4 Days Bhutan Tour - Thimphu, Paro & Tiger's Nest

Your flight into Paro drops between forested ridges onto one of the most talked-about airstrips in the Himalayas, and our representative meets you the moment you clear customs. From there it's a scenic hour or so up the valley to Thimphu (2,334m), Bhutan's capital and, at a few hundred thousand people, a capital that still feels like a market town.

You'll begin at the Memorial Chorten, the white stupa built in 1974 for the third King, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, where elderly Thimphu residents walk slow clockwise laps and turn the prayer wheels well into the evening. Then a gentle walk from Kuensel Phodrang across to Changangkha Lhakhang, with the valley opening up beneath you, before some free time in Thimphu town to find dinner and adjust to the altitude.

A full day in the capital, starting high above it. The Buddha Dordenma sits on a ridge south of the city — 51.5 metres of gilded bronze with 125,000 smaller Buddha statues housed inside the throne it rests on — and the terrace around it is the best single view of Thimphu you'll get.

From there the day is deliberately varied: the Wangditse trail, an easy pine-forest path lined with prayer flags; the Motithang Takin Preserve, home to the national animal and an animal so odd that legend credits a 15th-century saint with assembling it from a goat and a cow; Simply Bhutan, a living museum where staff walk you through village houses, dress, archery and butter tea; and the National Institute for Zorig Chusum, the painting school where students spend years learning the thirteen traditional Bhutanese arts. You'll finish at the viewpoint over Tashichho Dzong, the fortress-monastery that houses the throne room and the government, floodlit after dark.

An early breakfast, then the drive back down to Paro and on to the base of Taktsang Monastery — about an hour and a half. This is the day the whole trip is built around.

Tiger's Nest is a steady uphill walk rather than a technical climb, but it earns its reputation: five to six hours round trip at a comfortable pace, through pine forest hung with prayer flags, past a cafeteria at the halfway point, then a staircase down and back up across a waterfall to the monastery buildings themselves. Ponies can be hired for the uphill section as far as the cafeteria. Standing at the top, looking back down 900m of cliff at the valley you drove through that morning, is the moment people come to Bhutan for.

Afterwards you'll visit Kyichu Lhakhang, believed to have been founded in the 7th century and among the oldest temples in Bhutan, then head into Paro for a traditional hot-stone bath if you'd like one, and time to browse the handicraft and souvenir shops along the main street.

Please note: shoes, bags and cameras must be left outside before entering the monastery.

After breakfast and hotel check-out, you'll be transferred to Paro International Airport in good time for your onward flight. If your schedule allows a late departure, your guide can suggest a last stop in Paro town on the way.