8-Day Dancing with the Cranes

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The drive from Thimphu to Punakha takes us first to the Dochula Mountain Pass looking out to the snow-covered Himalayas. Here there are 108 memorial chortens built by the eldest Queen Mother. Visit to Punakha Dzong, the most beautiful dzong in the country, especially in spring when the lilac-coloured jacaranda trees bring amazing colours to the dzong's towering whitewashed walls. After lunch hike to the Devine Madman’s Monastery, famously known for its fertility shrine.

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Visit Gangtey Gompa, the seat of the Ngyingmapa Buddhism, one of the religious sects in Bhutan. The present reincarnate is the 9th descendant of Terton Pema Lingpa. This monastery serves as the wintering home for endangered black-necked cranes migrating from Tibet from November to February to escape harsh winter there. The road to Gangtey passes through dense forests and oak, rhododendron trees and is beautiful.

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The annual Black-Necked Crane festival is celebrated at the courtyard of Gangtey Goenpa in Phobjikha Valley. The festival is an occasion for the locals to rejoice and celebrate the arrival of this endangered and majestic bird which becomes an inseparable part in their daily lives during the winter months. The annual black-necked crane festival(Tshechu) is organised to generate awareness and understanding of the importance of conserving the endangered black-necked cranes.

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Start your journey back to Thimphu via a small factory that produces traditional Bhutanese paper from the bark of the daphne bush - you can see the whole process. Visit the prominent National Memorial Chorten, which is predominantly white with spires of gold. It was erected in 1974 in honour of the father of modern Bhutan, the third king of the country. Stop by Kuensel Phodrang - Buddha Point, a gigantic Buddha statue, which houses over one hundred thousand smaller Buddha statues.

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You'll journey back to Paro for the last leg of your journey. Visit one of the oldest monasteries in the country built in the 7th century by the Tibetan King Songsten Gampo and the ruins of Drukgyal Dzong. This fortress was built around 1644-49 to commemorate the Bhutanese victory over the Tibetan-Mongol forces. It was later burnt in an accidental fire in 1951.

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Paro is a valley of religious myth and legend. The most famous landmark, the Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest), stands on a granite cliff about 800 metres above the valley. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche, a famous Buddhist saint, flew to Paro on a tigress and meditated at Taktsang. The monastery is considered as a national treasure of Bhutan. Today is dedicated to hiking to the monastery to see it in its majesty. It will take you most of the day.