Journey · 10 nights

Bumthang, the Spiritual Heartland

East to the four valleys where Buddhism entered Bhutan — Chokhor, Tang, Ura and Chhume — over three passes, sleeping in farmhouses.

A whitewashed farmhouse and a village lhakhang with a red tiered roof, under a wooded hill — Photograph — A village lhakhang and farmhouse

10 nightsArriving and departing Paro
From USD 3,100Per person, everything included
2 to 8 peopleOne group at a time, never merged
All seasonsBest September to November and March to May

Day by day

Eleven days, most of them east of where the buses turn back.

This is the long one. Bumthang is eight hours from Thimphu on a road that climbs three passes, and the distance is exactly why it still feels the way it does.

Day 1

Arrive Paro

Met at the airport, Kyichu Lhakhang if you are up to it, early night.

Day 2

Paro · Taktsang

The Tiger’s Nest in the morning, the rest of the day yours.

Day 3

Paro to Thimphu

An hour and a half along the river. The Memorial Chorten late in the day.

Day 4

Thimphu to Punakha

Over Dochula at 3,100 metres, where 108 chortens stand on the hillside and, on a clear autumn morning, the eastern Himalaya stands up behind them. Punakha Dzong at the meeting of two rivers — the most beautiful building in Bhutan, and we will not be argued out of it.

Day 5

Punakha to Trongsa

Over Pele La at 3,420 metres and past Chendebji Chorten, built in the Nepali style to pin down a demon. Trongsa Dzong is the ancestral seat of the royal family and runs along a ridge above a gorge; the watchtower above it is now the best museum in the country.

Day 6

Trongsa to Bumthang

Over Yotong La and down through Chhume, where the yathra weaving is done — wool, not silk, and the patterns are particular to these villages. Into Jakar by the afternoon.

Day 7

The Chokhor valley

Jambay Lhakhang, said to be one of 108 temples raised in a single night in the seventh century. Kurjey Lhakhang, built around the rock where Guru Rinpoche left the imprint of his body. Tamshing, founded by Pema Lingpa himself. Walkable, one to the next, in a morning.

Day 8

The Tang valley

Out to Mebar Tsho, the Burning Lake, where Pema Lingpa is said to have gone into the water with a lamp and come out with the lamp still lit and the treasure in his hand. Then up to Ogyen Choling, a family manor turned museum that shows how a noble household actually lived.

Day 9

Ura

The highest of the four valleys at 3,100 metres, with a cluster of houses around a temple and cobbled lanes between them. In autumn the buckwheat is in and the valley smells of it.

Day 10

Bumthang to Punakha

The long way back west, stopping where you want to rather than where the schedule says.

Day 11

To Paro, depart

Down to Paro and the morning flight.

What it costs

USD 3,100 per person.

Based on two people sharing. Ten nights is the right length for Bumthang; anything shorter and you spend most of it in the car.

Sustainable Development Fee, 10 nightsUSD 1,000
Hotels, all meals, transport, guide, driver, entriesUSD 2,000
Goods & Services Tax at 5%USD 100
Per personUSD 3,100

Not included: international flights to Paro, the USD 40 visa fee, travel insurance, alcohol and anything you buy for yourself.

25% deposit to confirm, balance 30 days before you arrive.How to pay Cancellation terms Questions

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