Thimphu Tshechu will be held on 7th – 9th October for the year 2019.It was initiated by the 4th Desi, Gyalse Tenzin Rabgay in 1867. The festival takes place in Tendrel Thang (festival ground which is located in front of the Tashichhoedzong). Various religious activities starting from mask dances (chham) and folk dances are performed. It is believed that one acquires good merits and cleanse oneself of the bad luck by witnessing the mask dance. The monks perform eight forms of dances representing eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche (also known as Padmasambhava) which was being performed by him in order to restore the health of the King Sindhu Raja. Hence, mask dance became the heart core of the festival. The monks wear majestic silk robes and beautifully crafted masks. People from all over the kingdom make it to this grand celebration along with their loved ones. Moreover, most of our visitors plan their holidays during the month of October as it coincides with Thimphu Tshechu and the weather is favourable. October month is one of the busiest tourist season according to the research done by the TCB (Tourism Council of Bhutan).

• Day 1 (06 OCTOBER)
  ARRIVE PARO

• Day 2 (07 OCTOBER)
  THIMPHU/div>

• Day 3 (08 OCTOBER)
  TTHIMPHU

• Day 4 (09 OCTOBER)
  THIMPHU -PUNAKHA

• Day 5 (10 OCTOBER)
  PUNAKHA -THIMPHU – PARO

• Day 6 (11 OCTOBER)
  PARO

• Day 7
  DEPARTURE FROM PARO- OUR GUIDE WILL DROP YOU AT THE AIRPORT

Detailed Itinerary

DAY 01 (ARRIVE PARO AIRPORT)

You will be received at the Paro airport. You will be engaged in sightseeing around Paro after lunch wherein you will get to visit Taa Dzong (Museum), Paro Rinpung Dzong, Drugyal Dzong, and Kicchu Lhakhang.

Taa Dzong – lies on the hill located above the Paro Dzong. It is an ancient watch tower which is now used as the National Museum. The building has a unique design built in a shape of a conch shell. The museum has different galleries which provide better display and various categorizations such as anthropology, arms and armor, pre-history, manuscript, paintings, textiles, bronzes, decorative arts, philatelic items, epigraphic items and numismatics.

Next visit will be to Paro Rinpung Dzong. Rinpung means, “Heaps of jewels” and it is a fortress monastery possessing a long history. Inside the Dzong, there are fourteen shrines and chapels.

After exploring Paro Rinpung Dzong, we will accompany you to Drugyal Dzong and Kicchu Lhakhang. Drugyal Dzong is one of the oldest Dzongs in the country which was built to commemorate the victory over an invasion from Tibet. This Dzong now lies in ruins. Right after the visit to Drugyal Dzong, you would enjoy the visit to Kicchu Lhakhang on the way back to the Paro town. The temple is one of the oldest temple built by a Tibetan Emperor, Songtsan Gampo. It is believed that this temple is filled with various hidden treasures.

Overnight at your hotel in Paro

DAY 02 (THIMPHU)

Sightseeing and Resume Thimphu festival.

After breakfast, drive to Thimphu in the morning. You will visit the following places in Thimphu

• Visit Tashi Chhoe Dzong – This marvelous fortress was built by Lama Gyalwa Lhanapa. The Dzong houses the office of the King, the cabinet secretariat, ministry of home affairs and finance and also other government departments.

• Visit Bhutanese Craft Bazaar – It is a handicraft market in Thimphu which is acquainted with unique arts and crafts of the country. It will indeed take you to the different world exhibiting its own beauty and charm.

• Watch Archery game – Visit the changlimithang ground to witness an Archery match. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan and the sports is played by the Bhutanese on several occasions. Archery is played differently in Bhutan as compared with the internal standards where the two targets are placed 100 meters apart from each other

• Visit centenary market – in the evening where many local produces foods stuffs as well as arts and crafts are sold in the market. Thus, this provide great opportunities for interacting with the local and photography session.

Overnight at your hotel in Thimphu

DAY 03 THIMPHU- ATTEND THIMPHU TSHECHU (FESTIVAL)

We will accompany you to Tashichhodzong in order to attend the Thimphu festival right after breakfast. Tshechu means the 10th day of each month of the lunar calendar (Buddhist calendar). The festival is annually held in every dzongkhags (districts) on the tenth day of different months. It is performed as a tribute to Guru Rinpoche for bringing Buddhism to Bhutan.

People from all walks of life come together in their best Bhutanese attires and scintillating jewelries. Men are dressed in their finest gho (national dress for men) while women in their extravagant hand woven Kiras (national dress for women). It is an occasion wherein one can see families walking towards the fortress with lunch baskets filled with delicious Bhutanese cuisines starting from red rice, varieties of vegetables and meat is a must dish in every person’s plate, if one is a non-vegetarian. They make sure to appear best and eat best on these special days along with their families and friends. The offices will be closed since the government will declare holiday so that the people can be a part of this grand celebration and be blessed at the end of the day. So if you are looking forward to an adventurous holiday, Thimphu Tshechu awaits you!

Overnight at your hotel in Thimphu.

DAY 04 (THIMPHU – PUNAKHA)

We will assure a smooth and exciting drive for about 2 hours towards the amazingly beautiful Punakha valley. You would make a visit to some of the loveliest places as mentioned below.

• Visit Dochula Pass – On the way to Punakha you will come across Do Chula pass which is placed 3100 meters above the sea level. There are about 108 sacred stupas or temples being build out there. Gangkar Puensum, the highest peak in Bhutan is seen from the Dochula Pass.

• Visit Punakha Dzong – Punakha Dzong is the second largest and one of the most beautiful dzongs in Bhutan. It was built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel as prophesied by Guru Rinpochhe. This Dzong is built at the confluence of Po Chhu and Mo chhu.

• Visit Chimi Lhakhang – It is a popular Buddhist monastery built around 1499 by Ngawang Chogyal in honor of Lama Drukpa Kuenley who is also known as a “divine madman” after he subdued the demon of the Dochula with his “magic thunderbolt of wisdom”. He is called as a “Divine madman because of his unusual ways of teaching Buddhism by means of singing, humor and outrageous behavior, which amounted to being bizarre and awful. He is also considered as a symbol of fertility and most childless couples visit his temple for blessing.

• Wangdue Dzong – Towards the evening, we will take you to Wangdue Dzong for a sightseeing. This beautiful Dzong was built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel around 1638 on a high ridge between two rivers i.e. Puna tsang Chhu and dang chhu. The Dzong was built to prevent invasions from the south.

Overnight at your hotel in Punakha/ Wangduephodrang.

DAY 05 (PUNAKHA – THIMPHU – PARO)

In the morning drive to Yabesa village and hike through rice fields up to the Khamsum Yueley Namgyal Chorten. The temple was built by her majesty the queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuk on a hilltop on the bank of the river. The Chorten houses paintings belonging to Nyingmapa traditions.

After, taking a picnic lunch along the riverside, we will drive back to Thimphu. You will have an opportunity to visit handicrafts and souvenir stores to buy gifts for your loved ones back at home. Afterwards proceed to Paro.

Overnight at your hotel in Paro

DAY 06 (PARO- HIKE TO TAKSANG MONASTRY)

After the breakfast, there will be a hike to Taktsang Monastery. Paro Taktshang is one of the most prominent tourist destinations of the country and your trip would be tedious without visiting this most important Buddhist temple. Taktshang “Tiger’s nest” is built on a cliff which is about 3120 meters above the sea level. It is located 10 km away from the Paro town and will take at least 2-4 hours for trekkers to reach the spot. You can even have an exhilarating uphill ride on a rented horse. It is believed that Guru Rinpoche (Buddhist saint) came riding on a tigress to this site and meditated in the cave for 3 years, 3 months, 3 days and 3 hours so as to subdue evil spirits dwelling in that region. He was indeed victorious which is why Taktshang was built to signify the victory over the evil spirit. There is a Taktshang cafeteria which serves tea, lunch, snacks and fruit drinks at a reasonable price as well.

In the evening, we will accompany you to a farm house in Paro for a hot stone bath. This traditional bath uses fresh water from the river mixed with Artemisia leaves. The water is then heated by dipping hot stones in the water tub. This hot stone bath is a traditional method of healing diseases. In additional, you would feel relax while taking hot stone bath. So, if you are tired, a hot stone bath is all you need!

Overnight at your hotel in Paro

DAY 07 PARO-DEPARTURE FROM PARO AIRPORT

After the breakfast, we will drop you to the Paro International Airport from where you will fly back home.

Khadenchey la!