Classic trips in spring+autumn
Focus selectable: Flora & Fauna or Monastery Festivals
Example: 13 nights in Bhutan (1 night in Delhi if required)
1) Evening flight Vienna Delhi. (non-stop 7 hours)
2) Am at Delhi
Onward flight to Paro/Bhutan (2 3/4 hours) or one night in Delhi, depending on the connecting flight. Arriving in Bhutan, we get the first impression of this beautiful country, get a taste of Paro Town or visit one of the oldest temples in Bhutan, the Kyichu Temple from the 7th century.
3) The capital of BHUTAN, THIMPHU
We visit Puensum College, where boys and girls learn the 13 most important trades, e.g. painting, pottery, carving, etc.
a quaint, small PAPER MANUFACTORY
the new TEXTILE MUSEUM...... Return to Paro.
4) Flight: Paro - JAKAR (Central Bhutan) domestic flight (30 min.)
The town of Jakar is on a main road, lined with many small shops, a very good cafe and a souvenir shop with maps, books and the famous Bhutanese stamps.
Important temples and monasteries are concentrated in a small area in the Bumthang region. The district includes 4 valleys, Chume, Choekhor, Tang and Ura, all ranging in altitude from 2,600 to 4,000 m. There is agriculture, yak and sheep farming...
Visit the JAKAR DZONG, the fortress of the white bird.
5) Visit Tamshing Lhakhang Small Spiritual Monastery. Founded by Pema Lingpa in 1501, a small community of monks who fled Ihodrak in southern Tibet in 1959 settled here.
Here there are probably the oldest surviving paintings in Bhutan,
After that we hike to Kurje-Lhakhang Monastery.....Kurje is one of the holiest places in Bhutan......very beautiful!
Here, according to legend, there is the back imprint of Guru Rinpoche in the rock, very spiritual!!!
6) THE TANG VALLEY, with the UGYEN CHOLING PALACE. The museum is family owned by the author, KUZANG CHODEN, who wrote the wonderful children's book DAVA.
You get a sense of how people lived here a hundred years ago.
After immersing ourselves in the world of an old Bhutanese household, we drive back to Bumthang/Jakar.
7) Stroll through JAKAR and hike to the "burning lake".
8) DRIVE TO TRONGSA , the longest dzong in Bhutan.
This is a mighty fortress in central Bhutan, where in earlier times customs were still required to go from east to west and vice versa. An interesting museum has been set up in the defense tower with Austrian help. It shows the development of the monarchy in Bhutan.
9) POBJIKA ....trip to "CRANES VALLEY".
The MONASTERY in GANGTEY is beautiful, very old and draughty. It is the only NYINGMAPA monastery on the west side of the black mountains and at the same time the largest in all of Bhutan. It is directed by the TULKU of the 9th reincarnations.
Hike from or to the monastery.
10) VISIT TO THE CRANE STATION
The cranes spend the winter here and then fly back to Tibet in the spring. The king has arranged for the power lines to be laid underground. He didn't want to see a single crane dead!
Continue towards Lobeysa, in Wangdiphodrang District. We walk across fields and meadows to the 15th century temple without a dog, "the Crazy Divine!" The Chime-Ihakhang, is a place of pilgrimage for barren women. The village is famous for its many painted phalli on the house walls.
11) Hike to CHORTS OF QUEEN MOTHER ASHI, then go to famous PUNAKHA DZONG.
Queen Ashi built the 108 Kamsum Yule Namgyel Stupas. The trek there is beautiful and starts at a suspension bridge, past rice fields.
Punakha was the winter capital of the country for over 300 years, it is about 1350m high and is still the winter residence of the monks. They move from Thimphu to Punakha for 6 months.
The PUNAKHA DZONG is the most important dzong of Bhutan. It includes 21 temples. The coronation festivities of the young 5th King Jingme Khesar Nangyel Wangchuck (2008) and his marriage to the pilot's daughter JETSUM PEMA were celebrated there.
12) Today we return to Thimphu via the Dochula Pass. We stop at the pass with the 108 stupas. When the sky is clear, a beautiful panoramic view of the Himalayas with its many snow-capped mountain peaks opens up. 8 km outside of Thimphu stands the GOLDEN BUDDHA (2600) or Kuenselphodrang, high up and visible from afar. It is the symbol of Bhutan.
Back in Paro, you have free time to shop for souvenirs or to stroll around the town.
13) In HAA VALLY we dive into a very late tourist area in the west of the country, close to Tibet.
14) Full day excursion: We hike to the most famous monastery in Bhutan, the "TIGERNEST" at an altitude of 3,200m. It was built high on a rocky outcrop by Guru Rinpoche.
He miraculously came flying on the back of a tigress in the 8th century. According to Bhutanese tradition, one of the Master's wives assumed the form of a tiger for the occasion. He meditated in a cave in Taktshang for 3 months and converted the Paro Valley to Buddhism.
Happy “GET TOGETHER” in the evening
15) Morning departure - arrival in Vienna around 19.30