Western Bhutan

Paro

The valley every journey begins in, and the cliff where most hearts are lost.

Altitude 2,200 m valley floor Best season March to May, September to November Worth 2 to 3 nights Getting there Bhutan's international airport, about an hour by road from Thimphu

Paro is the first of Bhutan most travellers see, and it sets the terms for everything after.

The flight in threads between ridgelines and lands beside the rice paddy fields. The valley holds some of the kingdom’s oldest temples, its best known trail, and farmhouses that still work the land between them.

Most journeys use Paro for the first and last nights, but it is worth giving it more time. Spend a slow day here hiking, or settling into a farmhouse hot stone bath. We keep Taktsang for the end of the journey, just before departure, once you have settled into the altitude. For trekkers it comes on the second or third day, as an acclimatisation walk. With a spare half day, visit the ruins of Drukgyel Dzong or Dungtse Lhakhang.

March to May brings spring colour and the Paro Tshechu, when the dzong courtyard fills with dancers and families. September to November gives the clearest skies and the best mountain views. Winter is cold, quiet and often bright. In the monsoon months the valley is green and uncrowded, though trails turn slippery and views can hide behind cloud.

While You Are Here

Things worth your time

01 Walk to Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest The monastery on the cliff. Four to five hours return, with a teahouse halfway and the best reason in the kingdom to acclimatise first.
02 Rinpung Dzong and the old wooden bridge Enter the way people have for centuries, across the cantilever bridge and up through the watchtower's shadow.
03 Kyichu Lhakhang One of Bhutan's two oldest temples, seventh century, with orange trees that fruit at altitude and grandmothers circling the prayer wheels.
04 Drive to Chele La at dawn At 3,988 metres, the highest road pass in Bhutan, with prayer flags, blue sheep if you are lucky, and Jomolhari on a clear morning.
05 A farmhouse evening Ara, red rice, ema datshi and a hot stone bath under the rafters. The quietest luxury Paro offers.
06 Drukgyel Dzong and Dungtse Lhakhang The ruined fortress at the head of the valley, with Jomolhari behind it on a clear day, and a 15th century hilltop temple that few visitors reach.