Magical Bhutan Bike Tour

Day 1: Paro to Thimphu

Arrive at the Paro International Airport. The airport is the only international airport in the country and it is situated on the lush green paddy fields of Paro valley.
Upon arrival, you will be greeted by our guide in traditional Bhutanese ways, offering a silken scarf.

Then, you will be driven toward Thimphu. En route, you will visit TaChog Monastery. The monastery was built by a great Buddhist master, Drupthob Thangthong Gyalpo, aka the Iron Bridge Builder, some 600 hundred years ago and stands on a small hill. It is considered a sacred and holy site.

After lunch in Thimphu, drive to the Golden Buddha Dordenma Statue. The statue is the biggest Dordenma statue in the world and it stands on a hill that engulfs that entire valley into its feet. Our next visit will be at the National Memorial Chorten which was built four decades ago to commemorate the birth of the Third King of Bhutan. Takin Park is another tourist. Takin is Bhutan’s national animal and it is unique because it has the body of a cow and the head of a sheep.

Overnight stay at Hotel Tara Phendeyling Resort (or similar)

Day 2: Thimphu (cycling from Cheri base to Thimphu)

Right after breakfast, you will travel to Cheri Monastery. Chagri Dorjeden Monastery, also called Cheri Monastery, is a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan established in 1620 by Ngawang Namgyal, 1^st  Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the founder of the Bhutanese state.

After lunch, ride southward on tarmac roads passing through Thimphu’s various residential neighborhoods and surrounding villages. You will have a bird-eye view of the Thimphu valley from different spots.

Then visit the majestic Tashichhodzong on the way back. The Dzong houses the office of His Majesty the King, the abbot of the central monastic body, and other important offices.
Overnight at Hotel Tara Phendeyling

Day 3: Thimphu–Punakha (cycling downhill from Dochula pass)

Begin riding towards Punakha after breakfast. En route, visit the Victory Stupas at Dochula pass. The construction of these 108 chortens was commissioned by the eldest Queen Mother, Her Majesty Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk.

Then stop at Chimmi Lhakhang. This temple was built in the 16^th century by a great Buddhist master known as The Divine Madman. It is believed that he subdued a demon at the place where the temple stands today. But more than anything, the temple is famous for blessing with children to couples who do not have children.
Later in Punakha, visit Punakha Dzong which is situated strategically at the junction of the Pho Chu and Mo Chu rivers. The fortress served as the capital of Bhutan in the olden days.
Then there is a 160-meter-long Suspension Bridge over Pho Chu for us to visit.

Overnight stay in Zhingkham Resort

Day 4: Punakha-(Exploring Punakha valley through Bicycling)

After breakfast, ride northwards, up the Punakha valley, and take a hike through fields of vegetables and tiny hamlets to Khamsum Yulley Namgyel Chorten. Then proceed on a sightseeing ride. Then have a picnic lunch by the side of Mochhu river. Visit Walakha Nun’s University in the afternoon.

Overnight stay in Zhingkham Resort (or similar)

Day 5: Punakha-Paro

After breakfast, leave Punakha for Paro. We expect that it will take about three hours to complete our journey. We will begin climbing the Dochula Pass. En route, we will visit the oldest Dzong in Bhutan, Semtokha Dzong.

About 5km south of Thimphu on the old road to Paro and Phuentsholing, the handsomely proportioned Simtokha Dzong was built in 1629 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. The site is said to mark the spot where a demon vanished into a rocky outcrop, hence the name Simtokha, from simmo (demoness) and do (stone). The site was also a vitally strategic location from which to protect the Thimphu valley and the passage east to the Dochu La and eastern Bhutan.

After lunch, visit Paro Dzong. The dzong’s formal name, Rinchen Pung Dzong (usually shortened to Rinpung Dzong), means ‘Fortress on a Heap of Jewels’. In 1644 Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal ordered the construction of the dzong on the foundation of a monastery built by Guru Rinpoche. The fort was used on numerous occasions to defend the Paro valley from invasions by Tibet. The British political officer John Claude White reported that in 1905 there were old catapults for throwing great stones stored in the rafters of the dzong’s veranda. The dzong survived an 1897 earthquake but was severely damaged by fire in 1907.

The Dzong is built on a steep hillside, and the front courtyard of the administrative section is 6m higher than the courtyard of the monastic portion. The road to the National Museum branches down to the dzong’s northeastern entrance, which leads into the dochey (courtyard). The utse (central tower) inside the dochey is five stories tall and was built in the time of the first penlop (governor) of Paro in 1649. The richly carved wood, painted in gold, black, and ochres, and the towering whitewashed walls reinforce the sense of established power and wealth.

A stairway leads down to the monastic quarter, which houses about 200 monks. The kunrey, which functions as the monks’ classroom, is on the southern side (to the left) and centered around an image of Buddha aged 16. Look left of the exterior vestibule for the mural of the ‘mystic spiral’, a uniquely Bhutanese variation on the mandala. Other murals here depict Mt Meru, the legendary center of the universe, surrounded by seven mountain ranges and four continents.

Our next visit will be to the National Museum and Kyichu Lhakhang. Perched above Paro Dzong is its ta dzong (watchtower), built in 1649 to protect the undefended dzong and renovated in 1968 to house the National Museum. The unusual round building is said to be in the shape of a conch shell, with 2.5m-thick walls. The ta dzong suffered damage in the 2011 earthquake but reopened in 2019 as the nation’s premier museum.

The 4th-floor entrance kicks off with a description of early history that perfectly illustrates how magic and science are inseparable in Bhutan. Information on Stone Age tools sits next to descriptions of battles between gods and demons. The thangka gallery has displays on the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism (Sakya, Nyingma, Gelug, and Drukpa). Next is the Namse Phodrang with its collection of bronze statues, notably of the god of wealth Kubera, and it’s then down to a collection of relics discovered by Bhutan’s treasure finders, featuring 15 links from Thangtong Gyalpo’s original iron bridge at Tamchog.

Go down again to the displays on Bhutanese dress and Bhutan’s ties with Tibet. The 3rd floor has a royal gallery before it’s down once again to the museum’s most revered treasures, including a stone egg laid by a mule and a ritual dagger belonging to the protector Dorje Lekpa. An underground tunnel is said to lead from the watchtower to the water supply below.
Cameras are not allowed inside the museum, but you can photograph the ta dzong and surrounding grounds. More exhibits (festival masks, natural history, and temporary exhibits) are on display in an adjacent annex. The museum plans to raise entry fees to Nu 200/500 for Indians/foreigners.

Driving to the museum involves a 4km loop into the Dop Shari valley. After visiting, you can walk down a path from the museum to the dzong and back to the town, enjoying good views of the valley and the Ugyen Pelri Palace. Alternatively, you can start the excellent hike to Zuri Dzong from just above the museum.

Likewise, Kyichu Lhakhang is about five kilometers from the town and it is believed to be one of the oldest temples in Bhutan. It was built in the 7^th century and it has special significance in Bhutan’s inclination towards Buddhism.

In the evening, have an orientation walk along Paro town.

Overnight stay at Bhutan Mandala Resort (or similar)

Day 6: Hike to Taksang Monastery

Hike to the Tiger’s Nest monastery. The history of this sacred place goes back to the eighth century when Guru Padmasambhava, an extraordinary saint who founded the Mahayana school of Buddhism, visited the site. He assumed the terrifying form of Guru Dorje Drolo and cleansed the place of evil spirits to preserve the integrity of Buddhist teachings.
An account has it that Yeshe Tsogyal transformed herself into a tigress and carried the Guru on her back from Singye Dzong in eastern Bhutan to Taktshang. In a cave there, the Guru then performed meditation and emerged in eight incarnated forms (manifestations).

At Taktshang the Guru revealed the Mandala of Pelchen Dorje Phurpa and delivered sublime teachings to his disciples. He spent four months in the cave, taming and subjugating the malicious spirits, and concealed profound treasures for the benefit of sentient beings.

Usually, it takes around five hours to make a round trip to this monastery. After lunch, we will have a bicycle ride along the far valleys of Paro. We will ride uphill to Chelela Pass and return. Then have a hot-stone bath in the evening.

Day: Departure
Today, you have concluded your trip to Bhutan. We have had your wonderful company of you and we hope that we could live up to your expectation as a good host.
We will drop you at Paro International Airport and see you off from there.