Trip Facts

Trip Highlight: Festival/cultural tour/ gentle hikes and nature tours
Trip Duration: 11 days/ 10 nights
Festival date: 27 Feb- 2^nd March
Festival Venue: Punakha Dzong, Punakha
Trip Style: classic
Service Level: Standard
Physical demand: **

Summary

In general, almost all the festival events held in every nook and crony of the country have the history of Buddhism origin. Essentially, the religious festivals depict the teaching of Lord Buddha and are held in the honor of Guru Rinpochhe who introduced Buddhism in Bhutan. Like in any other places in Bhutan, Punakha hosts its annual religious festival in the early spring season. However, the event dates are purely drawn from the lunar calendar and variance in festival dates are apparent. Majority of religious festival are held in the main courtyard of Dzongs and Monasteries.

The 2012 Punakha festival will start from 27 February to 2^nd March and this is the premier event called Drupchen. Following the Drupchen is the Punakha Tshechu which will last for three days from 3^rd March till 5^th March. Firstly, during the Drupchen event, the 17^th century events of defending demonstration will be showcased. And during the Tshechu, various festival dances will be shown to thousands of people from across the country and abroad. Attending religious festival means gaining insights to religion and purpose of life. Besides, the layman’s lexicon has described these events as an occasion to meeting up with friends and families from far and near.

Itinerary at a glance

Day 1 Arrival Paro
Day 2 Paro/Thimphu
Day 3 Thimphu Sightseeing
Day 4 Thimphu/Punakha
Day 5 Punakha Festival
Day 6 Punakha Festival
Day 7 Punakha/Bumthang
Day 8 Bumthang sightseeing
Day 9 Bumthang/Thimphu
Day 10 Thimphu/Tiger nest hike/Paro
Day 11 Exit