Nepal Tibet and Bhutan Tour

Your flight into Paro is the trip's first event in its own right. The approach threads between forested ridges with the wings seemingly close enough to touch them, and only a small number of pilots in the world are certified to fly it. Sit on the left coming from Kathmandu for the Himalayan view.

Your Bhutanese guide and driver meet you in the arrivals hall and stay with you for the whole trip. After clearing the visa desk, where your pre-approved clearance is stamped into your passport, we drive the short distance into Paro town and check in.

The rest of the day is deliberately unstructured. Paro sits at 2,280 m and it is worth walking the single main street, having a first bowl of ema datshi, and letting the altitude settle before the programme starts.

Altitude: 2,250 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Drive to Thimphu and hike to the iconic Taktsang Monastery (Tiger’s Nest). The hike offers stunning views of the valley and monastery perched on a cliff. Overnight in Thimphu.

Paro sits at 2,280 m in a broad valley of terraced rice fields and is where Bhutan's only international airport is. The Rinpung Dzong, a fortress monastery from 1646, dominates the river, and the National Museum in the old watchtower above it holds an excellent collection of thangkas, textiles and masks.

Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest, clings to a cliff face 900 m above the Paro valley and is the image everyone has of Bhutan. Padmasambhava is said to have flown here on the back of a tigress in the eighth century. The hike up takes two to three hours through blue pine forest, with a cafeteria at the halfway viewpoint and a final flight of steps down and up across a waterfall. Horses can be hired for the lower half. It is the physical high point of most Bhutan itineraries and it is worth every step.

Thimphu is the only national capital in the world without traffic lights, still directed at its main junction by a white-gloved policeman. The Tashichho Dzong houses the government and the central monastic body, the Buddha Dordenma sits 51 m high above the valley, and the weekend market, the textile museum and the takin preserve, home to Bhutan's improbable national animal, fill a comfortable day.

Altitude: 3,120 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Drive to Punakha, visiting the Dochula Pass en route for panoramic views of the Himalayas. Explore the Punakha Dzong and its beautiful surroundings. Overnight in Punakha.

Thimphu is the only national capital in the world without traffic lights, still directed at its main junction by a white-gloved policeman. The Tashichho Dzong houses the government and the central monastic body, the Buddha Dordenma sits 51 m high above the valley, and the weekend market, the textile museum and the takin preserve, home to Bhutan's improbable national animal, fill a comfortable day.

Punakha was Bhutan's capital until 1955 and its dzong, built in 1637 at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers, is the most beautiful building in the country. The drive there crosses the Dochula pass at 3,100 m, where 108 memorial chortens stand on a knoll and, on a clear morning, the eastern Himalaya lines the horizon. The suspension bridge below the dzong is one of the longest in Bhutan.

Altitude: 1,250 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Return to Paro with sightseeing along the way. Visit the Chimi Lhakhang (Fertility Temple) and other local attractions. Overnight in Paro.

Paro sits at 2,280 m in a broad valley of terraced rice fields and is where Bhutan's only international airport is. The Rinpung Dzong, a fortress monastery from 1646, dominates the river, and the National Museum in the old watchtower above it holds an excellent collection of thangkas, textiles and masks.

Punakha was Bhutan's capital until 1955 and its dzong, built in 1637 at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers, is the most beautiful building in the country. The drive there crosses the Dochula pass at 3,100 m, where 108 memorial chortens stand on a knoll and, on a clear morning, the eastern Himalaya lines the horizon. The suspension bridge below the dzong is one of the longest in Bhutan.

Altitude: 2,250 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Fly to Kathmandu and transfer to the hotel. Visit Pashupatinath Temple, Swayambhunath Stupa, and Kathmandu Durbar Square. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu Durbar Square is the old royal complex of the Malla kings and later the Shah dynasty, a dense cluster of pagoda temples, courtyards and palace wings built between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. The Kumari Ghar here houses Nepal's living goddess, a young girl selected from the Newar Shakya community who appears at her carved window most afternoons. Much of the square was damaged in the 2015 earthquake and the restoration work, done with traditional joinery and reused timber, is itself worth watching.

Pashupatinath is the most important Hindu temple in Nepal and one of the great Shiva shrines of the subcontinent, a UNESCO site on the banks of the Bagmati. Non-Hindus cannot enter the main temple but the far bank gives an open view across the ghats, where open-air cremations take place through the day. It is confronting the first time and it is also completely ordinary here, a public part of life rather than something hidden. Sadhus in ochre sit along the terraces, and the evening aarti draws a crowd.

Swayambhunath sits on a hill west of the city, reached by 365 stone steps through a forest full of rhesus macaques, which is where the nickname Monkey Temple comes from. The stupa is one of the oldest religious sites in the valley, with the Buddha's eyes painted on all four sides of the harmika and a spire of thirteen gilded rings. The terrace gives the best single view over Kathmandu, and it is at its best in the early morning when the kora is busy with local worshippers.

Altitude: 1,350 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Drive to Chitwan National Park, home to diverse wildlife. Enjoy a jungle safari, bird watching, and cultural programs. Overnight in Chitwan.

Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Terai lowlands and one of the best places in Asia to see greater one-horned rhinoceros, which number over six hundred here. Jeep safaris, guided walks with an armed naturalist, canoe trips on the Rapti and an elephant breeding centre fill the days. Bengal tigers are present and occasionally seen; leopard, sloth bear, gharial crocodile and more than five hundred bird species are all resident.

Altitude: 415 m  |  Overnight: Lodge  |  Meals: Breakfast

Full day of activities in Chitwan including jeep safari, canoe ride, and visiting the elephant breeding center. Overnight in Chitwan.

Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Terai lowlands and one of the best places in Asia to see greater one-horned rhinoceros, which number over six hundred here. Jeep safaris, guided walks with an armed naturalist, canoe trips on the Rapti and an elephant breeding centre fill the days. Bengal tigers are present and occasionally seen; leopard, sloth bear, gharial crocodile and more than five hundred bird species are all resident.

Altitude: 415 m  |  Overnight: Lodge  |  Meals: Breakfast

Drive to Pokhara, a city known for its stunning lakeside views and adventure activities. Overnight in Pokhara.

Pokhara sits at 820 m beside Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range rising 7,000 m above it, which is the largest relief from lake to summit anywhere in the world. The Tal Barahi temple on its island, Devi's Fall, the Gupteshwor cave, the International Mountain Museum and the World Peace Pagoda on the southern ridge fill an easy day, and a boat on the lake at dawn with Machhapuchhre reflected in it is the reason people stay longer than they planned.

Altitude: 827 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Early morning drive to Sarangkot to catch the sunrise over the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. Return to Pokhara and fly to Kathmandu. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Pokhara sits at 820 m beside Phewa Lake with the Annapurna range rising 7,000 m above it, which is the largest relief from lake to summit anywhere in the world. The Tal Barahi temple on its island, Devi's Fall, the Gupteshwor cave, the International Mountain Museum and the World Peace Pagoda on the southern ridge fill an easy day, and a boat on the lake at dawn with Machhapuchhre reflected in it is the reason people stay longer than they planned.

Sarangkot is the ridge above Pokhara at about 1,600 m, reached by a short drive before dawn, and it gives the classic Annapurna sunrise: Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machhapuchhre and Manaslu lighting up in sequence over the lake. It is also the main paragliding launch site in Nepal.

Altitude: 1,600 m  |  Overnight: 3-5 Stars  |  Meals: Breakfast

Fly to Lhasa and transfer to the hotel. Acclimatize to the altitude and explore the local area. Overnight in Lhasa.

Altitude: 3,650 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Visit the iconic Potala Palace, Norbulingka Palace, and Tibet Traditional Hospital. Learn about Tibetan history and culture. Overnight in Lhasa.

The Potala Palace rises thirteen storeys above Lhasa and was the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas from the seventeenth century. Inside are the golden funerary stupas of eight Dalai Lamas, the fifth's alone covered in more than three tonnes of gold, along with chapels, murals and the meditation cells of the earliest kings. Visits are on a timed ticket with a strict one-hour limit inside, and the climb up is at 3,656 m, so take it slowly.

Altitude: 3,700 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Explore Sera Monastery, Drepung Monastery, Jokhang Temple, and the bustling Barkhor Bazaar. Overnight in Lhasa.

The Jokhang is the most sacred temple in Tibetan Buddhism, founded in the seventh century to house the Jowo Rinpoche, a statue of the Buddha as a twelve-year-old brought to Tibet by the Chinese princess Wencheng. Pilgrims prostrate full-length on the flagstones outside from before dawn. The interior is dark, thick with butter lamp smoke, and unlike anywhere else.

The Barkhor is the pilgrim circuit around the Jokhang and the old heart of Lhasa: a clockwise kora walked by thousands of pilgrims a day, lined with stalls selling prayer wheels, turquoise, incense and yak butter. Walking it once with the flow of people tells you more about Tibet than any museum.

Sera Monastery, founded in 1419, is one of the three great Gelugpa university monasteries of Lhasa. The reason to go in the afternoon is the debating courtyard, where monks challenge each other on points of doctrine with a formalised hand clap that punctuates each question. It runs most weekday afternoons and it is genuinely gripping even without the language.

Drepung was once the largest monastery in the world, housing around ten thousand monks, and it climbs the hillside west of Lhasa like a small white city. The Ganden Podrang within it was the seat of the Dalai Lamas before the Potala was built.

Altitude: 4,100 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Take a day trip to Ganden Monastery and Drayerpa Cave, significant spiritual sites with stunning views. Overnight in Lhasa.

Altitude: 4,300 m  |  Overnight: Hotel  |  Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the airport about three hours before your international flight. If you have a late departure we will hold a day room or arrange a final few hours in the city rather than leave you sitting in the terminal.

If you would rather not go home yet, this is the easy point to extend: a few days in Pokhara, a wildlife stay in Chitwan or Bardiya, a short Bhutan add-on, or a rest week somewhere quiet. Tell us before you travel and we will build it in at cost rather than as a late upgrade.

Altitude: 3,650 m  |  Meals: Breakfast