My guides brought me a very fancy traditional "kira" to wear to the Thimphu Dzong
Let me just start this post out by saying that you have to do a Bhutan tour in order to visit the country. You cannot just go there and explore on your own. This is likely part of the country’s aim to protect their culture and holy sites, since it’s one of the few non over-tourism destinations in the world!
This is a smart move, considering how many people likely only want to go to Bhutan to see the famous Tiger’s Nest temple. But spoiler alert, most tours will insist you visit their other beautiful sites, and I can tell you that it’s well worth it!
So here’s all of the highlights you’ll see on a typical week long Bhutan tour besides Tiger’s Nest…but of course, I’ve made a separate post for that bucketlist item as well!
*Important Bhutan Tips:
Although Paro is where the airport and Tiger’s Nest are located, a typical Bhutan tour will take you to Thimphu for a few days first. Thimphu is the capital city, with the largest population (which is still small), and where you can find delicious restaurants, shops, hotels, and of course, many cultural sites.
I’ll go over the individual things you’ll see in Thimphu below:
As soon as you arrive in Thimphu, you’ll be able to see the Giant Buddha, formally called Kuensei Phodrang, sitting tall and proud atop a mountain. Your Bhutan tour guide can drive you up to see it, and give you an explanation of the statues inside, and the thousands of small Buddha statues!
From the Giant Buddha, you can also do a short hike to the Kuensei Phodrang Viewpoint. This will be your first glimpse of the many colorful prayer flags that are hung from trees, bridges, and even cars, throughout the country.
This is not your typical museum. Simply Bhutan is a “living museum”, which means it’s interactive, and in my opinion, really fun!
A local Bhutanese woman will guide you through several areas while explaining Bhutan’s history and culture. From their traditional welcome wine (that you can try), to a dance performance, and even a quick archery lesson; it’s definitely a fun way to learn!
First let me tell you what a dzong is. It’s a huge, usually former-fortress, that serves as government official offices, as well as a monastery, and usually has a few temples inside. It’s also where festivals are held.
The Thimphu Dzong has really beautiful paintings in the entrance, as well as outside of the one accessible temple.
You will hear a lot about Ngawang Namgyal during your Bhutan tour. He is the “Unifier of Bhutan” who brought the Buddhist religion there in the 8th century, and one of the first monasteries he had built was at Chari Manastery.
To get up to Chari Monastery, you need to do quite a bit of a hike. Normally it takes around an hour to go up, but i did it in thirty minutes.
I can’t speak for every Bhutan tour, but my tour company, Daj Expeditions, put on one of the most entertaining picnics I have ever had in my life!
They had picnic-throne style chairs, and one of the most delicious traditional Bhutanese meals I had all week served, along with local red wine called Raven. While eating, young men and women performed eight traditional dances and songs, wearing the corresponding costumes.
While they performed, there was also an “entertainer” (he looked like a devil) who was both terrifying and hilarious. You have to watch the video to understand it.
From my travels, I learned to call the structure you see in the photo, a “stupa”. But it can also be called a “chalten” as well as just a “temple”. Just FYI.
Anyway, many Bhutanese people come to this chalten/stupa in the morning and/or evening to pray. While praying, they walk around it, which must be done clockwise, and in intervals of auspicious numbers. So the minimum amount of times you have to walk around it, is three.
In Thimphu I stayed at the lovely Norkhil Boutique Hotel, which had beautiful city and mountain views from the room! I also loved their menu, namely the coconut crusted fish, and they have a spa as well with very reasonable massage prices!
After spending a few days in Thimphu, your Bhutan tour will take you over the mountains, crossing the top at the Dochula Pass.
If it’s a clear day, you’ll be treated to a spectacular view of the Himalayan Mountains. But if not, you can at least see a cool area of stupas, and stop to use the toilet.
Punkahka is another district of Bhutan that’s something great to see besides Tiger’s Nest. It’s actually the former capital, however it was moved because it’s far away and hard to get to in winter.
There’s not a ton of things to see here, but there is one highlight that most people seem to not get enough of, and of course it involves penises. See below.
Most people nowadays visit Punakha to go to the fertility temple, and see the famous (or maybe infamous) “phallus village”…which is a name I made up, but it’s the best way to describe the area.
The fertility temple was created by Drukpa Kinley, also legitimately known as the “Devine Madman”, and for a very good reason. This man decided that his penis could ward off demons, and if the demons were women, he would get rid of them by having sex with them. He was of course known to have a lot of sex and debauchery in general.
Hence the penises everywhere. You will see them painted on the walls of shops and homes, hairy balls and everything. And every shop you pass will have shelves of all sizes, hand painted, and some even in the form of planes. (PS, the most affordable ones are at the shop with the penis planes outside).
Anyway, the actual fertility temple surprisingly does not have many penises in or around it. It’s very small, with just one temple with a statue of the Divine Madman inside. If you want fertility luck, you can make a monetary donation, and one of the monk students will bless you with a knotted string that you wear for three days, and he will give you a sip of holy saffron water.
The Punakha Dzong is said to be the “most impressive dzong”, and I have to admit; it was pretty impressive! It’s built on a peninsula surrounded by the “Male River” and “Female River”, with the two converging at the tip.
It has a massive courtyard, and a smaller one behind it, with several temples. The temple I went in had beautiful paintings on the walls that tell the story of Buddha’s life and how he became “enlightened”. If you’re not well versed on the history of Buddhism, as your guide to explain it to you!
My Bhutan tour booked my stay in Punahka at Dhumra Farm Resort, and it was extremely tranquil! It’s high up on the mountain, with a stunning view of the Punakha Dzong below. They have a large garden, where they grow most of the food they use for meals there!
Another district we visited on my Bhutan tour, was called Wangdue. My favorite thing here was doing a hike up to a fairly new temple built for the new king. To get to it, you cross a hanging bridge over a river that’s adorned with prayer flags, then you walk through rice paddy fields!
The hike took me around 25 minutes, so probably 35-45 minutes at a regular pace. At the top, there’s a really peaceful area and a beautiful view of the four-story temple. It was the only temple I went in with multiple levels!
It was also one of the few temples I saw with the highest level of deities. Meaning they give you the top level of protection IF you can see them in your meditations! No photos are allowed inside, but you can take them from the rooftop, where there’s also a gold stupa, and 360 degree views!
If you’re not dzong-ed out yet, there’s another nice dzong to see in Wangdue. This one is actually relatively newly rebuilt, because it burned down in 1998.
Here’s another “eco lodge” that is more like a farm stay. The room was large and cozy, with a beautiful wrap-around balcony overlooking the valley below. Most notable, were the friendly women who worked there, and the equally friendly five resident cats!
As I’ve said, the top thing people want to do in Bhutan is usually go see the Tiger’s Nest temple, and that’s also the highlight of Paro.
I’m not even going to lie, I didn’t do much else besides go to Tiger’s Nest when I was in Paro. But there are things to do!
You can go to the local vegetable market and buy chili powder for souvenirs, and then walk the mainstreet for the rest of the tourist souvenir shops. Oh and if you want to try betelnut…you can find it in the small local shops that look like they’re selling toys and snacks!
If the weather is cold, try doing a hot stone bath in Paro! I tried to do it but it was so hot that I only lasted twelve minutes of the ninety minute session.
Annnddd of course, for my top tips for Tiger’s Nest that most people don’t tell you, check out the post below!
I’m not going to lie, I was spoiled quite a bit on my Bhutan tour because it was a collaboration, and the tourism board was involved. So I got to stay at the only Bhutanese-owned five star resort in the country; Zhiwaling!
I loved it because it felt like you were staying in a luxurious version of a Dzong, and the food was finally more Western. You’ll realize this is a good thing after eating Bhutanese food all week! The resort also has a spa, meditation center, and archery field!
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xx, Alyssa
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