Explore Bhutan
Bhutan is small on a map and long on the road. These are the places we actually send people, and the honest reason for each.
Bhutan’s western circuit is six places: Paro at 2,200 m for Taktsang and the airport, Thimphu the capital, warm Punakha at 1,200 m, Dochula Pass at 3,100 m, the crane valley of Phobjikha at 3,000 m, and Haa beyond Chele La at 3,988 m. A week covers four of them comfortably.
Paro
Gateway to the Tiger’s Nest
Thimphu
The bustling heart where ancient tradition meets modern life
Punakha
The old winter capital and spiritual heart
Dochula Pass
Panoramic Himalayan vistas
Phobjikha
Valley of the black-necked cranes
Haa & Chele La
The quiet corner almost nobody visits
Paro
The valley everyone lands in and nobody wants to leave. Rinpung Dzong, the National Museum in its old watchtower, and the 900 m climb to Taktsang clinging to its cliff.
Thimphu
The only capital city on earth without a traffic light. Buddha Dordenma above the valley, the thirteen traditional arts still taught by hand, and an archery ground that gets loud on weekends.
Punakha
Warm, low and green. The dzong sits where two rivers meet and is the finest building in the country; the rice terraces around Chimi Lhakhang are the best easy walk in Bhutan.
Dochula Pass
3,100 m, 108 chortens, and on a clear winter morning the entire eastern Himalaya laid out in front of you. Everyone stops here; almost nobody regrets it.
Phobjikha
A wide glacial bowl at 3,000 m where the cranes winter from late October. Gangtey Goenpa on the ridge, dwarf bamboo below, and no light pollution at all.
Haa & Chele La
Haa only opened to visitors in 2002. Getting there means Chele La at 3,988 m — the highest road pass in Bhutan, with Jomolhari filling the northern sky.
Bhutan, as we find it
Real photographs from the valleys these itineraries run through — festivals, fortresses, and the birds that fly in over the Himalaya every winter.
Which valleys fit your days?
Send us how long you have. We will tell you what is realistic and what is a rushed drive pretending to be a visit.
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