Our 15 day tour departs from South Africa on Saturday, 11 October and flies to Calcutta via Mumbai. A night will be spent in each place before flying on Royal Bhutan Airlines to Paro in Bhutan. This is a spectacular flight and provides wonderful views over the snow-covered Himalayas. The approach to the airstrip is a fantastic experience and something to be remembered all one’s life.
The group will spend a night in Paro with time to explore the amazing Paro Dzong and Takstang monastery and the next day will travel to Thimphu by coach. In Thimphu the Arts and Crafts School and Folk Heritage Museum will be visited.
The road from Thimphu to Punakha passes through the beautiful Dochu La Pass and en route we will visit the lovely Lakhang Temple and the impressive and imposing Punakha Dzong.
Travelling from Punakha to Trongsa (ancestral home of Bhutan’s royal family), we will cross the Pele La Pass, the traditional boundary between West and East Bhutan. There will be plenty of time to admire the fabulous views, take photographs and visit the Chendibji chorten.
En route from Trongsa to Bumthang, we will visit the Trongsa Dzong and visit the bazaar. We will cross the Yotung La Pass and stop at Zukney village to see the Yatha weaving center.
Two nights will be spent in Bumthang and there will be the opportunity to explore the Tang valley and visit some of the oldest temples in the country. We’ll also visit the Textile Museum and Ta Rimpochee monastery, one of the holiest shrines in Bumthang.
The tour then continues to Mongar with visits to the Ura village and temple as well as the Mongar Dzong and bazaar.
Continuing even deeper into Eastern Bhutan, the itinerary includes a night at Trashigang and Samdrup Jonkhar with their monasteries, dzongs and weaving centers.
It’s a three hour drive from Sandrup Jonkhar to the Indian border into Assam and from there the tour proceeds to Guwahati for a night.
The group will fly from Guwahati to Calcutta where another night will be spent and there will be time for some sightseeing before flying on to Mumbai for the connecting flight to South Africa.
A professional local English-speaking guide with an excellent knowledge of history and culture will be escorting the group. Lyn Mair has a vast experience of escorting birding and natural history tours to Bhutan, Nepal, the Middle East, the African continent and Indian Ocean Islands, as well as Antarctica and the Sub-Antarctic Islands. Lyn’s interest and enthusiasm in natural history and Bhutan culture will make this tour into Bhutan a unique and unforgettable experience for every member of the group.
Space on this tour is limited to 12 participants. If you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible.
If you have any queries, or would like to secure your reservation on this once in a lifetime tour, please do not hesitate to contact me on email info@somersettours.co.za.
This is a very special tour. Don’t miss this opportunity to visit the Land of the Thunder Dragon and, possibly, the last Shangri-La on earth.