The morning is free for you to sleep in and try to get over the long journey to Nepal. After lunch your guide will come and meet you in the hotel for a great afternoon of exploring around Patan.

We will visit the Durbar Square complex tomorrow, so for now we will keep to the out of the way places, learning about the secret alleyways and the intricate courtyard system that make this ancient city such a unique and well planned place. Incredible, when we think of our impressions of modern Kathmandu. As they say, old is gold!

This is a fascinating insight – including craftsmen busy at work creating bronze statues or copper pots, thanka painters (in the traditional Newar style) focussed on the minutiae of their masterpieces, the temple of a thousand Buddhas, the Golden Temple and many ‘secret’ monasteries and temples unknown to 99% of visitors to Nepal!

Perhaps most fascinating is to learn about the ancient city plan which included sophisticated features such as community water supply, emergency fire tanks, resting places, sacred places, market places (and places for ancient traders from Tibet or India to gather the latest market intelligence before hitting the local market!).

Note: This is a walking tour we will not use any vehicles all day.

Accommodation: The Patan Inn
Meals included: Breakfast

Experienced seller © Mads Guldager

This morning after breakfast your guide will take you to the old palace square (Durbar), Patan is one of the three ancient cities of the Kathmandu Valley and the Patan Durbar Square showcases stunningly preserved temples and palace complexes. So we have saved some of the best for last. The palace has an amazing museum and if you wan to spend time here, you can spend as much as you like and then head back to the hotel just down the road afterwards.

The afternoon is free for you to explore or relax on your own.

Accommodation: The Patan Inn
Meals included: Breakfast

Patan Durbar Square © Clare Mathiasen

After breakfast today, we embark on a full day of sightseeing to get to know the incredible Kathmandu Valley. Your guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel and you will be chauffeured by private car to three out of an incredible seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley.

First you will visit the Swoyambhunath Temple. Also known as the Monkey Temple for the many resident monkeys that scamper around the myriad of small shrines and temples, this ancient Buddhist Stupa is perched on a hilltop overlooking the valley and is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. From here we proceed to Boudhanath Stupa, which is one of the biggest in the world. It stands with four pairs of eyes in the four cardinal directions keeping watch for righteous behaviour and human prosperity. It is built on an octagonal base inset with prayer wheels and the stupa is ringed by houses of Lamas or Buddhist priests, monasteries and shops.

Your final exploration today takes you to Pashupatinath temple, one of the holiest temples in the Hindu religion. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the three main gods in Hinduism, as his birthplace. Situated on the banks of the sacred Bagmati River, Pashupatinath is the main cremation site for Hindus in the Kathmandu Valley, with cremation ghats lining the Bagmati River below the temple. It is such an important pilgrimage site that any Hindu should visit it once in their life and there is a constant stream of sadhus coming and going from Nepal and India.

Accommodation: The Patan Inn
Meals included: Breakfast

The Boudhanath Stupa© Suman Thapa

This morning we drive out of the Kathmandu valley, heading north to the old fortress town of Nuwakot. Tonight we stay at a lovingly restored piece of Nepali heritage, The Famous Farm. It is a working farm in which the collection of farmhouses have been turned into guest rooms with a wonderful, classic Nepali feel, from the woven straw matting on the floor to the stunningly carved door frames.

We arrive here in time for lunch and take the afternoon to visit the old palace complex which was built in the 18th Century and lies on the ancient trade route from the Kathmandu Valley to Tibet. The palace was built in the Malla style of architecture (as seen in the Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley) with fort-like characteristics to protect trade. Perched on a steep hilltop it is well positioned!

Accommodation: The Famous Farm
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Nuwakot Village © John Ehbrecht

This morning we leave Nuwakot and follow the Trisuli river for approximately 2 hours to the raft put-in site. Rafting time will be approximately 2 hours on a class III/IV river. There are some exciting but not overly challenging white water rapids and several long, flat stretches on which you can kick back and enjoy the ride past scenic valleys, villages, terraced rice fields and impressive gorges.

We end our ride with a short hike up from the river to the charming guest house of Brigand’s Bend. Here we can relax with a cool drink overlooking the river and the surrounding valleys.

Accommodation: Summit River Lodge Kurintar
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Rafting Trisluli River © Mads Mathiasen

This morning, make sure you pack your day pack, as we are going for our first real hike. We have a short hike to the highway from where we drive 10 min to the cable car station for the amazing ride up to Manakamana.

This gondola cable car will give you a lift of over 1000m up the mountains, it would take you almost all day to hike it, so to be lifted up the mountain in 10 min is quite something. The little pilgrimage town that has sprung up around the Manakamana temple at the top is also really interesting and it is fascinating to see all the pilgrims here coming to make offerings to the Hindu Goddess Bhagwati, an incarnation of Parvati.

We hike up past the temple and up along the ridgeline to the north of the temple. Once at the top of the hill you will have amazing mountain views, Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and Langtang among many others.

We hike along the ridge to Tinmane Bhanjyang from where we descend for several hours through traditional villages to the little Ludi Khola (stream). The final bit of the walk to our hotel is uphill and we arrive by late afternoon in time to enjoy a drink and the amazing sunset view of the mountains.

Accommodation: Gorkha Gaun
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Gorkha Gaun View © Gorkha Gaun

This morning you have a host of things to do, including exploring the village and learning about rural life, trying your hand at the local cuisine with a cooking class, or you can arrange to go and visit the King’s palace in the old town of Gorkha. You can also enjoy doing nothing at all as the mountain views can be enjoyed from the hotel.

After lunch, we hit the road bound for the old Newar bazaar town of Bandipur. Bandipur is a lovely old Newar town, beautifully preserved to retain its character as a prosperous trading town. It has a lovely cobbled main street and old multi-storied houses looking onto the bazaar form one side and out to the Himalayan Range on the other.

Accommodation: The Old Inn
Meals included: Breakfast

Gorkha Palace © Mads Mathiasen

Today we are free to explore this stunning town yourself or we can take a forty five minute walk to a local silk farm, or we can walk up to Thanimai hilltop for a beautiful sunset (weather permitting, as always). And also there one beautiful school which we can visit and interact with the teachers and the students. There are also longer walks you can do if you feel like it, just let your guide know and he can take you.

Accommodation: The Old Inn
Meals included: Breakfast

Shooting vistas © John Ehbrecht

After breakfast, we will bid a fond farewell to Bandipur and drive a couple of hours westwards to Pokhara.
The rest of today is free to explore this charming town, or to simply relax in a café on Lakeside. Pokhara has some great cafes, good shopping and lots of action activities such as paddling on the lake, paragliding, mountain biking, sightseeing on classic Enfield motorbikes and some great walks.

Accommodation: Mum's Garden Resort
Meals included: Breakfast

Phewa Lake © John Ehbrecht

This morning while the crowds are heading for the Sarangkot viewpoint, we get in our jeep and drive up to Bumdikot, an amazing view point overlooking the lake and Pokhara, with the majestic mountains in the background. We will have a simple breakfast up at Bumdikot while enjoying the view.

From Bumdikot we will hike along the ridgeline above the Phewa lake towards Pokhara and the peace stupa. The World Peace Pagoda with its incredible views to the Himalayas is a great place to stop for an early lunch or alternatively you can hike down to the lake and take a boat cross the lake to Pokhara in time for a late lunch.

In the late afternoon you will take the beautiful flight back to Kathmandu, it is only 25 min but you fly along the main Himalayan Range, so there are plenty of mountain views. Once back in Kathmandu we take you to your hotel for the night not too far from the airport.

Accommodation: Hotel Manaslu
Meals included: Breakfast

The spectacular flight into Paro is a great introduction to beautiful Bhutan – you may have breathtaking views of Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga and many more Himalayan peaks including the sacred Jhomolhari and Mt Jichu Drake in Bhutan.

Once out of the airport you will meet your host and settle into your comfortable car and drive about 4 hours to the Haa Valley, an idyllic rural setting with semi-nomadic farming communities. In winter, most yak herders are in the valley with their families, so it is a good time to pay a visit. Tonight and tomorrow night you stay in a farmhouse which is more than 200 years old and is built in the traditional Bhutanese style typically seen all over Bhutan.

Our guests have been helping to support Ugyen’s family for a number of years by staying here and love this authentic community-based experience. It is a large home displaying some fine features of days gone by, yet fitted with some welcome amenities to make the stay more comfortable for western guests. It will be cold in January (chances of snow) but the farmhouse has a wood-fed oven (we call it Bukhari) in the living room, and an electric heater in the bedroom.You have a short walk, crossing a bubbling stream and past an ancient Buddhist Chorten (stupa) before being shown down a stone-lined path to be greeted by the whole family. Spend the afternoon with your host Ugyen and his family, learning about real life in rural Bhutan and then the chance to enjoy a delightful soak in an herbal hot-stone bath. Known to be therapeutic, this helps ailments related to joints and muscle aches, besides simply soothing your mind and body…and it goes just perfectly with some of the locally brewed alcohol (ara). Enjoy a traditional dinner and plenty of stories with the family!

*There are no good restaurants on the way so you can choose to have a brunch before you go and an early dinner, or take a packed lunch to eat on the way. Please let us know in advance which option you prefer and we will arrange it for you.

Accommodation: Ugyen’s Farmhouse
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Flying into Paro © Margus Riga

Wake up in the peaceful atmosphere, enjoy a fantastic breakfast experience and enjoy being part of the family where you can help with the daily chores such as make offerings in the family alter in the mornings, milk the cows, make butter and cheese the Bhutanese way, learn how to make the famed Suja (buttered tea) with traditional Haa valley culinary.

By mid morning we leave this rural village and head for the capital Thimphu, it is a stunning drive and we should reach Thimphu for a late lunch. While the capital is cosmopolitan compared to the Haa valley it is still a small town.

On arrival in Thimphu you will spend the afternoon visiting the must see sights including the stunning Tashichho Dzong (fortress), the National Folk Heritage Museum and the Zorig Chusum school of 13 traditional arts/crafts. You may wish to visit the Ayala Gallery to see local artists of Bhutan at work, or you may prefer to get local and head off to the Centennial Market to shop with the locals for ingredients and learn about the unique Bhutanese food items. In this colourful market proud villagers greet you from behind pyramids of their agricultural and forest produce, with stone weights in their hands and smiles on their faces.

Depending on your energy levels, in the late afternoon/evening you can take a stroll down to the Takin Preserve Centre, helping to protect the national animal of Bhutan. Unique to Bhutan and a small pocket of Himalayan India, this strange animal looks somewhere in between a cow and a goat yet scientists have been unable to find any genetic links to any other animal.

You will have dinner at Thimphu’s most popular fusion restaurant called Chha Bistro (you won’t suffer forgettable hotel buffets on this adventure!) to wrap up your first day in style. Our good friend and owner of the restaurant is a very friendly person and will definitely add a personal touch to your meal.

Accommodation: Bhutan Suites/ Hotel Pedling/ Peaceful Resort
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Traditional farmhouse © Michele Bjornson

This morning it will be fun to try the quirky experience of a visit to the Bhutan Post Office where you can actually make your own stamps with your photos on it and post them to your friends and family back home – or even to yourself so you have a fun souvenir waiting for you when you get home! So choose your pics over dinner the night before (or before you leave home!) and have them ready to create a unique memento, Bhutan style.

After tea you load up into your comfortable car, bid farewell to Thimphu and set off to explore rural Bhutan. Your destination for today is Punakha, with a total drive time of approximately 4 hours, with great stops along the way, the first being the Dochu La (pass). The pass offers spectacular views over the distant Himalayan ranges of northern Bhutan. Situated atop the pass at the backdrop of fluttering prayer flags are the Druk Wangyal Chortens – a collection of 108 stupas built in honour of His Majesty the fourth King of Bhutan.

From the pass you descend to the low-lying Lobesa valley and take a nice, short hike through a beautiful village surrounded by rice paddy fields to visit the famous Chhimi Lhakhang. At this temple you can learn about and pay your respects to one of Bhutan’s most charming and eccentric historic religious figures, nicknamed ‘The Divine Madman’. The temple is also called the fertility temple and your guide will explain the unusual story behind it.

Extra energy option 1 * If you have plenty of energy and would like an extra hike please let us know as you can also hike from Dochu La and climb through Rhododendron forests and alpine vegetation up to a peak where the Lungtsezekha temple stands at 3800m. From here, you can see the great Himalayan peaks of northern Bhutan as well as the valleys of southern Bhutan and you might come across some yaks as we often spot them around here.

Extra energy option 2 * In the afternoon you take a short drive to Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Lhakhang Nunnery, perched on a ridge amid pine trees and overlooking valleys of Punakha and Wangduephodrang. Here you can meet the nuns, who love to practice their English with visitors and learn about the ways of the wider world.

Accommodation: Hotel Lobesa / Punatshangchhu cottage
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Personalised Stamp © Don Bethune

After breakfast we visit the Punakha Dzong, situated at the confluence of two rivers and said to be the most beautiful fortress in Bhutan. This ancient fortress is the winter residence of the monastic order’s leadership and still serves as the administrative headquarters for the Punakha region. The fortress is a fine example of Bhutan’s rich art and architecture, and our guide who is an expert in iconography will explain all aspects of art, architecture, history and its significance.

We then head west, back to the beautiful city of Paro where we started our Bhutan journey. It’s a long drive (approx. 5 hours) through stunning countryside and we will have lunch on the way. You can choose to break up the trip and do some exploring along the way, or simply get to Paro and explore the beautiful and historic sites around this old city.

In the evening, explore Paro town on foot and see the various handicrafts and art centres before dinner and an early night to be rested and ready for tomorrow!

Accommodation: Metta Resort / Gangtey Palace
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Entrance Punakha Dzong © Michele Bjornson

We saved the best for the last! An active hike up to the famous Taktshang Monastery (AKA the Tiger’s Nest) built in 1692 by a prominent historical figure named Gyaltse Tenzin Rabgye whose reincarnation is now a young teenager and already a prominent figure in the clergy.

The hike to Taktsang is a steep uphill walk and takes approximately 3 hours to reach. The trail is certainly quite a hard walk and you will no doubt be short of breath from the altitude, but it is also a stunning hike as you climb through beautiful pine forest and an occasional grove of fluttering prayer flags. You can stop to rest your legs and have some light refreshments at the Taktsang Jakhang (cafeteria) which is about half way up. From here you do have views of the monastery, but after a rest you can take the rest of the walk (about another hour and a half uphill) to gain a truly incredible view of the Monastery, perched precariously on the edge of the sheer 800m cliff!

In the afternoon, head just out of town to visit Kyichu Lhakhang – believed to be the oldest Buddhist temple in Bhutan. It was built during the 08th century to hold down the left foot of an ogress whose body covers Bhutan and most of Eastern Tibet. It is one of the 108 monasteries that were miraculously constructed in one night by Tibetan King Songsten Gampo. This is one of two of these monasteries that lie within Bhutan, the rest being found in neighbouring countries.

To wrap up your Bhutan adventure, visit a local farmhouse to soak in an herbal hot-stone bath! This is known to be therapeutic and helps ailments related to joints and muscle aches, besides simply soothing your mind and body.

Accommodation: Metta Resort / Gangtey Palace
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Monk © Punap Ugyen Wangchuk

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and when it is time your guide will take you to the airport, help you with the formalities and fare you well before your flight to Kathmandu, we’ll meet you at the airport and transfer you to Bhaktapur, one of the three ancient cities within the Kathmandu Valley. It is also known as Bhadgaun, meaning the city of devotees and is the home of true medieval art and architecture in the Valley. Not only because of its famous carved peacock windows but also due to its museum, Bhaktapur is the centre of traditional Nepalese wood carving. Compared to other royal cities in Patan and Kathmandu, Bhaktapur is the most original and is without a doubt the most historically authentic as it is literally a living museum where farmers dry their harvest, potters turn their wheel and people go about live as they have done for so long.

We will start our walking tour of Bhaktapur, as soon as we arrive. It is often described as a living museum, but in fact it is no mere museum, it is the vibrant centre of the continuing lifestyle of the Bhaktapur people. Here we can experience the real essence of daily life as it has continued, little changed, for centuries inside this incredible old city where farmers dry their harvest, potters turn their wheel and wood carvers create their stunning works.

Our focus of today is to explore the ancient crafts of woodwork, metal work and pottery for which Bhaktapur is renowned. We will visit the woodcarving museum to learn about the skills and methods of creating the intricate designs we see around us in the temples and houses. In the streets and on the squares of Bhaktapur we will also see the amazing old tradition of pottery that still survives here.

Accommodation: Milla Guest House
Meals included: Breakfast

Mount Everest © Don Bethune

After a great breakfast at your hotel, you are free until it is time for us to transfer you to the airport in time for your flight home. Thanks for traveling with us and we hope to see you back in Nepal soon!

Traditional straw mats © Mads Guldager