogang Lhakhang bridge — a traditional iron-chain suspension bridge built in the 15th century by the Tibetan bridge-builder Thangtong Gyalpo, still in use and one of the oldest chain bridges in the world.
• Buddha Dordenma — an 51.5-metre gilt bronze statue of Shakyamuni Buddha on a hilltop above Thimphu, visible from much of the Thimphu Valley. The base contains a meditation hall; the interior of the statue itself houses 100,000 smaller Buddha figures in gold and bronze.
• Memorial Chorten (Thimphu) — built in 1974 in memory of the third King of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, this is the most active religious monument in Thimphu. Local residents circumambulate it throughout the day in an unbroken flow of devotion — one of the most accessible and moving displays of living Buddhist practice in the country.
• Evening stroll through the Thimphu weekend market if the timing aligns, or the town centre bazaar.
• Overnight: Hotel Migmar, Thimphu or similar
• Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4: Thimphu — Culture, Crafts & Heritage

• School of Traditional Arts — Zorig Chusum — the government school where students spend years mastering Bhutan’s thirteen traditional arts and crafts: thangka painting, wood carving, embroidery, weaving, sculpture, and more. Visitors can watch students at work in each department. The quality and dedication visible in a single morning here reshapes how you understand Bhutanese cultural production.
• Folk Heritage Museum — a reconstructed three-storey traditional rammed-earth farmhouse with exhibits and live demonstrations of rural Bhutanese life, crops, tools, and domestic arrangements of the 19th–early 20th century. The best introduction to the culture of the Bhutanese countryside available in Thimphu.
• Tashichho Dzong — the great fortified monastery on the banks of the Wang Chhu, seat of Bhutan’s government and the summer residence of the Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot). The dzong was rebuilt in the current form in the 1960s–70s. The inner courtyard is one of the finest architectural spaces in Bhutan; visits are permitted to the outer sections.
• Optional: Changangkha Lhakhang — a 12th-century temple perched on a ridge above Thimphu with one of the finest views of the capital, and a constant flow of parents bringing newborn children to receive blessings and auspicious names from the presiding deity Tamdrin.
• Overnight: Hotel Migmar, Thimphu or similar
• Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5: Drive Thimphu to Punakha via Dochula Pass — Punakha Dzong

Drive: ~75 km | ~3 hours including Dochula Pass stop

• Dochula Pass (3,100m) — the mountain pass on the Thimphu–Punakha road, adorned with the Druk Wangyal Chortens — 108 memorial stupas arranged in concentric circles across the pass summit, built in 2005 by the Queen Mother. On clear mornings (best in autumn and winter) the pass gives an unobstructed panorama of the eastern Himalayan range, including Gangkhar Puensum (7,570m) — the world’s highest unclimbed mountain. One of the finest views of the high Himalaya available from any road in the region.
• Descend from the pass into the warm, subtropical Punakha Valley — a dramatic change from the cold and altitude of Thimphu. Punakha sits at 1,200m and the valley’s climate supports rice paddies, banana trees, and a completely different visual character from the western valleys.
• Punakha Dzong — Pungthang Dechen Phodrang — the “Palace of Great Happiness,” built in 1637 at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. The dzong is connected to the riverbank by a traditional covered footbridge; the interior courtyard, the painted timber galleries, and the floral murals of the Utse (central tower) are among the finest ecclesiastical interiors in Bhutan.
• Overnight: Meri Puensum Resort, Punakha or similar
• Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 6: Punakha — Chimi Lhakhang & Suspension Bridge — Return to Paro

Drive: ~3 hours return to Paro

• Morning walk to Chimi Lhakhang — the temple of Drukpa Kunley, the 15th-century Buddhist saint known as the Divine Madman, whose unorthodox and often ribald approach to teaching is celebrated throughout Bhutan. The temple sits on a hillock in the middle of the Punakha farmland, reached by a 20-minute walk through rice paddies and small hamlets. The path through the fields and the rural character of the approach are as rewarding as the temple itself.
• Walk the Punakha suspension bridge — one of the longest traditional suspension bridges in Bhutan, spanning the Pho Chhu gorge. The bridge sways with each step; the view into the gorge below and the prayer flags along the span make this a memorable crossing.
• Drive back to Paro (~3 hours) via the Dochula Pass — a final opportunity to appreciate the mountain landscape before departure.
• Overnight: Hotel Olathang or similar, Paro
• Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7: Departure from Paro

• After breakfast, check out and transfer to Paro International Airport (PBH) for your onward flight. Most Paro departures are early morning — confirm your check-out time with the guide the night before. The departure from the mountain valley completes the Bhutan circuit.
• Meals: Breakfast