After breakfast, drive about 14km towards the north of Thimphu city and hike to the 12th century religious site called Tango Monastery. There is also a monastery called Cheri located on a mountain in the neighbourhood. Hiking to Tango is much easier as most part of the footpath is paved and the uphill ascent is not as steep. It is roughly 14km from the main Thimphu town. Following the trail through the forests, the walk uphill takes about 1.5 hours at a slow pace. Tango Monastery was founded in 1222 by the Tibetan scholar Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, who first established the Drukpa Kagyu School of Buddhism in Bhutan and subsequently became the state religion. The present form of the monastery was built later in 1689 by the Tenzin Rabgye, the 4th Temporal ruler of Bhutan. After the hike, drive back to the town where traditional lunch will be served at one of the traditional restaurants.

After lunch at the Folk Heritage Museum Restaurant or at a similar one, visit the National Institute of Zorig Chusum (Zorig Chusum means 13 Traditional Arts & Crafts) located nearby the Folk Heritage Museum. The National Institute of Zorig Chuzum was established to promote and preserve the thirteen traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan and to facilitate increased access in learning Zorig skills by Bhutanese youths. Many of these traditional arts and crafts are declining with the advent of modern technologies and therefore, the government is putting in lot of effort to train youths to keep the traditions alive. The thirteen arts and crafts are categorized as Shing Zo (woodwork), Dho Zo (stonework), Par Zo (carving), Lha Zo (painting), Jim Zo (sculpting), Lug Zo (casting), Shag Zo (woodturning), Gar Zo (blacksmith), Troe Zo (ornament making), Tsa Zo (bamboo work), De Zo (paper making), Tsem Zo (tailoring, embroidery and applique) and Thag Zo (weaving). We then drive to Punakha valley.

About 45 min drive from Thimphu towards Punakha is a mountain pass at an altitude of 3,150 meters above sea level from where you can see, on a clear day, some of the highest peaks of Bhutan. Before the construction of these beautiful 108 Druk Wangyal Choetens (stupas) in 2004, this mountain pass remained only as a sacred place blessed by a famous Buddhist saint, Lam Drukpa Kunley in the late 15th century. From Dochu La Pass, we will continue driving towards Punakha, passing through some villages, the elevation drops gradually and the road winds through the pine trees. You will feel the drastic change in altitude from 3,150m just an hour and a half ago to a warmer subtropical valley at 1,200m.

Just about 11km before reaching the proper Punakha town, you will visit a famous Chimi Lhakhang popularly known as the "Temple of Fertility". A 20 – 30 minutes walk through beautiful terraced paddy fields and traditional farmhouses will bring you to the Temple of Fertility. The history of Chimi Lhakhang is associated with 15th-century Tibetan Lama Drukpa Kunley who was affectionately known as “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching Buddhism. He would often use phallus as a tool to subdue malevolent spirits. Using the phallus was also intended to free up the social inhibitions enforced by the socially established values. Today, one of the relics of Chime Lhakhang is a phallus. The blessing of the phallus is considered sacred particularly to couples who are unable to have children as it brings fertility giving them the ability to bear offspring. Because of this belief, people like to call Chimi Lhakhang as “Temple of Fertility”.

After breakfast, you will go for a 2.5-hour return hike to Khamsum Yuelley Namgyel Chorten. Located on a mountain ridge overlooking the picturesque Punakha valley, this wonderful Buddhist structure is a fine example of Bhutanese architecture used in building temples, monasteries and Zangdogpelri (copper coloured mountains). It was built over a period of almost 10 years under the command of Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck, one of the Grand Queen Mothers of Bhutan and was consecrated in 1999. After the hike, return to the road head and drive to visit Punakha Dzong.

The historic Punakha Dzong was originally known as Pungthang Dewa Chenpoi Phodrang, meaning the “Palace of Great Bliss”. It was built in 1637 AD by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (Tibetan Buddhist master who came to Bhutan in 1616 and founded the nation-state of Bhutan) on a small stretch of land where the rivers Phochu and Mochu converge. Punakha Dzong is the second oldest and second-largest Dzong in Bhutan. The sacred wall paintings and main artifacts inside the dzong, the intricate woodworks and the architectural structure of the dzong display fine examples of Bhutanese arts and craftsmanship which continues to influence Bhutanese architecture even today. After lunch, you will be transferred to Phobjikha valley. The road distance is 80km and takes approximately 3-hours.

Phobjikha is a vast U-shaped glacial valley at an elevation of about 3,000m/9,840ft and it is a winter home for endangered Black Necked Crane from November to March and migrates back to Tibetan Plateau by the beginning of the spring season. Every year on the 11th of November, Black Necked Crane Festival is held in this valley to celebrate the arrival of this endangered and majestic bird which becomes an inseparable part in the lives of the local people during the winter months. As part of the conservation effort, Phobjikha valley has been declared a protected area.

After breakfast, visit Gangtey Monastery, an important landmark of the valley and venture out on an exhilarating Gangtey Nature Trail Hike. After lunch, transfer back to Paro valley. Founded in 1613, Gangtey Monastery is one of the largest monasteries in Bhutan and an important landmark in the valley. The monastery is popularly known as Gangtey Gonpa (gonpa literally means “remote place” and is usually a place of religious significance. The monastery also has a monastic college where hundreds of monks study Buddhist philosophy for 9 years. An annual religious festival, Gangtey Tshechu, is held at this majestic monastery during autumn when the harvest season is just over. A series of dazzling sacred mask dances interspersed by Bhutanese folk dances are performed during this festival. From here, the beautiful Gangtey Nature Hike begins.

The Gangtey Nature Trail is about 5km and takes approximately 2.5 hours through the woods surrounded by splendid nature all around, wonderful meadows, beautiful traditional village houses, farmlands and crystalline streams. This short nature trail gives you a great feeling of the valley and an understanding of the local inhabitant's livelihood. Lots of opportunities to take beautiful pictures! After lunch, you will be transferred back to Paro valley. The road distance is 175km and takes about 5-hours.

After early breakfast, you'll hike to the famous Paro Taktsang popularly known as Tiger's Nest. Taktsang monastery is located on the face of a sheer 800-meter rock cliff in Paro. The round-trip hike normally takes about 4-5 hours from the road head. Its history is associated with the visit of Guru Padmasambhava, the Indian saint who came to Bhutan and introduced Tantric Buddhism in the mid-eighth century A.D. It is believed that Guru Padmasambhava flew to Taktsang from Kurtoe Singye Dzong in eastern Bhutan, riding on a tigress. Taktsang Monastery was originally built in 1692 on the sacred cave where Guru Padmasambhava meditated. One-way horse riding is available for about USD20 up to the midpoint (Taktsang Viewpoint Cafeteria). Lunch will be served at the Taktsang cafeteria and then we retrace our steps back to the base where our driver will be waiting.

Towards the late afternoon, visit Aum Choden Homestay or a similar one for authentic home-cooked local cuisine. If you are interested, you can soak in a traditional hot stone bath believed to have a therapeutic and revitalizing effect for an additional fee of about US$15 per person. Specially selected stones containing minerals are heated in a wood-fired fireplace and dropped into a chamber of wooden tub releasing minerals. You can also take part in preparing your dinner and learn how to cook some of the popular dishes of Bhutan.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Paro International Airport for your onward journey depending on your departure time. Our guide and drive will bid you farewell.