Bhutan, Four Valleys

The journey moves east from Thimphu over the Dochu La to Punakha and up to the high Phobjikha Valley, then returns west to Paro for the walk to Tiger's Nest. Each valley has two nights, with time to walk, visit monasteries and see village life.

Length: Eight nights
Pace: Four stays
Style: Himalaya, monasteries, valley walks, wellness
Route: Thimphu to Punakha to The Phobjikha Valley to Paro

ThimphuTwo nights
PunakhaTwo nights
The Phobjikha ValleyTwo nights
ParoTwo nights

Days 1 to 3 · two nights

Thimphu

A flight into Paro, then about an hour's drive to the capital, passing the great seated Buddha Dordenma above the valley. The full day in Thimphu brings a walk through rhododendron forest to Tango Goenpa, a monastery founded in the 12th century, and time for the Weaving Centre, the Textile Museum or the Jungshi paper factory.

Where you stay

Pemako Thimphu

Pemako Thimphu, formerly Taj Tashi, stands in the heart of Bhutan's capital, close to the town's main sights. The building recalls a dzong, and it has 66 rooms and suites.

Days 3 to 5 · two nights

Punakha

The road climbs through cedar forest to the Dochu La, with a stop for the view across the Himalaya, and then drops to Punakha. The next day can start early with a walk from the hotel and a picnic breakfast through farms and rice paddies, and the Mo Chhu, the Mother River, can be rafted down to Punakha Dzong.

Where you stay

COMO Uma Punakha

COMO Uma Punakha sits on a small hill at the western end of the Punakha Valley, above the Mo Chhu, and every room looks over the valley and the river. Rooms are finished in sheesham wood, with floor-to-ceiling windows and terraces, and the restaurant Bukhari cooks with produce from the valley.

Days 5 to 7 · two nights

The Phobjikha Valley

A drive on to the Phobjikha Valley and the lodge above it. The full day here is for walking, out to the yak herders' camps and the village of Kumbu, on the edge of Black Mountain National Park.

Where you stay

Gangtey Lodge

Gangtey Lodge is an all-suite lodge high above the Phobjikha Valley, looking towards a 17th-century monastery, farmhouses and blue pine forest. Inside are log fires, exposed beams and slate floors with underfloor heating, and the baths look down the valley.

Days 7 to 9 · two nights

Paro

Back west to Paro and its painted farmhouses. The last full day is for the walk up to Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest, a monastery on a cliff a short drive north of Paro, and the journey ends with the flight out of Paro.

Where you stay

Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary

Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary is in the Neyphu Valley, about 15 minutes from Paro airport, and every room has a balcony or terrace over the valley. Stays include daily yoga and meditation and a treatment each day based on Traditional Bhutanese Medicine, and there is an indoor heated pool, a sauna and a library.

Ways to make it yours

A third night in the Phobjikha Valley
Rafting on the Mo Chhu in Punakha
A sunrise yoga session in the mountains at Paro

This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.

Made around you

Most travel is bought. This is designed.

Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.

The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.