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I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. Click Preview to see my content. To update me, go to the Data Manager. YOUR TAILORMADE JOURNEY Four Valleys One Happiness LEARN MORE JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS The Bhutan Foundation turns 40! Celebrate the partners and the projects that have made such positive impacts all across Bhutan! Home to Bhutan's first two kings, the historic Wangduechhoeling Palace , now a world-class museum, open to the public and special events — a private walkthrough led by the museum's Executive Director and head of renovations to explore and explain the future of this crown property. Her Majesty the Queen Mother's Zangdopelri Project at Goen Shari: A rare opportunity to visit and experience one of Bhutan's most personal royal initiatives, in the lush mountains above Punakha Snow Leopard Sisters screening: An exclusive evening presented with the Snow Leopard Foundation — conservation and cinema meeting at altitude in the Thimphu hills. SHOW ME MORE ↓ 14 October | Delhi to Paro The descent into Paro is itself a kind of theater — the plane threading between ridgelines so close that farmhouses seem near enough to touch, before the valley opens and the runway appears, impossibly small, along the river. On arrival, transfer directly to Paro COMO Uma's private one bedroom villa, set among pine trees. Settle in with an early check-in, and let the first afternoon be an unhurried one — lunch at the restaurant, Bukhari, or in the privacy of your vill's sitting room, with nothing more urgent than adjusting to the thin, bright air of Paro. Your Bhutan Airlines B3 774 flight departs at 1:00 pm from Delhi, Indira Gandhi Airport and lands in Paro at 03:50 pm, Bhutan Time. 15 October | Rest Day, Paro A day held open — the traveler's privilege of a full stop before the itinerary begins in earnest. If you're inclined to fill the stillness rather than surrender to it, Paro offers quiet diversions close to the lodge. Or, take a guided walk on the lodge's own loop trail through pine forests to dramatic Dzongdrakha, steep forty-five minute climb up a trail that rewards the effort with birds-eye views of Paro. Later, the Shambhala spa's hot stone bath may make a fitting close to that rarest of rarities, a quiet day spent reconnecting with yourself. 16 October | Paro to Bumthang The morning stays unhurried — a last wander of Paro's town, perhaps, or a visit to Kyichu Lhakhang, a seventh-century sanctuary said to guard two orange trees that fruit year-round regardless of season, one of the oldest religious structures standing in the kingdom. By late afternoon, transfer to the airstrip for a 5pm charter flight east to Bumthang, the kingdom's spiritual heartland, arriving after dark into the forest-clad hush of the Jakar Valley. Six Senses Bumthang calls itself a "forest within a forest," ringed by blue pine and set beside the rushing Chamkhar Chhu — a fitting name for a lodge that feels, on arrival, like a clearing found rather than built. Dinner awaits at Tongtshang, the lodge's signature restaurant, before an early rest. 17 October | Bumthang — Wangduechhoeling Palace Bumthang was Bhutan's original seat of power, and nowhere is that history more palpable than at Wangduechhoeling Palace, home to the kingdom's first two monarchs before the royal court moved to Punakha. Its white stone walls and richly carved timberwork — a textbook example of nineteenth-century Bhutanese architecture — are now under careful restoration with support from the Bhutan Foundation, and this private walkthrough, led by the project's head of renovations, offers a rare look at a historic building just opening up to the world. Time and energy permitting, extend the day along Bumthang's pilgrim's route: Jambay Lhakhang, one of the kingdom's oldest temples, dating to the seventh century; Jakar Dzong, "the Fortress of the White Bird," whose ramparts once defended the entire valley. Dine again at Tongtshang, with the valley settling into darkness outside, or join the group dinner in town. 18 October | Bumthang to Thimphu A short flight returns the group to Paro, from where the road climbs west into Thimphu Valley and the capital proper. The Zhiwa Ling Ascent sits in a pine forest near the Takin Zoo and within walking distance of hiking trails around the capital. 19 October | Thimphu — Institute Visits & Partners' Dinner The morning turns toward purpose: The Dagala Cheese Processing Project is a livelihood and value-addition initiative for yak-herding families in Dagala Gewog, the highland area southwest of Thimphu in Thimphu Dzongkhag. It is helping the Dagala Yak Cooperative move beyond traditional butter and dried or cottage cheese into hygienically produced, higher-value yak cheeses—particularly French-style Tomme ( Serja ) and Gumdel ( Serjom )—for wider commercial markets. Later, make some time to visit RADA, the proposed Royal Institute of Design and Art—a design-and-arts academy conceived to develop Bhutanese creative talent while grounding contemporary practice in the country’s visual traditions, crafts, and cultural identity. It was planned under the Bhutan Youth Development Fund (YDF), initially operating from a temporary Thimphu location while recognition and a permanent campus are being pursued. 20 October | Thimphu — Board Meeting & Snow Leopard Screening The morning and early afternoon are given over to the Board Meetings for the Advisory Board, while the others visit the National Institute of Traditional Medicine, where centuries of Himalayan herbal knowledge are preserved and practiced. In the afternoon, the mood turns celebratory with a screening of Snow Leopard Sisters , presented by the Snow Leopard Foundation in collaboration with the Bhutan Foundation followed by a formal Board and Partners' Dinner that gathers the trip's collaborators and hosts, a fitting bridge between the morning's fieldwork and the governance to come . 21 October | Thimphu to Punakha The road to Punakha is one of Bhutan's great drives, climbing over Dochula Pass — weather permitting, a curtain of prayer flags and, on clear days, a full chain of Himalayan peaks — before descending into the subtropical warmth of the valley below. At 5,140 feet, Six Senses Punakha is the lodge chain's lowest and, many say, its coziest: the "Flying Farmhouse," a cantilevered wooden lounge overlooking a pool set amid rice paddies just beginning to turn gold with the season. Time and light permitting, an afternoon hike climbs alongside the river through terraced paddies to Khamsum Yulley Namgyel Chorten, a temple raised by the Queen Mother for world peace, its views back down the valley reward enough for the fifty-minute ascent. Dinner at Ari, the lodge's rustic-chic dining room, set to the sound of the Punakha's braided rivers. 22 October | Punakha — Goen Shari & the Zangdopelri Project The day turns toward Goen Shari and a visit to Her Majesty the Gyalyum's Zangdopelri project — a rare window into one of the more personal royal initiatives shaping the valley's landscape and future, and among the journey's more privileged appointments. 23 October | Punakha — College of Natural Resources & Punakha Dzong The morning turns academic and agrarian with a visit to the College of Natural Resources, before the afternoon delivers what many consider Bhutan's single most beautiful building: Punakha Dzong, the Pungtang Dechen Photrang, "Palace of Great Happiness," rising six stories at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. Its courtyards and prayer halls hold some of the kingdom's most sacred relics; behind the dzong, the country's longest suspension bridge, strung with prayer flags, offers a last, unhurried walk among locals crossing home at day's end. October 24 — The return to Paro A final drive returns the group to Paro for one last night at COMO Uma Paro . An evening at leisure — dinner at Bukhari , perhaps a last visit to the spa — offers a chance to sit with eleven nights' worth of impressions. October 25 — Farewell & Departing Flight Your Bhutan Airlines Flight B3 773 departs at 10:20 am and lands 12:00 (noon) at Delhi, Indira Gandhi Airport. SHOW ME MORE ↓ Your trip at a glance Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge OVERVIEW Four decades ago, the Bhutan Foundation was founded on a proposition that seemed, at the time, almost radical: that a small Himalayan kingdom guided by its own philosophy of Gross National Happiness deserved partners who would support its vision on its own terms, rather than impose one from outside. What began as a modest bridge between Bhutan and the wider world has grown, over forty years, into one of the most enduring and trusted network of donors and partnerships the kingdom maintains — spanning conservation of the snow leopard's high-altitude range, restoration of architectural treasures like the Wangduechhoeling Palace, expansion of traditional medicine and special education, and countless quieter investments in the people and landscapes of Bhutan's valleys. This twelve-day journey is not simply a tour through that legacy — it is a homecoming through it. Every stop on the itinerary threads back to four decades of work: the private walkthrough of Wangduechhoeling's restoration is a chance to stand inside a project the Foundation helped inspire; the visit to the National Institute of Traditional Medicine and the special-education program in Thimphu offers a direct look at community investment sustained over a generation; the screening of Snow Leopard Sisters honors a conservation partnership that has quietly protected one of the world's most elusive cats for years. And the Board and Partners' dinner is more than an evening of hospitality — it is a gathering of the very people, Bhutanese, American, Canadian, Australian, European, who have carried this relationship forward decade after decade, many of whom have watched the Foundation's mission mature alongside their own participation in Bhutan’s future as donors, partners and advisors. To celebrate forty years in Bhutan is to celebrate a rare kind of patience — the recognition that the deepest change in a place like this does not arrive quickly, and is not measured the way progress is measured elsewhere. It is measured in heritage properties preserved rather than lost, in species protected rather than diminished, in children educated and traditions kept alive. This journey, moving as it does through Paro, Bumthang, Thimphu and Punakha, is designed to let a small circle of the Foundation's closest partners see that patience made visible — not as an abstraction in an annual report, but as a living, breathing kingdom that has, for forty years, trusted the Foundation to walk beside it. ACCOMMODATIONS Paro Uma Villa (3 nights), Six Senses Bumthang (2 nights), Thimphu Zhiwa Ling Ascent (3 nights), Punakha Six Senses (3 nights) This journey features 3 distinctive stays, each reflecting a different facet of the kingdom’s contemporary hospitality. Begin in Paro at COMO Uma Paro , where a private One-Bedroom Villa offers three restorative nights amid pine-clad hills and Himalayan views. Continue to Bumthang for two nights at Six Senses Bumthang 's Forest within a Forest Lodge, a secluded retreat designed for deep immersion in the valley’s quiet forests, temples, and pastoral rhythms. In Thimphu, spend three nights in the Zhiwa Ling Ascent Premium Suite , combining generous contemporary comfort with locally rooted design and convenient access to the capital’s cultural life. The journey concludes with three nights in the Six Senses Punakha , Flying Farmhouse, an elevated, farmhouse-inspired sanctuary overlooking Punakha’s fertile valley before a final return to the Paro Villa at COMO Uma Paro. Preview: BHUTAN FOUNDATION 40TH ANNIVERSARY JOURNEY Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US DURATION 12 days TRIP TYPE Private SEASON October (Festival season) FROM $28,850/per person (including taxes and fees; airfares additional) RESERVE TRIP Or call 1-855-4-BHUTAN (248826)

I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. Click Preview to see my content. To update me, go to the Data Manager. YOUR TAILORMADE JOURNEY Hochland and Kultur LEARN MORE SUMMARY OF TRIP UPDATES & ENHANCEMENTS The trip now begins with a private charter flight and a tour of the historic Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum and Cultural Center led by Executive Director Kuenga Lhendup and Daphne Hoch Cunningham, the driving force behind its transformation. Experience the exquisite displays and learn about the future of this amazing crown property. Both Hochland and Kultur Gruppe will now attend a mask dance festival together instead of just the Kultur Gruppe. New! Experience a spectacularly positioned Bhutanese-owned luxury lodge in a remote part of Trongsa Valley where the ancestry of the first king and his father began, offering greater insight into the historic nature and value of the Wangduechhoeling Palace initiative. Experience a new Jungle Lodge in Punakha and unwind together in Punakha valley for two days after the highland festival in Laya. Hochland and Kultur Gruppes now meet up in Punakha and continue the journey together, maximizing precious time and memories together instead of being spread across different valleys. Visit Her Majesty the Queen Mother's Zangdopelri Project at Goen Shari: A rare opportunity to visit and experience a beautiful and personal royal initiative, in the densely forested mountains above Punakha. Hochland and Kultur Gruppes will now have joined sightseeing and cultural activities in Thimphu, and stay together at a zen-like lodge in the peaceful north-end of Thimphu. We will now have TWO NIGHTS instead of just one night at the National Geographic Award-winning Bhutanese-owned Luxury Lodge, the Zhiwa Ling Heritage in Paro . This gives us more time for relaxation, farewell and trip end activities and the final hike up to Tiger's Nest! SHOW ME MORE ↓ SHOW ME MORE ↓ Your trip at a glance Preview: Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US RESERVE TRIP Or call 1-855-4-BHUTAN (248826)

YOUR TAILORMADE JOURNEY Hochland and Kultur LEARN MORE SUMMARY OF TRIP UPDATES & ENHANCEMENTS The trip now begins with a private charter flight and a tour of the historic Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum and Cultural Center led by Executive Director Kuenga Lhendup and Daphne Hoch Cunningham, the driving force behind its transformation. Experience the exquisite displays and learn about the future of this amazing crown property. Both Hochland and Kultur Gruppe will now attend a mask dance festival together instead of just the Kultur Gruppe. New! Experience a spectacularly positioned Bhutanese-owned luxury lodge in a remote part of Trongsa Valley where the ancestry of the first king and his father began, offering greater insight into the historic nature and value of the Wangduechhoeling Palace initiative. Experience a new Jungle Lodge in Punakha and unwind together in Punakha valley for two days after the highland festival in Laya. Hochland and Kultur Gruppes now meet up in Punakha and continue the journey together, maximizing precious time and memories together instead of being spread across different valleys. Visit Her Majesty the Queen Mother's Zangdopelri Project at Goen Shari: A rare opportunity to visit and experience a beautiful and personal royal initiative, in the densely forested mountains above Punakha. Hochland and Kultur Gruppes will now have joined sightseeing and cultural activities in Thimphu, and stay together at a zen-like lodge in the peaceful north-end of Thimphu. We will now have TWO NIGHTS instead of just one night at the National Geographic Award-winning Bhutanese-owned Luxury Lodge, the Zhiwa Ling Heritage in Paro . This gives us more time for relaxation, farewell and trip end activities and the final hike up to Tiger's Nest! SHOW ME MORE ↓ SHOW ME MORE ↓ Your trip at a glance Preview: Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US RESERVE TRIP Or call 1-855-4-BHUTAN (248826)

YOUR TAILORMADE JOURNEY Hochland and Kultur LEARN MORE SUMMARY OF TRIP UPDATES & ENHANCEMENTS The trip now begins with a private charter flight and a tour of the historic Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum and Cultural Center led by Executive Director Kuenga Lhendup and Daphne Hoch Cunningham, the driving force behind its transformation. Experience the exquisite displays and learn about the future of this amazing crown property. Both Hochland and Kultur Gruppe will now attend a mask dance festival together instead of just the Kultur Gruppe. New! Experience a spectacularly positioned Bhutanese-owned luxury lodge in a remote part of Trongsa Valley where the ancestry of the first king and his father began, offering greater insight into the historic nature and value of the Wangduechhoeling Palace initiative. Experience a new Jungle Lodge in Punakha and unwind together in Punakha valley for two days after the highland festival in Laya. Hochland and Kultur Gruppes now meet up in Punakha and continue the journey together, maximizing precious time and memories together instead of being spread across different valleys. Visit Her Majesty the Queen Mother's Zangdopelri Project at Goen Shari: A rare opportunity to visit and experience a beautiful and personal royal initiative, in the densely forested mountains above Punakha. Hochland and Kultur Gruppes will now have joined sightseeing and cultural activities in Thimphu, and stay together at a zen-like lodge in the peaceful north-end of Thimphu. We will now have TWO NIGHTS instead of just one night at the National Geographic Award-winning Bhutanese-owned Luxury Lodge, the Zhiwa Ling Heritage in Paro . This gives us more time for relaxation, farewell and trip end activities and the final hike up to Tiger's Nest! SHOW ME MORE ↓ SHOW ME MORE ↓ Your trip at a glance Preview: Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US RESERVE TRIP Or call 1-855-4-BHUTAN (248826)

I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. Click Preview to see my content. To update me, go to the Data Manager. YOUR TAILORMADE JOURNEY Four Valleys One Happiness LEARN MORE JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS The Bhutan Foundation turns 40! Celebrate the partners and the projects that have made such positive impacts all across Bhutan! Home to Bhutan's first two kings, the historic Wangduechhoeling Palace , now a world-class museum, open to the public and special events — a private walkthrough led by the museum's Executive Director and head of renovations to explore and explain the future of this crown property. Her Majesty the Queen Mother's Zangdopelri Project at Goen Shari: A rare opportunity to visit and experience one of Bhutan's most personal royal initiatives, in the lush mountains above Punakha Snow Leopard Sisters screening: An exclusive evening presented with the Snow Leopard Foundation — conservation and cinema meeting at altitude in the Thimphu hills. SHOW ME MORE ↓ 14 October | Delhi to Paro The descent into Paro is itself a kind of theater — the plane threading between ridgelines so close that farmhouses seem near enough to touch, before the valley opens and the runway appears, impossibly small, along the river. On arrival, transfer directly to Paro COMO Uma's private one bedroom villa, set among pine trees. Settle in with an early check-in, and let the first afternoon be an unhurried one — lunch at the restaurant, Bukhari, or in the privacy of your vill's sitting room, with nothing more urgent than adjusting to the thin, bright air of Paro. Your Bhutan Airlines B3 774 flight departs at 1:00 pm from Delhi, Indira Gandhi Airport and lands in Paro at 03:50 pm, Bhutan Time. 15 October | Rest Day, Paro A day held open — the traveler's privilege of a full stop before the itinerary begins in earnest. If you're inclined to fill the stillness rather than surrender to it, Paro offers quiet diversions close to the lodge. Or, take a guided walk on the lodge's own loop trail through pine forests to dramatic Dzongdrakha, steep forty-five minute climb up a trail that rewards the effort with birds-eye views of Paro. Later, the Shambhala spa's hot stone bath may make a fitting close to that rarest of rarities, a quiet day spent reconnecting with yourself. 16 October | Paro to Bumthang The morning stays unhurried — a last wander of Paro's town, perhaps, or a visit to Kyichu Lhakhang, a seventh-century sanctuary said to guard two orange trees that fruit year-round regardless of season, one of the oldest religious structures standing in the kingdom. By late afternoon, transfer to the airstrip for a 5pm charter flight east to Bumthang, the kingdom's spiritual heartland, arriving after dark into the forest-clad hush of the Jakar Valley. Six Senses Bumthang calls itself a "forest within a forest," ringed by blue pine and set beside the rushing Chamkhar Chhu — a fitting name for a lodge that feels, on arrival, like a clearing found rather than built. Dinner awaits at Tongtshang, the lodge's signature restaurant, before an early rest. 17 October | Bumthang — Wangduechhoeling Palace Bumthang was Bhutan's original seat of power, and nowhere is that history more palpable than at Wangduechhoeling Palace, home to the kingdom's first two monarchs before the royal court moved to Punakha. Its white stone walls and richly carved timberwork — a textbook example of nineteenth-century Bhutanese architecture — are now under careful restoration with support from the Bhutan Foundation, and this private walkthrough, led by the project's head of renovations, offers a rare look at a historic building just opening up to the world. Time and energy permitting, extend the day along Bumthang's pilgrim's route: Jambay Lhakhang, one of the kingdom's oldest temples, dating to the seventh century; Jakar Dzong, "the Fortress of the White Bird," whose ramparts once defended the entire valley. Dine again at Tongtshang, with the valley settling into darkness outside, or join the group dinner in town. 18 October | Bumthang to Thimphu A short flight returns the group to Paro, from where the road climbs west into Thimphu Valley and the capital proper. The Zhiwa Ling Ascent sits in a pine forest near the Takin Zoo and within walking distance of hiking trails around the capital. 19 October | Thimphu — Institute Visits & Partners' Dinner The morning turns toward purpose: The Dagala Cheese Processing Project is a livelihood and value-addition initiative for yak-herding families in Dagala Gewog, the highland area southwest of Thimphu in Thimphu Dzongkhag. It is helping the Dagala Yak Cooperative move beyond traditional butter and dried or cottage cheese into hygienically produced, higher-value yak cheeses—particularly French-style Tomme ( Serja ) and Gumdel ( Serjom )—for wider commercial markets. Later, make some time to visit RADA, the proposed Royal Institute of Design and Art—a design-and-arts academy conceived to develop Bhutanese creative talent while grounding contemporary practice in the country’s visual traditions, crafts, and cultural identity. It was planned under the Bhutan Youth Development Fund (YDF), initially operating from a temporary Thimphu location while recognition and a permanent campus are being pursued. 20 October | Thimphu — Board Meeting & Snow Leopard Screening The morning and early afternoon are given over to the Board Meetings for the Advisory Board, while the others visit the National Institute of Traditional Medicine, where centuries of Himalayan herbal knowledge are preserved and practiced. In the afternoon, the mood turns celebratory with a screening of Snow Leopard Sisters , presented by the Snow Leopard Foundation in collaboration with the Bhutan Foundation followed by a formal Board and Partners' Dinner that gathers the trip's collaborators and hosts, a fitting bridge between the morning's fieldwork and the governance to come . 21 October | Thimphu to Punakha The road to Punakha is one of Bhutan's great drives, climbing over Dochula Pass — weather permitting, a curtain of prayer flags and, on clear days, a full chain of Himalayan peaks — before descending into the subtropical warmth of the valley below. At 5,140 feet, Six Senses Punakha is the lodge chain's lowest and, many say, its coziest: the "Flying Farmhouse," a cantilevered wooden lounge overlooking a pool set amid rice paddies just beginning to turn gold with the season. Time and light permitting, an afternoon hike climbs alongside the river through terraced paddies to Khamsum Yulley Namgyel Chorten, a temple raised by the Queen Mother for world peace, its views back down the valley reward enough for the fifty-minute ascent. Dinner at Ari, the lodge's rustic-chic dining room, set to the sound of the Punakha's braided rivers. 22 October | Punakha — Goen Shari & the Zangdopelri Project The day turns toward Goen Shari and a visit to Her Majesty the Gyalyum's Zangdopelri project — a rare window into one of the more personal royal initiatives shaping the valley's landscape and future, and among the journey's more privileged appointments. 23 October | Punakha — College of Natural Resources & Punakha Dzong The morning turns academic and agrarian with a visit to the College of Natural Resources, before the afternoon delivers what many consider Bhutan's single most beautiful building: Punakha Dzong, the Pungtang Dechen Photrang, "Palace of Great Happiness," rising six stories at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. Its courtyards and prayer halls hold some of the kingdom's most sacred relics; behind the dzong, the country's longest suspension bridge, strung with prayer flags, offers a last, unhurried walk among locals crossing home at day's end. October 24 — The return to Paro A final drive returns the group to Paro for one last night at COMO Uma Paro . An evening at leisure — dinner at Bukhari , perhaps a last visit to the spa — offers a chance to sit with eleven nights' worth of impressions. October 25 — Farewell & Departing Flight Your Bhutan Airlines Flight B3 773 departs at 10:20 am and lands 12:00 (noon) at Delhi, Indira Gandhi Airport. SHOW ME MORE ↓ Your trip at a glance Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge OVERVIEW Four decades ago, the Bhutan Foundation was founded on a proposition that seemed, at the time, almost radical: that a small Himalayan kingdom guided by its own philosophy of Gross National Happiness deserved partners who would support its vision on its own terms, rather than impose one from outside. What began as a modest bridge between Bhutan and the wider world has grown, over forty years, into one of the most enduring and trusted network of donors and partnerships the kingdom maintains — spanning conservation of the snow leopard's high-altitude range, restoration of architectural treasures like the Wangduechhoeling Palace, expansion of traditional medicine and special education, and countless quieter investments in the people and landscapes of Bhutan's valleys. This twelve-day journey is not simply a tour through that legacy — it is a homecoming through it. Every stop on the itinerary threads back to four decades of work: the private walkthrough of Wangduechhoeling's restoration is a chance to stand inside a project the Foundation helped inspire; the visit to the National Institute of Traditional Medicine and the special-education program in Thimphu offers a direct look at community investment sustained over a generation; the screening of Snow Leopard Sisters honors a conservation partnership that has quietly protected one of the world's most elusive cats for years. And the Board and Partners' dinner is more than an evening of hospitality — it is a gathering of the very people, Bhutanese, American, Canadian, Australian, European, who have carried this relationship forward decade after decade, many of whom have watched the Foundation's mission mature alongside their own participation in Bhutan’s future as donors, partners and advisors. To celebrate forty years in Bhutan is to celebrate a rare kind of patience — the recognition that the deepest change in a place like this does not arrive quickly, and is not measured the way progress is measured elsewhere. It is measured in heritage properties preserved rather than lost, in species protected rather than diminished, in children educated and traditions kept alive. This journey, moving as it does through Paro, Bumthang, Thimphu and Punakha, is designed to let a small circle of the Foundation's closest partners see that patience made visible — not as an abstraction in an annual report, but as a living, breathing kingdom that has, for forty years, trusted the Foundation to walk beside it. ACCOMMODATIONS Paro Uma Villa (3 nights), Six Senses Bumthang (2 nights), Thimphu Zhiwa Ling Ascent (3 nights), Punakha Six Senses (3 nights) This journey features 3 distinctive stays, each reflecting a different facet of the kingdom’s contemporary hospitality. Begin in Paro at COMO Uma Paro , where a private One-Bedroom Villa offers three restorative nights amid pine-clad hills and Himalayan views. Continue to Bumthang for two nights at Six Senses Bumthang 's Forest within a Forest Lodge, a secluded retreat designed for deep immersion in the valley’s quiet forests, temples, and pastoral rhythms. In Thimphu, spend three nights in the Zhiwa Ling Ascent Premium Suite , combining generous contemporary comfort with locally rooted design and convenient access to the capital’s cultural life. The journey concludes with three nights in the Six Senses Punakha , Flying Farmhouse, an elevated, farmhouse-inspired sanctuary overlooking Punakha’s fertile valley before a final return to the Paro Villa at COMO Uma Paro. Preview: BHUTAN FOUNDATION 40TH ANNIVERSARY JOURNEY Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US TRIP TYPE Private DURATION 12 days SEASON October (Festival season) FROM $28,850/per person (including taxes and fees; airfares additional) RESERVE TRIP Or call 1-855-4-BHUTAN (248826)

I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. Click Preview to see my content. To update me, go to the Data Manager. YOUR TAILORMADE JOURNEY Four Valleys One Happiness LEARN MORE JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS The Bhutan Foundation turns 40! Celebrate the partners and the projects that have made such positive impacts all across Bhutan! Home to Bhutan's first two kings, the historic Wangduechhoeling Palace , now a world-class museum, open to the public and special events — a private walkthrough led by the museum's Executive Director and head of renovations to explore and explain the future of this crown property. Her Majesty the Queen Mother's Zangdopelri Project at Goen Shari: A rare opportunity to visit and experience one of Bhutan's most personal royal initiatives, in the lush mountains above Punakha Snow Leopard Sisters screening: An exclusive evening presented with the Snow Leopard Foundation — conservation and cinema meeting at altitude in the Thimphu hills. SHOW ME MORE ↓ 14 October | Delhi to Paro The descent into Paro is itself a kind of theater — the plane threading between ridgelines so close that farmhouses seem near enough to touch, before the valley opens and the runway appears, impossibly small, along the river. On arrival, transfer directly to Paro COMO Uma's private one bedroom villa, set among pine trees. Settle in with an early check-in, and let the first afternoon be an unhurried one — lunch at the restaurant, Bukhari, or in the privacy of your vill's sitting room, with nothing more urgent than adjusting to the thin, bright air of Paro. Your Bhutan Airlines B3 774 flight departs at 1:00 pm from Delhi, Indira Gandhi Airport and lands in Paro at 03:50 pm, Bhutan Time. 15 October | Rest Day, Paro A day held open — the traveler's privilege of a full stop before the itinerary begins in earnest. If you're inclined to fill the stillness rather than surrender to it, Paro offers quiet diversions close to the lodge. Or, take a guided walk on the lodge's own loop trail through pine forests to dramatic Dzongdrakha, steep forty-five minute climb up a trail that rewards the effort with birds-eye views of Paro. Later, the Shambhala spa's hot stone bath may make a fitting close to that rarest of rarities, a quiet day spent reconnecting with yourself. 16 October | Paro to Bumthang The morning stays unhurried — a last wander of Paro's town, perhaps, or a visit to Kyichu Lhakhang, a seventh-century sanctuary said to guard two orange trees that fruit year-round regardless of season, one of the oldest religious structures standing in the kingdom. By late afternoon, transfer to the airstrip for a 5pm charter flight east to Bumthang, the kingdom's spiritual heartland, arriving after dark into the forest-clad hush of the Jakar Valley. Six Senses Bumthang calls itself a "forest within a forest," ringed by blue pine and set beside the rushing Chamkhar Chhu — a fitting name for a lodge that feels, on arrival, like a clearing found rather than built. Dinner awaits at Tongtshang, the lodge's signature restaurant, before an early rest. 17 October | Bumthang — Wangduechhoeling Palace Bumthang was Bhutan's original seat of power, and nowhere is that history more palpable than at Wangduechhoeling Palace, home to the kingdom's first two monarchs before the royal court moved to Punakha. Its white stone walls and richly carved timberwork — a textbook example of nineteenth-century Bhutanese architecture — are now under careful restoration with support from the Bhutan Foundation, and this private walkthrough, led by the project's head of renovations, offers a rare look at a historic building just opening up to the world. Time and energy permitting, extend the day along Bumthang's pilgrim's route: Jambay Lhakhang, one of the kingdom's oldest temples, dating to the seventh century; Jakar Dzong, "the Fortress of the White Bird," whose ramparts once defended the entire valley. Dine again at Tongtshang, with the valley settling into darkness outside, or join the group dinner in town. 18 October | Bumthang to Thimphu A short flight returns the group to Paro, from where the road climbs west into Thimphu Valley and the capital proper. The Zhiwa Ling Ascent sits in a pine forest near the Takin Zoo and within walking distance of hiking trails around the capital. 19 October | Thimphu — Institute Visits & Partners' Dinner The morning turns toward purpose: The Dagala Cheese Processing Project is a livelihood and value-addition initiative for yak-herding families in Dagala Gewog, the highland area southwest of Thimphu in Thimphu Dzongkhag. It is helping the Dagala Yak Cooperative move beyond traditional butter and dried or cottage cheese into hygienically produced, higher-value yak cheeses—particularly French-style Tomme ( Serja ) and Gumdel ( Serjom )—for wider commercial markets. Later, make some time to visit RADA, the proposed Royal Institute of Design and Art—a design-and-arts academy conceived to develop Bhutanese creative talent while grounding contemporary practice in the country’s visual traditions, crafts, and cultural identity. It was planned under the Bhutan Youth Development Fund (YDF), initially operating from a temporary Thimphu location while recognition and a permanent campus are being pursued. 20 October | Thimphu — Board Meeting & Snow Leopard Screening The morning and early afternoon are given over to the Board Meetings for the Advisory Board, while the others visit the National Institute of Traditional Medicine, where centuries of Himalayan herbal knowledge are preserved and practiced. In the afternoon, the mood turns celebratory with a screening of Snow Leopard Sisters , presented by the Snow Leopard Foundation in collaboration with the Bhutan Foundation followed by a formal Board and Partners' Dinner that gathers the trip's collaborators and hosts, a fitting bridge between the morning's fieldwork and the governance to come . 21 October | Thimphu to Punakha The road to Punakha is one of Bhutan's great drives, climbing over Dochula Pass — weather permitting, a curtain of prayer flags and, on clear days, a full chain of Himalayan peaks — before descending into the subtropical warmth of the valley below. At 5,140 feet, Six Senses Punakha is the lodge chain's lowest and, many say, its coziest: the "Flying Farmhouse," a cantilevered wooden lounge overlooking a pool set amid rice paddies just beginning to turn gold with the season. Time and light permitting, an afternoon hike climbs alongside the river through terraced paddies to Khamsum Yulley Namgyel Chorten, a temple raised by the Queen Mother for world peace, its views back down the valley reward enough for the fifty-minute ascent. Dinner at Ari, the lodge's rustic-chic dining room, set to the sound of the Punakha's braided rivers. 22 October | Punakha — Goen Shari & the Zangdopelri Project The day turns toward Goen Shari and a visit to Her Majesty the Gyalyum's Zangdopelri project — a rare window into one of the more personal royal initiatives shaping the valley's landscape and future, and among the journey's more privileged appointments. 23 October | Punakha — College of Natural Resources & Punakha Dzong The morning turns academic and agrarian with a visit to the College of Natural Resources, before the afternoon delivers what many consider Bhutan's single most beautiful building: Punakha Dzong, the Pungtang Dechen Photrang, "Palace of Great Happiness," rising six stories at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers. Its courtyards and prayer halls hold some of the kingdom's most sacred relics; behind the dzong, the country's longest suspension bridge, strung with prayer flags, offers a last, unhurried walk among locals crossing home at day's end. October 24 — The return to Paro A final drive returns the group to Paro for one last night at COMO Uma Paro . An evening at leisure — dinner at Bukhari , perhaps a last visit to the spa — offers a chance to sit with eleven nights' worth of impressions. October 25 — Farewell & Departing Flight Your Bhutan Airlines Flight B3 773 departs at 10:20 am and lands 12:00 (noon) at Delhi, Indira Gandhi Airport. SHOW ME MORE ↓ Your trip at a glance Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge Afternoon sunrays over Paro. The Six Senses Paro lodge with its signature 'Stone Ruins' in the distance, framed by the middle Himalayan range. Staff preparing the terrace for evening service at the Six Senses Thimphu's 'Palace in the Sky'. Drukair's ATR landing in Jakar Valley, Bumthang's district center. A cottage at the pine forested Six Senses lodge in Bumthang. Bucolic Tang Valley in Bumthang. The impeccable grounds of the historic Wangduechholing Palace Views of the surrounding mountains in Thimphu. Thimphu's giant Buddha Dordenma. Punakha rice-fields, upriver along the Mochu valley. Punakha Dzong's striking cantilever bridge OVERVIEW Four decades ago, the Bhutan Foundation was founded on a proposition that seemed, at the time, almost radical: that a small Himalayan kingdom guided by its own philosophy of Gross National Happiness deserved partners who would support its vision on its own terms, rather than impose one from outside. What began as a modest bridge between Bhutan and the wider world has grown, over forty years, into one of the most enduring and trusted network of donors and partnerships the kingdom maintains — spanning conservation of the snow leopard's high-altitude range, restoration of architectural treasures like the Wangduechhoeling Palace, expansion of traditional medicine and special education, and countless quieter investments in the people and landscapes of Bhutan's valleys. This twelve-day journey is not simply a tour through that legacy — it is a homecoming through it. Every stop on the itinerary threads back to four decades of work: the private walkthrough of Wangduechhoeling's restoration is a chance to stand inside a project the Foundation helped inspire; the visit to the National Institute of Traditional Medicine and the special-education program in Thimphu offers a direct look at community investment sustained over a generation; the screening of Snow Leopard Sisters honors a conservation partnership that has quietly protected one of the world's most elusive cats for years. And the Board and Partners' dinner is more than an evening of hospitality — it is a gathering of the very people, Bhutanese, American, Canadian, Australian, European, who have carried this relationship forward decade after decade, many of whom have watched the Foundation's mission mature alongside their own participation in Bhutan’s future as donors, partners and advisors. To celebrate forty years in Bhutan is to celebrate a rare kind of patience — the recognition that the deepest change in a place like this does not arrive quickly, and is not measured the way progress is measured elsewhere. It is measured in heritage properties preserved rather than lost, in species protected rather than diminished, in children educated and traditions kept alive. This journey, moving as it does through Paro, Bumthang, Thimphu and Punakha, is designed to let a small circle of the Foundation's closest partners see that patience made visible — not as an abstraction in an annual report, but as a living, breathing kingdom that has, for forty years, trusted the Foundation to walk beside it. ACCOMMODATIONS Paro Uma Villa (3 nights), Six Senses Bumthang (2 nights), Thimphu Zhiwa Ling Ascent (3 nights), Punakha Six Senses (3 nights) This journey features 3 distinctive stays, each reflecting a different facet of the kingdom’s contemporary hospitality. Begin in Paro at COMO Uma Paro , where a private One-Bedroom Villa offers three restorative nights amid pine-clad hills and Himalayan views. Continue to Bumthang for two nights at Six Senses Bumthang 's Forest within a Forest Lodge, a secluded retreat designed for deep immersion in the valley’s quiet forests, temples, and pastoral rhythms. In Thimphu, spend three nights in the Zhiwa Ling Ascent Premium Suite , combining generous contemporary comfort with locally rooted design and convenient access to the capital’s cultural life. The journey concludes with three nights in the Six Senses Punakha , Flying Farmhouse, an elevated, farmhouse-inspired sanctuary overlooking Punakha’s fertile valley before a final return to the Paro Villa at COMO Uma Paro. Preview: BHUTAN FOUNDATION 40TH ANNIVERSARY JOURNEY Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US TRIP TYPE Private DURATION 12 days SEASON October (Festival season) FROM $28,850/per person (including taxes and fees; airfares additional) RESERVE TRIP Or call 1-855-4-BHUTAN (248826)

TAILORMADE FOR YOU BY OUR TEAM I am a title 03 LEARN MORE I am a title 03 This is a paragraph. It is connected to a CMS collection through a dataset. Click “Edit Text” to update content from the connected collection. Handpicked from our favorite itineraries We're pleased to share our personalized journeys tailored to your needs, based on everything we have learned on the road, and on the ground, since 1999. We look forward to sharing our insider knowledge, authentic experiences, and our personal connections across the kingdom with you! Your brief to us A milestone celebratory trip for a group of three friends with a trek, festival, hiking and culture with stays at traditional local lodges. Tentative dates from October or early November 2027. Approximately 10 days duration (we recommend a minimum of 12 days if combining with a classic high Himalayan trek). I am a title 03 This is a paragraph. It is connected to a CMS collection through a dataset. Click “Edit Text” to update content from the connected collection. This is a paragraph. It is connected to a CMS collection through a dataset. Click “Edit Text” to update content in the connected CMS collection. The CMS can be used to store website content, or to collect data from site visitors when they submit a form. The CMS collection is already set up with some fields and content. To customize it with your own content, import a CSV file or simply edit this placeholder text from the collection. You can also add more fields, which you can then connect to other page elements to display content on your published site. Previous Item Next Item Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US

Spotlight: The award-winning photographer John Wehrheim captures the stirring landscape of the Bhutan Himalaya. His portraits linger in the mind long after you’ve seen them, elevating the essential dignity of his subjects. John has worked for the Sierra Club Bulletin, National Geographic and Time-Life Books. More recently his work has been published by Smithsonian, Honolulu Magazine, Huffington Post, London Daily Mail, Slate, Buzz Feed, Trip, The Sun, and First To Know, and featured in the 50th Anniversary Issue of The Surfer’s Journal. SPOTLIGHT Bhutan: Hidden Lands of Happiness Clouds over Pazhi Lhakhang, 2001, © John Wehrheim Text and Images, John Weirheim January 11, 2023 at 11:11:50 AM By special permission to Bhutan Himalaya Expeditions Bhutan Himalaya is proud to feature these iconic images of our native landscape, taken by our friend the award-winning photographer, artist and documentary filmmaker, John Wehrheim, accompanied by excerpted text from his highly-atmospheric book Bhutan: Hidden Lands of Happiness . John captures the personal stories and the stirring landscapes of his Hawaiian home and the Bhutan Himalaya where he has traveled extensively, two Edenic, some would say endangered, places that have left an imprint on his heart and his spectacular art. In an age of throwaway images, his portraits linger in the mind long after you’ve seen them, elevating the essential dignity of his subjects. John has worked for the Sierra Club Bulletin , National Geographic and Time-Life Books . More recently his work has been published by Smithsonian , Honolulu Magazine , Huffington Post , London Daily Mail , Slate , Buzz Feed , Trip , The Sun , and First To Know , and featured in the 50th Anniversary Issue of The Surfer’s Journal . Mother and children, Lubcha, Laya, 1994 © John Wehrheim Mother & Children, Laya A caterpillar with a thin mushroom growing between its eyes, the strange and rare yartsa goenbub, has become the main source of cash for most Laya people. Traditional oriental herbalists believe yartsa goenbub (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) prolongs life, acting as a powerful aphrodisiac and general panacea. With China’s new prosperity, the demand and price for yartsa goenbub have skyrocketed. The Chinese use farm implements and tractors to turn the soil and harvest yartsa goenbub; Bhutanese use their hands, as well as the sharp eyes and tiny fingers of their children, and do it without destroying their pastures. Sonam Drugyel lets loose his arrow, Tashi Thongmen Dzong, 2004, © John Wehrheim Divine Archer Sonam Drugyel wears his traditional gho with contemporary boots while competing in an age-old archery contest with a high-tech compound bow. Playing in a field next to a 17th Century Dzong, Sonam symbolizes Bhutan's blend of the ancient with the present. When the 15th-century Master of Truth, Lord of Beings, Drukpa Kinley was staying at Lady Semzangmo’s house in the Tibetan province of Yamdrok, he had a dream. Early the next morning, he strung his bow and loosed a wailing arrow into the southern sky. “Fly southwards to benefit all beings and the Tradition,” he intoned, “and land at the house of a blessed, heaven-favored girl.” Laya School, 2005, © John Wehrheim Highland Education The end of theocracy and the establishment of monarchy in 1907 began a gradual shift from monastic to secular education. The Royal family and nobility started the trend by sending their sons and daughters to private missionary schools in Kalimpong and Darjeeling. Then the Royal Government followed during the reign of the 3rd King, providing scholarships for particularly talented students to train as teachers, administrators, engineers, forest officers, and doctors. Bhutan provides eleven years of free schooling: one year of pre-primary school, six years of primary, two years of junior high and two years of high school. Many Bhutanese study abroad in English speaking countries. The vast majority of these Bhutanese students return to their homeland. Planting rice in Lobesa, 2005 © John Wehrheim Planting Rice In 2013, Bhutan announced it would be the world's first country to go one-hundred percent organic and started a qualification program supported by Organics International. Because the traditional cultural practices of Bhutan’s isolated communities have remained unchanged for centuries, the country is a treasure house of biodiversity with over six-hundred unique cultivars, landraces and wild species of rice. These lead the country’s crop production with estimated ninety-thousand metric tons in 2017. While Bhutan is close to achieving its goal of food self-sufficiency, rice yield falls about forty-percent short of rice consumption, with the balance imported from India—though local varieties are much preferred and command a premium in the market. Neylu snow, Laya, 2006 © John Wehrheim Neylu snow, Laya, 2006 The snowfall thickens as we break trail down to Neylu through knee-deep powder. All around the villagers celebrate the harvest festival of Awlley. During Awlley unmarried girls go boldly from house to house singing and dancing while some married women follow, hiding in blankets, peeking out to judge the families’ hospitality while seeking a match for their sons. If a hidden woman likes what she sees, she will subtly reveal herself and if the women of the household recognize her and consider her sons a good match, they will pull her blankets away and offer her tea and talk of marriage. Jomolhari 1994 © John Wehrheim Jomolhari, 1994 “Seventy-two percent of Bhutan is under pristine forest cover. Our constitution decrees that a minimum of sixty percent of Bhutan's total land shall remain under forest cover for all time... Our entire country generates 2.2 million tons of carbon dioxide, but our forests, they sequester more than three times that amount, so we are a net carbon sink for more than four million tons of carbon dioxide each year. Of the 200-odd countries in a world threatened with climate change, it looks like we are the only one that's carbon neutral.” ~ Lyonpo Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan Sonam, Tshering and Namgay, Tango, 2002 © John Wehrheim Three Monks, 2002 I found a community of brothers living in small, scattered cottages and caves, hidden near the tree line. Each hermitage overlooked mountains, forests and sky. Wild animals were abundant and birdsong filled the air. The hermits were the hardest working, healthiest and most intelligent men I had met in Bhutan. They retreated in prayer, yoga and meditation for periods of three years and three phases of the moon. But if another monk needed a hand, they would show up and work from sunrise to sunset, sometimes joking and laughing but mostly focused on the job, doing the work like a silent dance. Prayer wheels on the trail to Taktshang, 1991 © John Wehrheim Prayer wheels on the trail to Taktshang, 1991 Painted with the syllables Om Mani Padme Hung, the spinning cylinders repeat the ancient mantra of wisdom and compassion. Though flowing water has powered prayer wheels and flour mills for centuries, electricity and hydropower first came to Bhutan in the 1960’s. Bhutan’s hydros are “run-of-the-river” without storage dams, significant deforestation or major population displacement. Diversions have state-of-the-art fish ladders that diminish disruption to aquatic migration. The Bhutanese believe that earth, trees, sky, and water all contain spirits and are guarded by protective deities. They know on every level, from superstition to science, that if they cut down their trees, pollute the air and foul the water, their prayer wheels will no longer send blessing out into the universe and the primary source of their life and livelihood will dry up. Karma Yuden and baby Tenzie, Gasa Hot Springs, 2004 © John Wehrheim Mother and baby, Gasa Hot Springs, 2004 Bhutanese make frequent pilgrimages to remote and often hidden hot springs. Called tsha chu and found throughout Bhutan, they are places of healing, community, rest and devotion. The chanting and prayer begin at dawn with the purifying sang ritual of burning juniper. In the evenings, around the cooking fires, beer, and ara flow, new friends are made and stories told. The songs and dances go late into the night while young men and women slip off to meet in the dark steaming baths. And day or night the healing sounds of laughter lighten the air. Previous Next Granny Lhanzom, Grandmother Gaki Om, Grandmother Tshering Dolkar, Karma Wangmo with little Metho, Thimphu, 2005, © John Wehrheim Four Generations of Bhutanese Women Her mother died when Lhanzom was a teenager. At twenty she married a trader. They had a daughter, then a son who died of chicken pox at five. Soon after her son’s death, Lhanzom’s husband fell off a horse and died on a trading journey. Lhanzom decided to go on pilgrimage with her ten-year-old daughter to pray for all her deceased loved ones. She became a trader herself, buying and selling jewelry along the pilgrimage. During this pilgrimage Lhanzom married Ugyen Tenzin, the son of a friend of her deceased mother and a member of her pilgrimage group. [I]n the fourth moon of the Horse Year of 1954, Tshering Dolkar, was born. Lhanzom’s daughter, Tshering Dolkar, the mother of Karma Wangmo, runs a large handicraft and jewelry shop, a business she learned from her mother. TWEET EMAIL Travel Stories Discover a fascinating temple that preserves an ancient history of migration ; How brown trout came to Bhutan's rivers ; Traveling to learn about Bhutan's 'happiness' philosophy and other stories. What We're Talking About The King's Speech; Bhutan's rapid (pandemic) vaccine response blending science and faith; Why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 nand other stuff we're talking about. Browse upcoming journeys for 2023 & beyond _________ Travel Logistics Organizer for CBS 60 Minutes 2024 special report on Bhutan “First, thank you for making my trip to Bhutan run smoothly. Second, for explaining your culture and customs to me and our team in a way that helped our 60 MINS story come alive. Third, for making the visit seriously fun!” ~ Lesley Stahl, Correspondent, CBS 60 Minutes, September 2024 Search Travel Bhutan Abundance: a summer journey JOURNEYS Blessings of Bhutan Bhutan’s Jomolhari Trek Heart of Happiness Trek to Treasure Lake On the Wings of Prayer Punakha’s Pageant of Warriors Bhutan in the Time of Rhododendrons SEE ALL JOURNEYS Stories Hidden Lands of Happiness SPOTLIGHT Wild Wild East: How an ancient matriarch led her people to Bhutan Our top 10 reasons why you should visit Bhutan in 2023 How the brown trout came to Bhutan's lakes and rivers The top 10 mask dances to see in Bhutan Pomp & circumstance at Bhutan's warriors festival A journey to learn about Gross National Happiness SEE ALL STORIES Us The Bhutan Himalaya Difference ABOUT US Who we are The Bhutan Himalaya Difference What Our Travelers Say Our Team Meet our latest hires CONTACT US

Bhutan's annual Punakha warriors festival is part religious tradition, part living history. We take you there in this first-hand account. FIELD NOTES The Pomp and Circumstance of Bhutan’s Punakha Warriors Festival Karma Dorji Karma Dorji March 30, 2019 Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Home > Stories > Current Page Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link With thoughtful itineraries honed since 1999, we unveil the depths of Bhutan's happiness philosophy, the daily physical adventures through the beautiful Himalayan landscape complemented by the intimate and in-depth cultural experiences sensitively curated for you every day. Questions? Get in touch with us Through the eyes of a select few informed leaders we saw the dilemmas of a culture: A hitherto sheltered nation discovering the arguments for and against remaining a cloistered society in this 21st Century. I loved the adventure, and I loved the discovery. Unlike anything else I have ever experienced! Lola W., California Get similar features & travel information straight to your inbox with the Bhutan Himalaya Newsletter THE PLAINTIVE CRIES of reed pipes rise skyward, followed by a blast of sonorous long horns. Then, the hollow ‘boff’ of large, ritually decorated skin-drums, punctuated by the clamor of hand-held brass cymbals. A fitting fanfare for the rugged commanders wearing gleaming brass helmets and bright ceremonial attire atop the stout festooned horses led by ceremonial monks. Others stride, in a grand procession more like a hero's welcome than an annual religious ritual. The annual dances of Bhutan's Pazaap warriors help preserve a vital fragment of the kingdom's rich cultural history © Karma Dorji / Bhutan Himalaya Expeditions Soon, the yellow flash of abbots’ robes and a reflected gleam from signature round-rimmed glasses alerts us to the arrival of Bhutan’s highest spiritual figure, His Holiness the Je Khenpo, chief Buddhist cleric in all the kingdom. With the highest dignitary taking his seat, the massive medieval courtyard inside the fortress (Dzong) fills up quickly with festival attendees wearing their Sunday best. Among the audience are inhabitants of all the neighboring valleys of Punakha, state guests, prominent officials, government ministers and members of the kingdom’s royal family. Once all the VIPs take their seats in the upper viewing area, the festival kicks into high gear. An explosion of fireworks startles the crowds, followed by bloodcurdling battle-cries, shouts, whoops and whistles. Enter the main event: Punakha’s Pazaap Warriors. Once in their lined formations across the flagstone courtyard, the warriors begin a striking display of martial power. Blades slice the air as shields rise to meet the blows. Faces twist fiercely, bodies turn and whirl. Drums beat, feet leap, turn and land in a strenuous ballet interpreting the historic encounters of warriors past, and recounting the origins of this unique warriors’ guild. Holy Tooth! The story concerns a holy Buddhist relic, the Rangjung Kharsapani, a miraculously arisen tooth-statue—yes, a holy icon carved into a tooth!—representing Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Brought from Tibet by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the 17th century hierarch of the Drukpa or “Dragon” school of Buddhism, who later unified Bhutan, the relic sparked a series of military clashes with Tibetan soldiers over its possession. Enter the Pazaap warriors who swore fealty to the Shabdrung — a term of reverence that means “At Whose Feet We Kneel” — and promised to defend the holy relic with their lives. Each time the Pazaaps repelled the Tibetan forces, they returned with more reinforcements. The battles for the tooth relic grew increasingly intense until, with no end in sight, the Shabdrung and the Pazaaps devised a clever ruse to end the hostilities. During a break in the fighting, the Bhutanese side formed an elaborate procession of monks and warriors from the fortress to the banks of the Mochu river, next to the dzong, and pretended to throw the holy object into the water. Watching from the other side of the river, the Tibetans thought the relic was lost forever. So they turned and left. The Bhutanese, meanwhile, had cleverly locked away the holy tooth in one of the highest towers of the dzong, where it remains to this day. In time, it became one of the kingdom’s most fiercely guarded national treasures, a raison d'être for the newly minted warriors. The festival reaches a climax with more whoops and yells, followed by the reed-like music of the pipes. The yellow-robed figure of the chief guest rises, followed by his retinue of monks and ceremonial standard bearers. Then His Holiness leads the procession out of the courtyard and down the stairs to the banks of the river, reenacting history. Bhutan’s spiritual leader throws something round and shiny into the river (I’m told it’s an orange), symbolizing the history-making feint we described earlier. Later, we meet the warriors in person in one of the inner courtyards of the dzong. They seem less intimidating now as they sit around joking, laughing, and teasing each other in the sun. They smile, showing teeth stained red by chewing too much Beetlejuice. Won over by promises of hand-delivered photographs, they line up for pictures. A young boy mimics the trademark stance of present-day Pazaap warriors, who are still chosen by locality, height, strength and other physical attributes © Karma Dorji / Bhutan Himalaya Expeditions. Like their ancient forebears, they have heavy spiked brass helmets with protective coverlets that run down the sides and backs of their heads. They have lightweight shields of woven cane and ceremonial ones fashioned from tough animal hide. Their scarlet knee-length ghos are made from a heavy mix of yak hair and wool. In a pinch, I could easily see it doubling as a blanket. Wrapped around their shoulders and their necks are rough lengths of heavy raw silk that the young men say can stop a full frontal blow from a broadsword. And yes, they’re wearing swords; swords over two-feet long, swinging, swashbuckler-style, from their waists. Later, leaving me with instructions on where to deliver the photographs, the warriors go home. One by one they hurry down the long, shadowy passages on either side of the fortress, as generations of Pazaaps before them have done and, hopefully, will for many more generations to come, if this colorful commemoration of their unique role in Bhutanese history survives into the future. A young monk with a trio of Pazaap warriors, brothers who will walk very different paths in life. © Karma Dorji / Bhutan Himalaya Expeditions Join us for the annual Pageant of Warriors , one of the hand-selected Signature Journeys we offer each year. To receive similar updates in your inbox, please subscribe to our newsletter Email* Yes, subscribe me to your newsletter. 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A firsthand account of Bhutan's early springtime "Festival of Warriors," its history and pageantry. | SLIDESHOW | WARRIORS PROCESSION | Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. Swipe left on image for Next Slide; right for Previous Slide; scroll down for caption READ CAPTION 1. "The Palace of Great Bliss" Stone-faced, burly and forbidding, the warriors are suddenly all smiles and grins, showing crimson teeth stained by beetle-juice. The fierce men lined up moments earlier for the group photograph are modern-day descendants of Bhutan's Pazaaps, a centuries-old citizen's militia charged with safeguarding holy relics within the fortified ramparts of western Bhutan's Dechen Punthang Phodrang or "Palace of Great Bliss," which straddles the confluence of two rivers, Mochu and Phochu, like a great white ship at anchor. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 2. A Group Photo Like their ancient forebears before them, the present-day Pazaaps have heavy spiked brass helmets with protective coverlets that run down the sides and backs of their heads. They carry lightweight shields made from woven cane with an outer covering of tough animal hide. Their bright red shoulder-to-knee ghos are made from a dense blend of yak hair and wool. Wrapped around their shoulders and their necks are durable lengths of dull raw silk which, used correctly, can stop a full frontal blow from a long sword. And yes, they are wearing swords; swords well over two-feet long and hanging swashbuckler-fashion from their waists or tucked at rakish angles into their belts. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 3. A Vibrant Festival Leaving me, the warriors disappear quickly into the shadowy passages on either side of the massive stone fortress—known colloquially as a dzong*—they have known all their lives. They are in a hurry because the Pazaaps and their cohorts are the main attraction today at the annual "Procession of Warriors", a grand festival blending religion, history and cultural spectacle in this part of the country we have invited our guests to attend. Each year, when winter gives up its hold on the countryside to an early spring and purple jacarandas start to bloom on the trees outside its walls, the grand halls and courtyards of this monumental monastery-fortress, one of the kingdom's finest, explodes in a riot of colors and sounds, a medieval pageant recounting one of the country's most important legends. *Dzong: A Dzong is one of Bhutan's defining architectural landmarks. These grand monastery-fortresses house religious and administrative offices of provincial governors spiritual leaders. Similar to European castles in function, they serve as state capitol, Buddhist seminary, district court all rolled in one. At various times of the year they also become the venue of large communal celebrations such as the religious festivals that have been held on their grounds for centuries. There are 20 beautiful dzongs in Bhutan; one each in each of the 20 regions of the kingdom. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 4. The Great Unifier The story concerns a certain holy relic—the Rangjung Kharsapani*—a miraculous self-created image of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The holy artifact was brought to Bhutan in the early 17th century by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel—master-builder, administrator and, according to the history books, "The Great Unifier of Bhutan"—personified at the festival (above) by a high lama wearing a gold-paint mask. The fact that Shabdrung brought the sacred image to Bhutan among his prized spiritual possessions irked his powerful rivals in Tibet who promptly launched several military campaigns to reclaim it. Enter the Pazaap warriors, who were sworn in as its defenders. After several battles, Shabdrung and the ancestors of today's Pazaaps came up with an idea to put an end to the hostilities. During a lull in fighting, they formed a procession of monks and warriors to the Mochu river next to the dzong and pretended to throw the holy object in water. When the Tibetan forces saw that the Avalokitesvara image was now lost to all, they left, never to return. Unbeknownst to the Tibetans, however, the real relic was securely placed in a protected tower of the dzong, where it remains to this day. *Rangjung Kharsapani: An exceedingly rare statue of the enlightened Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara believed to have appeared from the ashes of Tshangpa Gyari, one of the founders of the Drukpa or "Dragon" school of Buddhism practiced in Bhutan (because of this Bhutanese call themselves Drukpai Meyser, or “People of the Drukpa”). Following his cremation, the founder Tshangpa Gyari’s vertebrae are said to have turned themselves miraculously into 21 such miniature statues of Avalokiteshvara. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 5. A Pageant of Warriors A sudden blast of ceremonial music—drums, long horns, reedy pipes and clashing hand-held cymbals—announces the start of the day's festivities. Following the sounds of the music to the main outer courtyard of the dzong, I see the grand procession of warriors weaving its way from the ample grounds outside the fortress. Colorful swirling religious standards and pennants dominate the view on every side. As the procession moves closer, I can see that in addition to the foot soldiers like the ones I photographed earlier, there are proud commanders with gleaming helmets wearing flashy silks and brocades. They ride brightly festooned horses, led and followed by long lines of monks and monastics. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 6. Pomp and Ceremony Then, a flash of yellow, a quick gleam of reflection from round-rimmed glasses announcing the arrival of one of the most recognizable and beloved figures in the kingdom, His Holiness Je Khenpo, chief arbiter of all things monastic in Bhutan. The courtyards now fill up quickly with vibrantly dressed festival-goers in their best and brightest. Among the residents of the surrounding valleys of Punakha, are state guests, high officials, ministers and members of the kingdom's beloved royal family. The dignitaries take their seats in the elaborate upper viewing galleries of the dzong which includes the ceremonial seat of His Holiness Je Khenpo, who presides. In short order, the festivities begin in earnest. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 7. Dance of the Warriors A sudden explosion of fire-works accompanied by blood-curdling yells, whoops and whistles announces the entrance of our friends, the Pazaaps. Blades slice the air and shields rise to meet them. Faces contort fiercely, bodies twist and twirl. Drums beat, and feet leap in the air, a strenuous if effortless-seeming ballet telling a story about the brave and historic encounters of warriors past. Re-enacting the battles of their forbears, Bhutan's Pazaap warriors preserve a vital aspect of the kingdom's cultural memory. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 8. The Deflection Suddenly, a plaintive cry, followed by more ceremonial music. The yellow-robed figure of the Je Khenpo rises, followed by his retinue of monks and ceremonial standard bearers. The re-enactment of the symbolic procession to the river includes Bhutan's chief abbot, His Holiness Je Khenpo (in yellow robes), modern day representatives of officials and nobility from the surrounding valleys and retinues of monks, musicians and warriors. The procession gradually makes its way out of the courtyard and down the stairs to the banks of the river. Bhutan's spiritual leader ceremonially throws something round and shiny into the river (I'm told it's an orange) symbolizing one of history's most unique peace-inducing deflections as well as an annual offering to the spirits of the river. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 9. Another Year Down by the river, I can see the Pazaaps celebrating, pumping their fists gleefully in the air. I hear their exuberant shouts and cries, and though I can't see their faces from the distance, I imagine them grinning ear to ear with red betel-stained teeth, marking yet another happy year of their lives. Watching the final act of a martial celebration in a country otherwise known for its peace and tranquility I have reached a personal conclusion. Despite the explosions, in spite of the fierce dances, the leaping, jousting and vigorous crossing of swords, this event is really about finding resolution. It is not so much about the pride and prowess of the Pazaap warriors as about defusing conflict, something we need more of in the world today. Slideshow of Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival Images from Bhutan's early-springtime festival. Scroll down to read caption details. Feature Article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. | Travel Itinerary at Procession of Warriors. READ CAPTION 10. Endnote Although there is no longer an expectation that the Pazaaps will ever see battle, the young men are still chosen for their ancestry, strength, intelligence, standing in the community and, to a certain extent, for their good looks and their physical stature. These three friends relax after their exertions at the festival with a young monk (at the edge of the frame). While their lives will lead them down very different paths, of householder and renunciation (in the case of the monk), their strong bonds of kinship will endure through the years enabled by the openness of Bhutanese society and the wide-ranging roles that those in the monasteries play in the lives of the average Bhutanese citizen, warriors and laymen. By Karma Dorji The annual festival of warriors ushers Bhutan's springtime festival travel season. The history of the Pazaaps (as the warriors are known) celebrates martial strength, the significance of sacred relics in Bhutan and a clever defusing of cross-border hostilities. To learn more, read the full article at Bhutan's Procession of Warriors Festival. To see dates and prices for an upcoming journey featuring the festival, see here. Like this? Get similar features & travel information delivered to your inbox with the Bhutan Himalaya Newsletter

From our old yak-skin bags, quick summaries of trips we have done in the past. Customise one, or browse current offerings ... THIS MONTH'S Trip Archives Over the years we have run all kinds of trips for a diverse range of guests. We are sharing those itinerary descriptions here in no particular order so please keep checking for more. Just remember that, like your own journey, these summaries were merely the starting point for the real, and much more memorable, adventures that awaited down the road. BROWSE PAST TRIPS More Suggested Reading Click or tap on a text button below to learn more TRAVEL SNAPSHOTS GUEST VIGNETTES INSIGHTS LEARN MORE LONG READS GOING DEEPER FEATURE ARTICLES FOR YOUR INFORMATION

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