Central Bhutan Trail

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Leave for Punakha — a 125 km, four-hour drive back over the Dochula pass. The old winter capital at 1,200 m, warm enough for rice and oranges, with the finest dzong in the country at the meeting of two rivers. Check in on arrival and, as the day allows, the Punakha Dzong at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu. Overnight in Punakha.

Breakfast at the hotel. A full day in Punakha — the Chimi Lhakhang fertility temple across the rice fields; the Punakha suspension bridge, one of the longest in Bhutan; and the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten and its valley walk. The evening is free for dinner and a walk on your own. Overnight in Punakha.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Leave for Phobjikha — a 75 km, three-hour drive over the Pele pass. A glacial valley at 3,000 m where the black-necked cranes come down from Tibet to winter, and where the Gangtey monastery looks over the whole bowl. Check in on arrival and, as the day allows, the black-necked cranes, from late October to mid-February. Overnight in Phobjikha.

Breakfast at the hotel. A full day in Phobjikha — the Gangtey Goenpa monastery on its spur, the Gangtey nature trail across the valley floor and the Black-Necked Crane Information Centre. The evening is free for dinner and a walk on your own. Overnight in Phobjikha.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Leave for Trongsa — a 120 km, three-hour drive east. The ancestral seat of the royal family, its dzong strung along a ridge above a gorge, commanding the only east-west road in the country. Check in on arrival and, as the day allows, the Trongsa Dzong, the largest fortress in Bhutan. Overnight in Trongsa.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. Leave for Paro — a 200 km, seven-hour drive west over two passes. The valley the only international airport sits in — a fortress over the river, the oldest temple in Bhutan and the Tiger Nest on the cliff above. Check in on arrival and, as the day allows, the Taktsang Tiger Nest monastery, a five-hour return climb. Overnight in Paro.

Breakfast at the hotel and check out. With the airport close by there is time for any last shopping in Paro town, whose main street has handicraft and textile shops. You are then transferred the short distance to Paro International Airport for the onward flight. The tour ends here, and we hope it is not your last visit to Bhutan.