Bhutan & Nepal – The Himalayan Kingdoms

Meet up with your Ross Tour Leader at Sydney International Airport for the group flight to Kathmandu. Or make your own flight arrangements and meet up in Kathmandu, altitude 1,370m.
Namaste and welcome to Kathmandu; the pagodas, street stall aromas and the red cloaked monks, all combine to make Kathmandu a truly intoxicating and evocative city. You will be met by our local representative and transferred to Dwarika’s Hotel for the next three nights. This sanctuary for the architectural grandeur of the Newari civilization sits at the quiet fringe of this bustling city. Rooms are meticulously decorated, deep-rooted in Nepalese culture. Welcome dinner is included this evening.

Discover Durbar Square where temples, palaces and golden gates combine into a magical outdoor theatre. This UNESCO listed square is rich in cultural, historical, and architectural significance. Visit the house of the Living Goddess (Kumari) and stroll through the bazaar and old city. Lunch at a local restaurant. Continue to Swayambhunath, sacred shrines for Tibetan Buddhists.

We are heading to Bhaktapur, a ninth-century town in the Kathmandu Valley. Visit Pashupatinath Temple, a World Heritage site and extensive Hindu Temple precinct and cremation site. This sprawling collection of temples and ashrams, along the banks of the sacred Bagmati river is one of seven designated UNESCO monument groups in the Kathmandu Valley. Watch the sunset overlooking Bodnath Stupa and the pilgrims circling the site and spinning their prayer wheels.

Morning flight to Paro, altitude 2300m, one of the most spectacular sights in entire Himalayas. Bhutan’s first gift, as you disembark from the aircraft will be cool, clean fresh mountain air. We are heading to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan with stop at Chuzom at the confluence of Thimphu and Paro rivers.
Thimphu (altitude 2,350m) lies in a steep-sided valley hugged by mountains; a city still peopled by red-robed monks and dotted with Buddhist temples.
Learn about the local culture at the Folk Heritage Museum, the Painting School and the Crafts Bazaar, to discover some of Bhutan’s fine traditional arts. You can buy hand-woven textiles, Thangkha paintings, masks, ceramics, slate and wood carvings, jewellery, interesting items made from local materials.

Check into your hotel with an evening stroll around Thimphu Main Street and market area.
Evening stroll around Thimphu Main Street and market area. Visit the Local Crafts Bazaar, to discover some of Bhutan’s fine traditional arts. You can buy hand-woven textiles, Thangkha paintings, masks, ceramics, slate and wood carvings, jewellery, interesting items made from local materials. Dinner is included this evening.

This is the place to see real Bhutanese life: it’s a slowly modernising city, still peopled by red-robed monks and dotted with Buddhist temples.

First stop is the wildlife reserve set on forested slopes above the city. Then Tashichho Dzong, the seat of Bhutan’s government and Royal offices. The National Memorial Chorten, is next, designed in the style of a classic stupa, with a pyramidal pillar crowned by a crescent moon and sun.

National Textile Museum offers insight into the lifestyle and culture of Bhutanese villages and life in rural households. Stroll the main street for some interesting Himalayan artefacts and textiles.

Jungshi handmade paper factory produces traditional Bhutanese paper handmade from the bark of the daphne bush. See the whole process, from soaking and boiling the bark, to sorting, crushing, pulping, layering, pressing and drying.
Decorated paper is available for sale, with embedded leaves and even dried chillies, along with cards, notebooks, lampshades and calendars. Return to your hotel with dinner included this evening.

Spectacular mountains today as we travel to Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan, travelling through the snow-covered mountain pass (Dochu La, alt 3140m). With its forests of fluttering prayer flags, maze of memorial chortens and panoramic views of the high Bhutan Himalayan peaks, this is a spectacular journey. Lunch is included today.

Stop at the yellow-roofed Chimi Lhakhang, known as The Fertility Temple, a Buddhist monastery idyllically set on a rotund hill. The monastery is renowned throughout Bhutan as a fertility inducing magnet, pledging that all who wish to conceive will find guidance at the temple. Its- Rhododendron Festival time at Lamperi Botanic Garden to see endemic rhododendrons in full flower. Check in to your hotel with dinner included this evening.

You will feel spiritually uplifted today at the majestic Punakha Dzong ‘palace of great happiness’. Situated at the confluence of two rivers, the dzong was built in 1637. Damaged over centuries by fires and an earthquake, it has been beautifully restored by the king.

Walk through white-washed homesteads and farmland to Khamsum Yuley Namgay Chorten, a shrine recently built by the royal family (the Chorten can be clearly spotted from our breakfast table). Built with a unique and specific purpose, unlike other chortens that are mainly used for community worship, this chorten was built by the Queen Mother to ward off negative forces and spread peace and harmony to all the living beings. The view is magnificent; you can see a Bodhi tree, well-tended gardens, two large prayer wheels and a charming little temple. An indescribable sense of peace and calmness envelopes you when you step foot into Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten. Lunch and dinner are included today.

Travel back to Paro today with a stop at Rinpung Dzong, a Buddhist monastery and fortress along a mountain river. It houses the district Monastic Body and government administrative offices. This ancient fortress in traditional Bhutanese architecture is a complex of courtyards, temples, administration offices and open space surrounded by towering walls. All the buildings are equipped with huge windows with elaborate wooden carvings of traditional Bhutanese motifs. Considered one of the finest examples of Bhutanese architecture, it’s one of Bhutan’s top treasures.

Lunch and dinner are included today.

Early breakfast this morning, ready for an unforgettable hike up to Taktsang Monastery (The Tiger’s Nest). Clinging to sheer granite cliffs high above the valley floor, this seemingly impregnable fortress has become the cultural icon of Bhutan. This sacred Buddhist monastery was built in 1692 around the cave where Guru Rinpoche first meditated. It sits above Paro Valley at 3000 metres, one of thirteen Tiger’s Nest caves of historical Tibet. Legend says that the monk was carried on the back of a tigress, giving its name ‘Tiger’s Nest’. It’s a leisurely hike with panoramic views of the valley, passing prayer flags with lots of stops to catch your breath and enjoy the view of the spectacular landscape. The monastery consists of four temples with accommodation for the monks.
Lunch and dinner are included today.

First up this morning is Ta Dzong, originally built as watchtower in 1649 to protect the undefended dzong. Renovated in 1968, it now houses the National Museum. The extensive collection includes antique Thangkha paintings, textiles, weapons & armour, household objects and a rich assortment of natural and historic artifacts. Driving to the museum involves a 4km loop into the Dop Shari valley. You have the option to take the scenic walk back down a path from the museum to the dzong and back to the town, enjoying views of the valley and of the Ugyen Pelri Palace. Spend this last afternoon exploring Paro.

Farewell dinner this evening in your hotel.

Morning flight from Paro to Kathmandu. Evening flight from Kathmandu to Singapore with connecting flight to Sydney. Picnic lunch in Nagarkot in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley for one last breathtaking view of the Himalayas. This small, tranquil hill station is located at an elevation of 2,175 metres above sea level, one of the few places near Kathmandu from where you can see Mt. Everest. Check in at Kathmandu airport for your homeward flight to Sydney via Singapore.

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