PThe entire trip was well planned by Mieke, t...

Bhutan | Oct 20 - Nov 2, 2026

PThe entire trip was well planned by Mieke, taking in my input and adding suggestions and advice along the way. The result was a well balanced adventure between hotel stays with day hikes , temples to visit, an amazing festival to attend, and then the trek itself. So I would break down the trip in 2 parts, hotels and the trek.
The hotels were amazing, in beauty, in hospitality, and comfort. We started with Pemako Thimphu, where we all dressed in traditional attire and danced to everyone’s mutual embarrassment. Thimphu visit included city tour and several hikes to local temples and an amazing festival. On to Punakha where the accommodation was one of the most unique I have ever experienced, starting with my butler , Kemcho! Truly wonderful experience and the nicest tent I have ever stayed in. We liked it so much that we skipped the Lake hike the next day and just stayed on the property, walked along the river, did archery , had a massage.. wonderful day,
Then back to Paro but not before a great hike above the pass to the Lungchutse temple and magnificent views of Himalayas . Uma Paro that night and , again, beautiful hotel and people ,
The trek began the next day, the trail was rustic but manageable and the pace appropriate. The crew horsemen,cook helpers, did all they could to keep us comfortable , and very well fed! The weather became an issue as we went over the Bhonte La pass, camped in snow that night , modified our route and hiked out the next day.
Back to Uma Paro for couple nights and finished with hike to the Tigers Nest, unforgettable!
The entire trip was everything I had hoped for, made an indelible impact on myself, my son, and son in law, and our friend Chris. A couple things need to be mentioned though. Our guide Namgay, bless his heart we loved him, but he was unintelligible! I would have gotten so much more out of the trip had he been more clear, very heavy accent. My hearing is impaired but even the others in our group found him extremely difficult to understand, like less than maybe 20 %.
Money exchange: ATMs were available and functioning fortunately since the Hotels would not exchange 100’s with older issue dates(as all mine had) may want to let people know this, dates on bills have to be newer than 2007
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