Click on the Day for detailed daily events.
Day 1 — Fall Itinerary
Arrive Paro, check in to Nak Sel Resort, full day photographing and touring popular and little-known sites around Paro, including the our first dzong, centuries old temples and just strolling through the small market town of Paro. Since we are two-to-a-car there is no rush to get to the bus, just take your time getting comfortable in your room and then your own personal guide and driver will make suggestions for a great day of cultural exchange and photography according to your personal schedule.
Day 2 — Fall Itinerary
Hike to Tiger's Nest with Bhutanese guide by your side to carry gear and urge you on, and if he is there you will meet with Robin's friend, the Taktsang Lama. Picnic lunch in the forest (not the crowded "cafeteria) on the way down." Second night at Nak Sel (edge of forest) Botique Resort.
Day 3 — Fall Itinerary
Paro to Thimphu: Early picnic breakfast in CheleLa Pass overlooking Mount Jomolhari then spread out in cars around Thimphu to Robin's favorite places: School of 13 Traditional Arts, handmade paper factory, etc., then meet-up for riverside picnic lunch next to the covered bridge beneath Cheri Monastery. Afternoon Thimphu touring.
Day 4 — Fall Itinerary
Thimphu to Wangdi: Halt at DochuLa Pass (108 chortens), lunch overlooking Divine Madman's Temple, on to Punakha Dzong—the Vatican of Buddhism in Bhutan—then on to Wangdi, stopping whenever your photographic eye catches a good scene and to interact with locals.
Day 5 — Fall Itinerary
Wangdi to Phobjhika: Through the Black Mountains—a forest of oak and rhododendron—to one of the most scenic landscapes in all of Bhutan, Phobjhika Valley. Herein lies Gangtey Monastery, established in 1613. One-hour hike through the forest to lunch at a farmhouse and then visit Khewa Temple (built in the 14th century) for private puja (ceremony) to bless the tour. Rainbow is a sponsor of this temple so interior photos are allowed—monks chanting, horns blaring, cymbals clashing, etc. Then visit the monastery’s incense “factory.”
Day 6 — Fall Itinerary
Phobjhika to Trongsa: Robin’s favorite drive in Bhutan, through PeleLa Pass draped in prayer flags, dense forest, past a Nepalese-style chorten with smiling eyes, and dramatic rivers at the bottom of green gorges where no man has ever set foot because of the deities that reside there. At Trongsa visit the Dzong and Royal Museum and walk the quaint streets of the village.
Day 7 — Fall Itinerary
Trongsa to Domkhar: Via YotongLa Pass, destination Domkhar Village—many stops along the four-hour drive. Arrive Chumey Valley Nature Resort for lunch and two night stay, then each car visits a different farmhouse for tea, cultural exchange and explanation of Bhutanese life in a farmhouse. Then time permitting on to Tharpaling Monastery for royal treatment by the Domkhar Lam.
Day 8 — Fall Itinerary
Morning back to same farmhouses for breakfast, help milk cows and get kids ready for school. Then a full day in Domkhar Village with our own exclusive tsechu (festival) with masked dances in the temple courtyard, photography allowed in the temple, villagers invited to our lunch. Except for villagers we have the place all to ourselves! Afternoon archery match (with plenty of beer! So hide behind a tree) between our crew of guides/drivers and local farmers, evening bonfire to award archery prizes with folk dancing and singing by villagers. Feel free to explore the village and nearby monastery.
Day 9 — Fall Itinerary
Domkhar to Jakar: Just an hour’s drive from Domkhar we will stop at the local Yathra (cloth) co-op outlet, visit the Beer/Cheese Factory, several temples including Bhutan's oldest temple—with your guide by your side, plenty of cultural exchanges with elderly pilgrims—and stroll the shop-lined street of Jakar Village. Check into hotel for two nights.
Day 10 — Fall Itinerary
Full free day at Jakar: Day of leisurely exploring the local area. Rise early to catch sunrise on the Dzong from across the valley. Visit the Dzong and many other authentic Bhutanese places.
Day 11 — Fall Itinerary
Jakar to Mongar: Only 200 foreign visitors a year venture beyond here. Spectacular white-knuckled six-hour drive stopping whenever you like in villages, forests, and riversides. Picnic lunch and tea/coffee breaks wherever the scenery appeals to you—guide and driver at your service with folding chairs. The cars will "leap-frog" from cultural exchange to scenic overview, to "I need to find a bush!" bathroom breaks. Check into hotel for two nights.
Day 12 — Fall Itinerary
Full day touring Mongar: Break into two organized groups for school visits (primary, secondary and pre-K), Tibetan monastery to learn a different Buddhist philosophy, ancient temple known for being an adult day-car center for elderly pilgrims (elderly sitting in room full of huge prayer wheels) and more. Cultural immersion at its best.
Day 13 — Fall Itinerary
Mongar to Trashigang: four-hour drive with plenty of stops--you are the captain of your ship. Picnic lunch where you choose then sightseeing in Trashigang, the second largest city in Bhutan but a place where you will probably not see another foreign visitor.
Day 14 — Fall Itinerary
Trashigang to Phongmey and return: Exclusive full day yak herder festival in courtyard of Phongmey Temple. The Brokpa people trek for two days to get to us! and bring all of their festival costumes including a two-man, four-legged yak. You will be asked to lend a hand in the serving line that feeds over a hundred Bhutanese villagers and yak herders. Photography allowed in temple, join in folk dancing. Second night in Trashigang.
Day 15 — Fall Itinerary
Trashigang to Indian border at Samdrup Jongkhar: six-hour casual drive down out of the Himalayas, very scenic, through the campus at Sherubtse Royal University in Kanglung and stop to meet the students at Bhutan's Institute for the Visually Impaired. (Previous tours have given 12 cameras to students and taught them basic point-and-shoot photography skills.) Picnic lunch and tea/coffee breaks wherever the scenery appeals to you. Check into last hotel for parting dinner with our guides and drivers.
Day 16 — Fall Itinerary
Border to Guwahati airport: Indian cars pick us up early morning and drive three hours to the airport at Guwahati for tour departure back to Bangkok.
Have Questions? Please Email Robin!
