Gangtey Trek – 9 Days

Day 01: Arrival at Paro(2250 m) from Kathmandu and transfer to Thimphu.
Your flight lands in Paro You will meet our representative at the airport and will be driven to Thimphu, Check in hotel. After check-in, around go out to visit Tashicheo Dzong. Tashicheo dzong, the “fortress of the glorious religion” was initially erected in 1702 and restored by the Third King in the 1950s. Tashichhodzong houses some ministries, His Majesty’s secretariat, and the central monk body. You can visit this Dzong after office hours on weekdays and weekends from 9 am to 5:30 pm.

Day 02: Thimphu(2350m) and after lunch drive to Punakha.
Today you will do Thimphu sightseeing till lunch. Memorial Chorten where the older people continuously circumambulated, murmuring mantras and spinning their prayer wheels. Construction of this landmark was the idea of Bhutan’s 3rd king, His Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuk (“the father of modern Bhutan”) who wished to erect a monument to world peace and prosperity. Completed in 1974 after his untimely death, it serves both as a memorial to the Late King and as a monument to peace.
Zorig Chusum (commonly known as the Painting School) where students undergo a 6-year training course in Bhutan’s 13 traditional arts and crafts. Later visit the Folk Heritage Museum, a fascinating testimony of the Bhutanese material culture and living traditions.
Phelchey Toenkhyim (Folk Heritage Museum), is dedicated to connecting people to the Bhutanese rural past through exhibits, demonstrations, educational programming, and documentation of rural life. The principal exhibit in the museum is a restored three-story traditional building, rammed with mud and timber, which dates back to mid 19th century. To present a typical Bhutanese rural setting flavor, paddy, wheat, and millet fields, a traditional watermill (with mill stones that dates back more than 150 years), traditional style kitchen gardens with vegetables that were grown and consumed over 100 years, and the famous hot stone bath complement the museum building and exhibition within.

Takin, the national animal of Bhutan is said to be created by Lam Drukpa Kinley,  whose monastery you will visit tomorrow.

Buddha point(Kuensel Phodrang). It is again a short drive from the town. You can pay your obeisance and offer prayers to the Buddha, the largest statue in the country and then walk around and take a glimpse of the valley.

After lunch drive to Punakha(driving hour 2.30hrs), the old capital of Bhutan. Drive over a pass (Dochu-la 3150mtrs) La in Bhutanese means pass. There are 108 chorten called “Druk Wangyel Chorten” with colorful prayer flags surrounding the area, which makes you fresh and feel peace. Visit the Druk Wangyel monastery.
If the sky is clear this provides the best place to see and take photos of Himalayan snow-capped mountain ranges that border Tibet(China), the following are the names of the peaks which can be seen from this pass (left to right): Masagang (7,158m), Tsendagang (6,960m), Terigang (7,060m), Jejegangphugang (7,158 m ), Kangphugang (7,170 m ), Zongphugang (7, 060 m ), a table mountain that dominates the isolated region of Lunana - finally Gangkar plenum, the highest peak in Bhutan at 7,497m. After that, we drive down the hill till we feel the warm air of Punakha Valley. Overnight in Punakha.

Day 03: Punakha to Gangtey(3000 m) 
After breakfast drive to Gangtey(Phobjikha). one of the few glacial valleys in Bhutan, which lies in the mountains, east of Wangduephodrang. After crossing over the pass, you soon come to the great monastery of Gangtey, established in the 17th century. The village of Phobjikha lies a few kilometers down from the monastery, on the valley floor. This quiet, remote valley is the chosen winter home of rare black-necked cranes, which migrate here annually from the Tibetan plateau. If you want to you can do a small hike of 1hr. Many visitors refer to this place as heaven on Earth. After visiting the valley drive back to Punakha.

Day 04: Gangtey Gompa – Gogona 14 km (3100m) approx 5-6 hrs 
The trek leaves the valley at 2830km and leads south, then west through meadows and fields. It then climbs via a mixed forest of juniper, bamboo, rhododendrons, and magnolia. The trail is rough and rocky and weaves through trees where pack animals have created deep muddy furrows. After crossing Tsele La (3440m) the trail crosses several meadows and then descends through forests to Gangak (3020m). It is then a short climb to the camp at Gogona (3100m), a beautiful hilltop site overlooking a long valley. Nearby is Gogona Lhakhang and dozens of poles with white prayer flags fluttering.
A 30-minute walk beyond Gogona is a hamlet where you may find homemade ara (local alcoholic drink) to buy. The women here weave blankets. The village folks speak here a different dialect called Bjop-kha (the language of the nomads). 
Overnight camp. (Altitude 3100m)

Day 05: Gogona – Khotokha (2790m) 15 km, approx 5 - 6 hours trek
The trail winds gently up above Gogona village, past flocks of sheep and plowed fields. Climb into a forest of firs, oak, spruce, dwarf rhododendron, miniature azaleas, cypress, and juniper. Much of the undergrowth is daphne, the plant that is used for hand-made paper and may be identified by its yellow flowers. Then a long but gradual climb leads to Shobju La pass (3410m). The trail down from the pass is rocky and muddy, weaving through the forest and crisscrossing a small stream. Eventually, at about 3000m, the trail meets a rough trek used by tractors to collect wood from the forest. Follow the road, with a few shortcuts through the woods, to a sawmill and woodcutters camp at Dolonaga (2830m). Still heading down, the trail overlooks the broad Khothangkha valley and eventually reaches Chorten Karpo, where there are four Chortens dedicated to the four Je Khenpos who came from this area. Three of the Chortens are square, in Bhutanese style, and the fourth is in Nepali style.  The best camp is in this clearing at 2790m, beside a forest of large blue pines overlooking the valley and the village of Khothangkha, comprising about 60 rustic houses. Overnight camp. (Altitude 2790m)

Day 06: Khotokha - Tikke Zampa & transfer to Punakha & Wangduephodrang (1500m) 12 km, approx. 4 hrs trek
A short, steep climb along a well-known path takes you to Tashi La (2800m). This is the upper terminus of the cable car that transports wood down to Chhuzomsa, 1300m below. The walk down is through a beautiful forest, with the undergrowth changing from rhododendrons and magnolia to ferns and dwarf bamboo. This stretch of trail is one of the finest bird-watching areas in Bhutan. Among the species found here are laughing thrush, shrike, magpie, and woodpecker. The trail then plunges down past steep terraced wheat fields to a cluster of houses at Whachay. The trail eventually meets the road near Tikke Zampa at 1500m. 
End of trek & transfer to the hotel.
Rest of the day at leisure and explore Wangduephodrang town. Adjoining Punakha, Wangduephodrang known as Sha or ‘east’ to the Bhutanese is an important gateway to the far-flung corners of Bhutan and played a crucial role in unifying the western, central, and southern districts. Overnight at the hotel in Punakha & Wangduephodrang. (Altitude 1300m)

Day 07: Punakha (1350 meters) and after lunch drive to Paro
After breakfast visit: 
Punakha Dzong: The Dzong was built in 1637 by the unifier Zhabdrung Ngwang Namgyal and it was named Pungthang Dechen Phodrang (Palace of Great Happiness). The Dzong is beautifully located in between the two rivers called Pho (male) and Mo (female) Chhu (river). The Dzong is surrounded by stories and myths, and you just have to ask your guide or local people they will have some great stories of the past. It was the capital of Bhutan till 1955. The establishment of the Wangchuck dynasty on 17th December 1907 took place here and the first National Assembly was also held in the Dzong in 1953. Punakha dzong continues to be the winter residence of the Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot) and the central monk body. The war materials captured during the Tibetan invasion can be found in the dzong.
Chimi Lhakhang is a small 15th-century temple famous for its fertility endowments/rites due to the blessings of Lam Drukpa Kuenley in the west known as Devine Mad Man. The temple sits on a hillock shape, as only Drukpa Kuenley could describe it “like a woman’s breast”. The word ‘Chimi’translates as “No Dog” and is traced to the story of how Drukpa Kuenley subdued the demoness of Dochula. Lam Drukpa Kuenley had followed the demoness of Dochula down to the valley of Punakha and Wangdue. It is believed that the demons had disguised themselves as a form of a dog. He then subdued the dog and buried it under a mound of earth, marking the place with a stupa and making a prophecy that a temple would be built on the spot in the future.
The temple houses the Lam’s iron bow and arrow, a small altar chorten made by the Lam himself, and some of his personal effects scriptures. A wooden effigy of Drukpa Kuenley’s male organ is used to bless pilgrims, particularly childless couples or those who have suffered miscarriages or early deaths of their children. Children born under such circumstances under the patronage of Drukpa Kuenley are often named Kuenley or Chimi in honor of the saint and the place. After visiting Chimi Lhakhang you will have lunch in a restaurant facing the Lhakhang. After lunch, we drive back to Paro. The driving hour is 3.5 hours. Overnight in Hotel.

Day 08: Sightseeing in Paro
Taktshang: After an early breakfast visit the Tiger’s nest(Taktshang)Hike up to the famous cliff hermitage called Taktsang, the “Tiger’s Nest.” This monastic retreat is built into a sheer cliff face, high above the Paro Valley. The Buddhist saint Padmasambhava flew across the Himalayas on the back of a tiger and landed here, bringing Buddhism to Bhutan. The trail to the monastery climbs through a beautiful pine forest and an occasional grove of fluttering prayer flags.
Kyichu Lhakhang: This Lhakhang(monastery), built in the 7th century, is one of the two oldest and most sacred shrines in Bhutan (the other being Jambey Lhakhang in Bumthang). Kyichu Lhakhang is composed of twin temples. The first temple was built by the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century. In 1968, H.M. Ashi Kesang, the Queen Mother of Bhutan, arranged for a second temple to be built alongside the first one, in the same style.
Rinpung Dzong: Built in 1646 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the “fortress of the heap of jewels“stands on a hill above Paro Township. The approach to the Dzong is through a traditional covered bridge (called the Nemi Zam) and then up a paved stone path running alongside the imposing outer walls. The valley’s annual springtime religious festival, the Paro Tsechu, takes place in the courtyard of the Dzong and on the dance ground on the hillside above.

Day 09: Departure for Kathmandu
After breakfast, drive to the airport for your onward destination. Our representative will help you with exit formalities and bid you farewell.