Bhutan itinerary 7 days: Thimphu, Punakha, Phobjikha and Paro

From Paro airport to Thimphu is an hour’s drive along the valley. After check in, the first stop is the white stupa in the centre, where elderly residents walk clockwise around it and spin the big prayer wheels. Walk with them, always clockwise. Fifty minutes.

Fifteen minutes’ drive south, the 51 metre statue stands on Kuenselphodrang hill and looks over the whole valley. Inside the base are thousands of small Buddhas. Arrive before 17:00, when the temple closes, and stay for the late light in the courtyard. Forty five minutes.

Start at 9:00 high up in Motithang, where the fenced preserve keeps takins, an animal with the body of an ox and the face of a moose that legend says the Divine Madman created. An hour.

Ten minutes’ drive down the hill, the 12th century temple sits on the ridge above town. Parents bring newborns so the lama can choose their name, and the terrace looks over the whole capital. Forty five minutes. After lunch, spend the afternoon at the Centenary Farmers Market and the footbridge over the Wang Chhu, in the centre.

The fortress houses the throne room and the monastic body, and on working days it only opens to tourists from 17:00 to 18:00, after office hours; on public holidays, all day. Wear long sleeves and trousers, as at every dzong. At 17:40 the flag lowering ceremony begins.

Leave Thimphu at 8:30. In 45 minutes the road reaches the pass at 3,100 metres, where 108 white stupas form terraces. On a clear day, from October to February, the line of snowy Himalayan peaks appears. Bring a jacket: it is cold here even in summer. Forty five minutes.

An hour and a half downhill, leave the car at Sopsokha and walk 20 minutes through rice fields to the 1499 temple of the Divine Madman, Drukpa Kunley. Houses along the way have phalluses painted on the walls as protection. Couples come to ask for children and are blessed with a wooden phallus. An hour and a half with the walk.

After check in, the 1637 fortress at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu is the most beautiful dzong in the country. Cross the covered wooden bridge, climb the steep stairs and walk through its three courtyards. In spring, the jacarandas bloom purple on the bank. An hour and a half.

Ten minutes’ walk upriver, the suspension bridge of about 160 metres sways over the Pho Chhu, covered in prayer flags. Cross to the other side and back. Half an hour.

Leave at 8:00. Twenty minutes up the valley from Punakha, a suspension bridge leads to the trail that climbs through rice fields to the four storey temple stupa. It is a 40 minute climb; the rooftop terrace looks over the whole Mo Chhu valley. Two hours in total, then drive on to Phobjikha, about two and a half hours away.

After check in, the 1613 Nyingma monastery overlooks the Phobjikha valley from a hilltop. Go into the main temple and walk around the courtyard lined with monks’ quarters. An hour.

The trail of about 5 km leaves the monastery and drops through pine woods and fields to the valley floor in an hour and a half to two hours, almost all downhill. From late October to February, around 300 black-necked cranes winter here, and the crane festival takes place every 11 November in the monastery courtyard. The crane information centre in the valley has telescopes to watch them without getting close.

The day starts early, at 7:30: it is about five and a half hours by road from Phobjikha to Paro, back over Dochula and through Thimphu. Just before Paro, ask the driver to stop at Tachog Lhakhang, a temple with an iron chain bridge over the river. After check in, the old round watchtower above the dzong holds dance masks, thangkas and sacred art. An hour.

Walk down from the museum to the 1646 fortress in ten minutes. The courtyards are open until 17:00. Look for the wheel of life painted at the entrance to the main temple. Forty five minutes.

Start at 7:30 at the car park, 20 minutes from Paro. The trail climbs about 500 metres to the viewpoint opposite the 1692 monastery, which sits at 3,120 metres. Allow five to six hours return, with a stop at the halfway cafeteria. Horses are available for the way up, but not for the way down. The monastery opens from 9:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 17:00, and inside you cannot take photos or bring a backpack.

Back in the valley, the 7th century temple is 15 minutes away by car, with orange trees in the courtyard and prayer wheels around it. It reopens in the afternoon from 13:00. Forty five minutes. In the evening, many operators offer a hot stone bath at a Paro farmhouse, with dinner.

Leave at 7:00, before the clouds: in an hour the road climbs to the pass at close to 3,990 metres, covered in prayer flags. On a clear day you can see Mount Jomolhari, 7,326 metres high, and the Haa valley on the other side. Walk half an hour along the ridge and drive back down to Paro, an hour away.

Before the airport, walk across the covered wooden bridge below Rinpung Dzong. The original was swept away by a flood in 1969 and the current one follows the traditional design. On the other side, Paro’s main street has craft shops for last purchases. Forty five minutes; the airport is 10 minutes away.