12 Days Nepal, Tibet & Bhutan Tour

Drive / Flight: Airport transfer – approx. 6 km / 20–30 min | Overnight: Kathmandu (1,400 m) | Meals: –

Welcome to Nepal! On arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport and completion of visa formalities (visa on arrival available for most nationalities), our representative meets you outside the terminal with a Pigeon Travel placard and a traditional marigold garland, then transfers you to your hotel.

After check-in, a short briefing covers the program, permits and practical matters. The rest of the day is free to rest or stroll through Thamel, Kathmandu's lively travellers' quarter of narrow lanes, handicraft shops, bookshops and rooftop cafés. In the evening enjoy a welcome drink with our team.

Today's highlights:

• Afternoon/evening: trip briefing and welcome drink
• Optional: walk to Garden of Dreams, a restored neo-classical garden near Thamel

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 35 km | Overnight: Kathmandu (1,400 m) | Meals: B

After breakfast, a full day of guided sightseeing to four of the Kathmandu Valley's UNESCO World Heritage Sites with a licensed English-speaking city guide.

Start at Swayambhunath, the 2,000-year-old 'Monkey Temple' on a hilltop west of the city, whose painted Buddha eyes look out over the whole valley. Continue to Kathmandu Durbar Square, the old royal palace complex with its pagoda temples, the Kumari Ghar – home of the Living Goddess – and Kasthamandap.

After lunch (own expense), visit Pashupatinath, Nepal's holiest Hindu temple on the banks of the sacred Bagmati River, where you can watch cremation rites at the ghats from the eastern bank (non-Hindus may not enter the main temple). End the day at Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world and the heart of Tibetan Buddhist culture in Nepal – join pilgrims walking the kora clockwise around the dome at dusk as butter lamps are lit.

Your passport is submitted to the Chinese Embassy for the China Group Visa (arranged by us in advance; passport details are required at least 30 days before).

Today's highlights:

• Swayambhunath Stupa
• Kathmandu Durbar Square
• Pashupatinath Temple
• Boudhanath Stupa

Drive / Flight: Flight – approx. 1¼ hrs; Gonggar Airport–Lhasa 65 km / 1 hr | Overnight: Lhasa (3,656 m) | Meals: B

Morning flight from Kathmandu to Lhasa Gonggar Airport – one of the world's great mountain flights, crossing the main Himalayan range close to Everest, Makalu and Kanchenjunga. Your Tibetan guide meets you with a white khata scarf and drives you along the Yarlung Tsangpo and Kyichu rivers to Lhasa.

Rest for the remainder of the day to acclimatise to the altitude: walk slowly, drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and hot showers on the first evening.

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – city sightseeing | Overnight: Lhasa (3,656 m) | Meals: B

Visit the Potala Palace (UNESCO), the 13-storey former winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, rising 117 m above the city on Marpo Ri. Climb through the White Palace and the Red Palace, with its golden tombs of past Dalai Lamas and chapels filled with statues and thangkas (visit time inside is limited to one hour by ticket).

In the afternoon visit the Jokhang Temple, Tibet's most sacred temple, founded in the 7th century to house the Jowo Shakyamuni statue brought by the Chinese princess Wencheng. Watch pilgrims prostrating at the entrance, then join the clockwise kora around the Barkhor Street, the old market circuit around the temple.

Today's highlights:

• Potala Palace
• Jokhang Temple
• Barkhor kora

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 25 km | Overnight: Lhasa (3,656 m) | Meals: B

Morning visit to Drepung Monastery, founded in 1416 and once the largest monastery in the world with over 7,000 monks, spread across the hillside west of Lhasa. See the Ganden Phodrang, residence of the early Dalai Lamas, and the great assembly hall.

In the afternoon visit Sera Monastery, famous for the lively debate sessions held in its courtyard (usually around 3 PM, Monday to Saturday), where monks clap their hands and stamp their feet to drive home points of Buddhist philosophy. Optional visit to Norbulingka, the Dalai Lamas' summer palace and gardens.

Today's highlights:

• Drepung Monastery
• Monk debate at Sera Monastery
• Norbulingka (optional)

Drive / Flight: Airport 65 km / 1 hr; flight approx. 1½ hrs | Overnight: Kathmandu (1,400 m) | Meals: B

Drive to Gonggar Airport and fly back across the Himalaya to Kathmandu. Afternoon free to relax or shop in Thamel.

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 40 km round trip | Overnight: Kathmandu (1,400 m) | Meals: B

Drive east to Bhaktapur (13 km), the best-preserved of the valley's three royal cities. Walk car-free brick lanes to Durbar Square with its 55-Window Palace and Golden Gate, Taumadhi Square with the five-storey Nyatapola Temple, and Pottery Square where potters shape clay on hand-turned wheels. Don't miss juju dhau, Bhaktapur's famous 'king of curds'.

In the afternoon visit Patan (Lalitpur), the city of fine arts, whose Durbar Square holds the Krishna Mandir carved in stone and the Patan Museum – one of the finest museums in South Asia for Hindu and Buddhist art. Nearby, the Golden Temple (Kwa Bahal) and metal-workers' workshops show crafts still practised by Newar families.

Today's highlights:

• Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Nyatapola Temple & Pottery Square
• Patan Durbar Square & Patan Museum
• Golden Temple (Kwa Bahal)

Drive / Flight: Flight – approx. 1 hr; drive Paro–Thimphu 55 km / approx. 1½ hrs | Overnight: Thimphu (2,320 m) | Meals: B, L, D

Morning flight from Kathmandu to Paro with Drukair or Bhutan Airlines. On a clear day this is one of the world's most spectacular flights, passing Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga, Makalu and the Bhutanese peaks before a dramatic descent into the Paro valley. Your Bhutanese guide and driver meet you at the airport (guests wear a traditional kata scarf of welcome).

Drive along the Paro and Wang Chhu rivers to the confluence at Chuzom, with its three stupas in Bhutanese, Tibetan and Nepali style, and on to Thimphu, the world's only capital without traffic lights.

In the afternoon visit the National Memorial Chorten, built in 1974 in memory of the Third King, where elderly residents circle and spin prayer wheels all day, and Buddha Dordenma, a 51 m gilded Buddha statue overlooking the valley. In the evening see Tashichho Dzong, seat of the government and the summer residence of the Je Khenpo (chief abbot), as it is lit up (outer courtyard visit after office hours).

Today's highlights:

• National Memorial Chorten
• Buddha Dordenma
• Tashichho Dzong

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 75 km / 3 hrs | Overnight: Punakha (1,250 m) | Meals: B, L, D

Drive over Dochula Pass (3,100 m), crowned by the 108 Druk Wangyal Chortens. On a clear day (most likely October to February) there is a sweeping view of the eastern Himalaya including Gangkar Puensum (7,570 m), the world's highest unclimbed mountain.

Descend into the warm Punakha valley. Walk 20 minutes through rice fields to Chimi Lhakhang, the fertility temple of the 'Divine Madman' Drukpa Kunley. In the afternoon visit Punakha Dzong, Bhutan's most beautiful fortress, built in 1637 at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (male) and Mo Chhu (female) rivers – the venue of royal weddings and the winter home of the monk body. Finish with a walk across the Punakha suspension bridge, one of the longest in Bhutan.

Today's highlights:

• Dochula Pass & 108 chortens
• Chimi Lhakhang fertility temple
• Punakha Dzong
• Punakha suspension bridge

Drive / Flight: Private vehicle – approx. 125 km / 4–5 hrs | Overnight: Paro (2,200 m) | Meals: B, L, D

After breakfast, an optional 1-hour hike up through rice terraces and pine forest to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, a beautifully crafted temple with views up the Mo Chhu valley. Then drive back over Dochula Pass to Paro, stopping for tea and a last look at the Himalaya.

In the afternoon visit Rinpung Dzong (Paro Dzong), the 'fortress on a heap of jewels', reached across the traditional covered wooden bridge of Nyamai Zam, and the National Museum housed in the old watchtower (Ta Dzong). Evening stroll along Paro's main street with its painted wooden shopfronts.

Today's highlights:

• Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten (optional hike)
• Rinpung Dzong & Nyamai Zam bridge
• National Museum of Bhutan

Drive / Flight: Hike – approx. 5–6 hrs round trip (ascent approx. 900 m) | Overnight: Paro (2,200 m) | Meals: B, L, D

The highlight of any Bhutan journey. Drive 20 minutes to the trailhead and hike through blue pine forest hung with prayer flags to the cafeteria viewpoint (about 1½ hrs), then on to the monastery itself, clinging to a sheer cliff 900 m above the Paro valley. Legend says Guru Rinpoche flew here on the back of a tigress in the 8th century to meditate in a cave. Ponies are available for the first half of the ascent (own expense).

On the way back, visit Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan (7th century), and the ruins of Drukgyel Dzong. In the evening enjoy a farewell dinner with an optional traditional hot-stone bath in a farmhouse (own expense).

Today's highlights:

• Tiger's Nest (Taktsang) Monastery hike
• Kyichu Lhakhang
• Optional farmhouse hot-stone bath

Drive / Flight: Airport transfer – approx. 15 min; flight to Kathmandu / Delhi | Meals: B

After breakfast, transfer to Paro International Airport for your onward flight to Kathmandu / Delhi. Your guide bids you farewell – Tashi Delek! (End of services.)