Jambay Lhakhang is one of the 108 temples built by the Tibetan king called Songtsen Gampo in 7th century and it is located in Bumthang. The Kichu lhakhang in Paro was also built on the same day. The King was destined to build 108 temples on and across the border so as to subdue the demons in the Himalayan region.
Jambay Lhakhang Drup is one of the most unique festival held yearly in Bumthang. This festival last for five days in the courtyard of the temple. Various cham dances like Ter cham (the Naked Dance), Mewang, Macham, Ging Tsholing, Dramtse Ngacham, Zhana Cham etc, are performed by the local villagers of Norgang, Changwa and Nangsiphel. Amongst all the chams, the Jambay Lhakhang Drup Tsechu is well known for Ter cham (the Naked Dance), and Mewang cham (the fire blessing). The sacred naked dance is performed at mid night while the fire dance is held in the evening to bless infertile women with children.
Day 1
ARRIVE PARO – THIMPHU
Day 2
THIMPHU
Day 3
THIMPHU TO PUNAKHA
Day 4
PUNAKHA – BUMTHANG
Day 5
BUMTHANG
Day 6
BUMTHANG-ATTEND THE FESTIVAL
Day 7
BUMTHANG – GANGTEY
Day 8
GANGTEY – PARO
Day 7
DEPARTURE FROM PARO- OUR GUIDE WILL DROP YOU AT THE AIRPORT
DAY 01 (ARRIVE PARO TO THIMPHU)
You will be received at the Airport. We will have a smooth drive towards Thimphu which would approximately take 1 hour from Paro. You will visit the following places and other sightseeing in and around Thimphu.
Visit Buddha Dordenma Statue – It is a massive Shakyamuni statue built on the hill top of Kuenselphodrang which is 51.5 meters in height and is made up of bronze and gold. It is one of the largest statue in the world. This great statue also houses over one hundred thousand small Buddha statues. I bet that you will be startled to gaze at this gigantic statue right in front of you.
Visit Bhutan Post Office – Bhutan post office is located in the heart of the Thimphu city. This is one exciting place to visit as there is unique collection of Bhutanese stamps and you will get to explore about Bhutan’s history from these stamps as well.
Visit Museum – Thimphu has Many Museums. Each artifact in the museum has its own stories to tell which you would love to listen to.
Visit Royal Textile Academy
Simply Bhutan Museum
National Folk Heritage
National Textile Museum
Overnight at your hotel in Thimphu
DAY 02 (THIMPHU)
After breakfast, drive back 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 TO PUNAKHA)
Travel to Punakha (2 hours’ drive)
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.
Drive back to Paro in Punakha
Overnight at your hotel in Paro.
DAY 04 (PUNAKHA TO BUMTHANG)
Early in the morning, we will have a drive towards Trongsa which will take 5 hours maximum and stay for few minutes in Trongsa to see the beautiful and magnificent Trongsa Dzong. We will explain to you the significance of this beautiful fortress. Then we will head towards Bumthang which is 2 hours away from Trongsa.
Overnight at your hotel in Bumthang
DAY 05 (BUMTHANG)
Explore beautiful Bumthang Valley
Bumthang is located in north-central region of Bhutan. The place is commonly known as spiritual land of the country. It is well-known for its unique and vibrantly woven wool items called yathra which will be a best thing you could ever gift it to your loved ones back at home. During your stay in this beautiful place, you will be able to visit and discover sacred places, shrines and temples specifically:
Jambay Lhakhang
Kurjey Lhakhang
Tamshing Lhakhang
Jakar Dzong also known as ‘the Castle of the white bird’
In the afternoon, you will also visit Dorjibi weaving center which is thirty minutes away from Bumthang town. This weaving center is a joint initiative of WWF Bhutan and Wangchuk Centennial Park. This center was established to allow the locals to earn a decent income and also to preserve the culture of weaving in that locality.
Overnight at your hotel in Bumthang
DAY 06 (BUMTHANG)
Witness and enjoy the full day Jambay Lhakhang Drupchen which will begin at 10:00 am in the morning.Various ‘cham’ dances like Ter cham (the Naked Dance), Mewang, Macham, Ging Tsholing, Dramtse Ngacham, Zhana Cham etc, are performed by the local villagers of Norgang, Changwa and Nangsiphel
Overnight at your hotel in Bumthang
DAY 07 BUMTHANG TO POBJIKA/GANGTEY
Drive back, following the same route towards Pobjika and you will be expected to reach there by evening. In the evening, visit one of the farm house for dinner together with the family members. This provides an excellent opportunity to interact and understand the life of local people there.
Overnight at your hotel in Pobjika
DAY 08 POBJIKA/GANGTEY TO PARO
Drive to Paro in the morning and 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 09 PARO (HIKE TO PARO TAKTSHANG)
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 10 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!