Tigers in Hilly Paradise - Beautiful Bhutan 3N 4D (Thimphu & Paro with Dochu La Pass and Tiger Nest Hiking)

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It was a long pending tour for the most vibrant telecom brand Banglalink’s Team Marketing!



On 21^st Nov 2014 we started our journey for Bhutan with Druk Air flight # KB 301 at 1200 and reached Paro, Bhutan at 1320 (local time).



The flight in was beautiful – the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas appear above the roof of clouds in to blue skies - an amazing sight to see if you are sitting on the left hand side of the plane. Some of those peaks are over 7300 meters!



The plane itself flies into the narrow Paro valley, twisting quickly this way and that, and the pilot gets a resounding round of applause once we touchdown. Everyone seems to be grateful we made it! Sorry, should I not have taken that for granted?!



Our guide and driver are great blokes with a keen sense of humor and we have driven straight from Paro to the capital, Thimphu. The obligatory museum for the day, done, we’ve had a wander about the fruit and craft market. The bridge is adorned with colorful prayer flags. Men and women wander about in traditional dress and the construction of new buildings provide much work for the hundreds of people who have given up their farms to make their fortunes in this city of 70,000 plus.

What it is missing? The hustle and bustle, the smell of rotting fruit and veg and the constant annoyance of shopkeepers and stall holders pestering us to buy, buy, buy! Instead, the locals go about their day in no real rush, the markets and streets are spotless and the people let you browse in peace, only speaking to wish a warm hello, accompanied with their big, beautiful smiles.

A decent buffet dinner that night included the local dish, Ema Datshi a delicious scalloped potato style dish laced with whole chilli that set our lips on fire. I have been dying to taste this and I am not disappointed!

Our room at the Hotel Pedling, Thimphu is really spacious and almost entirely constructed of wood. The wooden corridors are dark and mysterious with plush carpet runners down the center. At night we all had a great time at Viva City (local pub)!





Next day we went to some usual tourist destinations at Thimpu and hit the road for Paro. It was already dark out there so moved around the city shops, bought some local wine (Takin). We also had some mouthwatering MoMo in a local restaurants. At night we all met in a hill side restaurant for a BBQ and Bonfire party…..oh I’ll remember that voodoo night for many years……such a wild night it was. Overnight stay at Tashi Namgay Resort.





Next day early in the morning we went for an amazing hike to Taktsang Monastery awaits the traveler to Bhutan. A short drive from Paro west up the valley leads to a trail which takes you to the monastery in about 2 hours. It is 900 meters up to the "Tiger's nest" - the monastery perched on the side of a cliff. It is said that Guru Rinpoche rode a Tigress to this place and meditated there for 3 years, 3 months, 3 days. Well worth the effort.

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