Festival
Tiger’s Nest & Paro
Four days in the Paro valley built around one great morning — the climb through pine and prayer flags to Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest.
Duration
4 Days
Max altitude
3,120 m
Grade
Easy
Group
8–12
Overview
If you have only a few days for Bhutan, spend them in Paro — and spend one of them climbing to Taktsang. The monastery holds to its cliff 900 m above the valley floor, on the spot where Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived on the back of a flying tigress, and the path up is a steady two-to-three-hour walk through blue pine, past prayer wheels turned by falling water.
Around that one great morning we build a whole small journey: Rinpung Dzong and the National Museum in its round watchtower, Kyichu Lhakhang with its orange trees that fruit out of season, a farmhouse dinner of ema datshi, and time in the valley’s quiet upper reaches at Drukgyel. Short, unhurried, and complete.
Day by day
The flight in along the ridges is an event in itself. Settle in, walk the old shopping street, and cross the cantilever bridge to Rinpung Dzong as the light softens.
Kyichu Lhakhang, the National Museum in its round watchtower, and the drive up-valley to the ruins of Drukgyel Dzong — with a first, distant sight of Taktsang on its cliff.
The climb itself, started early to beat the sun: pine forest, the teahouse lookout, and the final staircase across the gorge into the monastery. A farmhouse hot-stone bath afterwards, well earned.
A slow breakfast and the short drive to the airport — or carry on east with us into the rest of the kingdom.
What’s included
Included
- A licensed Bhutanese guide & private driver
- All hotels & farmstay nights, with meals
- Visa, permits & the Sustainable Development Fee
- Airport transfers & all road travel
- Entry fees to dzongs, temples & museums
Not included
- International flights to Paro
- Travel & medical insurance
- Drinks & personal items
- Tips for your guide & driver
Best time to go
Paro welcomes visitors most of the year. October to December gives the crispest air and the surest mountain views; spring adds blossom and the Paro tshechu. Only the June–August rains argue against the climb, and even then the mornings can be kind.
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Ready to walk into the kingdom?
Tell us how much time you have and how high you’d like to stand. We’ll send back a tailored route — usually within two days.