BHUTAN

Bhutan is known as the Land of the Thunder Dragon, though the name seems a misnomer, as every face seems to wear a smile. The Bhutanese project an inner happpiness that travelers remember long after their visit. Here you will find a dazling display of Dzongs, stupas, monasteries, and a sacred tradition of visual arts. Little has changad in this pristine mountain kingdom over the centuries. This is a journey back in time, to a place still slowly waking up to the present.

DAY 01 : DELHI / PARO
Your flight KB 125 (0650/1045) this morning takes you to the majestic mountain retreat of Bhutan. (Note: Your air ticket for flight Bangkok to Paro has been forwarded to Druk Air counter at the Airport. Please proceed for check-in in the morning. Kindly carry 2 passport size pictures for Bhutan visa.) Upon arrival, you are welcomed and transferred to
Olathang HOTEL. Later, a stroll down the main street is a very pleasant experience. (B/L/D)

DAY 02 : PARO SIGHTSEEING
Your tour of Paro includes a visit to Ta Dzong, now the national museum, and fascinating Rinpung Dzong. Ta Dzong, the one-time castle shaped watchtower built to defend Rinpund Dzong during civil war among many temporal rulers of Bhutan in the 17th century, has been the National Museum since 1967. The museum’s collection includes ancient Bhutanese arts and artefacts, weapons and stamps, birds and animals. On a liff that rises from the river, stands elegantly symmetrical Rinpung Dzong view of Paro valley stretched out below. Built in 1646, it now houses the Paro monastic body and the office of the Dzongda (governor) and Thrimpn (judge) of Paro District.

This afternoon, enjoy a country drive through pristine alpine meadows populated with brilliant birds and endless species of flowers, the only sigh of man being yak herders and their occasional black yak-hair tents. Visit the burnt ruins of Drugyel Dzong (victorious fortress) from where Bhutan repelled several invasions by Tibet. On a clear day, the whitedomed peak of sacred Mt. Chomolhari (Mountain of Goddess) can be viewed. Olathang HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 03 : PARO / THIMPHU
You are driven through spectacular mountain views and peaceful countryside to Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital. En route, visit a Bhutanese farmhouse, traditionally built entirely without nails. Thimphu is a small, charming capital city sandwiched in the heart of the Himalayas. It is nothing like what capital city is imagined to be. All houses and buildings are painted and constructed in traditional Bhutanese style. Your tour of Thimphu includes the Simtokha Dzong, the oldest dzong built in 1672, which now used as the Dzongka Language and Religion University of Bhutan. Also visit the great Tashichho Dzong – or Fortress of the Glorious Religion – the home of the National Assemby and the summer residence of the capital’s venerated monastic community. Stroll to Changgankha Monastery, and visit the handicrafts emporium where a wide assortment of beautiful handwoven and crafted products are displayed. DRUK HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 04 : PUNAKHA EXCURSION
The first stop after leaving Thimphu is Dochula Pass at 10,500 feet, site of one of Bhutan’s most enchanting views. From this pass, the breathtaking peaks of Bhutan’s Northern border can be viewed and within sight of the alpine snow is a magnificent canvas of colour-a profusion of red, pink, white, yellow and purple rhododendron blossoms splashed among the soft green of wild herbs and forest trees. Blessed with a temperate climate and drained by the Phochu and Mochu rivers, is the fertile valley of Punakha. Before Thimphu was made capital of Bhutan, Punakha held the title as winter capital because of its more temperate climate. Today it is the winter seat of the Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot) and the Central Monk Body. Punakha Dzong, built at the junction of Phochu and Mochu rivers in 1637 by the first Shabdrung of Bhutan, Ngawang Namgyel, served as both the religious and administrative centre of Bhutan. Overnight at Zangto Pelri HOTEL. (B/L/D)

DAY 05 : THIMPHU
Morning is at leisure. This afternoon, visit the National Memorial Chorten (stupa), a monument dedicated to the Third King of Bhutan popularly known as the Father of Modern Bhutan. The paintings and statues inside the monument provide a very rare insight into Buddhist philosophy. DRUK HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 06 : THIMPHU / PHUNTSHOLING
Continue your exploration of Bhutan by road to Phuntsholing, a small town on the India/Bhutan border. En route, see occasional finely crafted Bhutanese houses or the red band and spire denoting a temple in the distance. Clusters of prayer flags wave on lonely hillsides, placed there by devotees. Stop at the beautiful Kharbandi Gompa, a monastery situated in tropical gardens. Later, this evening, walk along the Phuntsholing bazaar. DRUK HOTEL (B/L/D)

SIKKIM – INDIA

From the snow-clad mountins of tiny Sikkim, India’s smallest state, through the lush, green hills of Darjeeling where tea, bamboo, rhodendron and orchids bloom in profusion, to the teeming streets of Calcutta-East India is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, wildlife and great variety, beckoning the visitor to discover.

DAY 07 : PHUNTSHOLING / KALIMPONG
Enter India and continue to colorful Kalimpong, famous for its abundant flowers. Entire hillsides are ablaze with colour during the season. Among the sights you’ll see are Raja Dorje market and the Yellow Hat Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. This peaceful and scenic town includes a number of houses bearing testament to the town’s heritage and gracious living in the early 1900’s. SILVER OAKS HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 08 : KALIMPONG / GANGTOK
The road to Gangtok meanders through pretty Teesta Valley to the mountainside capital of Sikkim. Looking like something out of a fairy tale, the houses balance precariously kon steep mountain slopes above incredible panoramas. Pagoda-like home, painted turquoise roofs, and busy bazaars are filled with elegantly costumed smiling-faced people, adding to the magic of this scene. NORKHILL HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 09 : GANGTOK SIGHTSEEING
A morning excursion will takes us to Rumtek Monastery. Tiny Sikkim’s 194 monasteries or gompas belong to the Nyingma and Kagyu orders. Not only have they been influential historically in the cultural heritage and the lifestyle of the people, today the monks still adhere to the ancient rituals in practice. The Rumtek is the largest Monastery in Sikkim, traditional in design, it is a close replica of the original in Tibet with beautiful murals and religious artefacts. It is an mportant center for Kagyu teaching. The first monastery was built in 1717 AD but.
crumbled to ruins, later it was rebuilt in 1960 by His Holiness the late 16th Gyala Karmapa when he took refuge in Sikkim after the Chinese attack

This afternoon, visit the Research Institute of Tibetology, built in 1958 by the last Chogyal (King) of Sikkim. It houses a faculty of schollars, a library with a large collection of documents and rare books on Buddhism, a museum with a collection of antiques, coins and Tibetan paintings (thangkas). It is also world famous for its research activities on Tibetan language and culture. Stop at the Orchid Sanctuary, where 250 different types of rare and beautiful orchids bloom; visit the Buddhist monastery at the Palace; and the Residency – from which an excellent view of the mountains is possible. NORKHILL HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 10 : GANGTOK / DARJEELING
Travel today to Darjeeling at an altitude of 7,000 feet. Called the “Queen of the Himalayas”, Darjeeling has been a very popular hill station since the British established it as a rest and recreation center for its troops in the mid-1800s. Here you will find yourself surrounded by mountain people from all over the eastern Himalayas. Outside the monsoon season the views over the mountains to the snowy peaks of Kanchenjunga and down to the swollen rivers in the valley bottoms are magnificent. This evening, enjoy a visit to the bazaar for a taste of life in this little piece of heaven. WINDAMERE HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 11 : TIGER HILL & DARJEELING CITY TOUR
Set out early this morning to see a truly spectacular sight on Tiger Hill (weather permitting). You will get an unforgettable experience of catching the black night turn lighter, get suffused with a dull-red turning into brilliant orange and then bright gold as the sun rises over the Kanchenjunga range. On the way back, visit Ghoom, the small Tibetan monastery, built in 1875 and hosting a 15ft statue of the Maitrey Buddha.

Later, tour this magnificent city. Darjeeling is an abrupt change from the plains. There is no population, there are no crowds, and the life is very slow. Stop at Lebong Valley with the world’s highest race course. There is no racing done any more, but it is a nice place for a walk. At the town center is the Mall, which leads to Chaurastha, a square with a bandstand, a bookshop with old books on India and Tibet, and antique shops. Further down the north along the Birch Hill Road, is the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute once headed by the late Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa guide who conquered the Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. Visit a tea plantation to learn about and sample the “Champagne of the East”. Darjeeling tea had such a premium value in the Western markets that it was soon considered to be one of the finest teas in the world when it came to aroma and delicacy of taste. WINDAMERE HOTEL (B/L/D)

DAY 12 : DARJEELING / BAGDOGRA / CALCUTTA
Travel to Bagdogra for your to Calcutta, one of the biggest cities in the world and India’s second largest city. Capital of West Bengal, Calcutta is a city of contrasts and paradoxes. Here utter poverty and opulent wealth, ramshackle houses and majestic mansions coexist in what has been called a “dying city” but which is so vibrantly alive that it is also called the “city of joy”. Upon arrival, you are met and transferred to TAJ BENGAL HOTEL. (B/L/D)

DAY 13 : CALCUTTA & ONWARD FLIGHT
You will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight.