Punakha Festival

An Experience Of A Lifetime!!!

Bhutan had been on my bucket list for a while, so I did a lot of research to find the best tour group possible for this once in a lifetime experience. Thinley, the primary travel agent I interacted with before my trip, was very resourceful and accommodative in helping me set up an itinerary and arranging my flights. I arrived in early March and did the 4D/3N tour. I visited various attractions in Paro, Thimphu, and Punakha, including the famous Tiger’s Nest and Bhudda Dordenma. I also had the chance to attend a Masked Dance Festival in Punakha. Rooms were clean and food was delicious throughout my trip!
A special thanks also goes out to my tour guide (Phurba Tahering) and driver (Chencho Dorji) for teaching me about Bhutan’s rich history and culture. Also, Phurba specifically called the hotel rooms ahead of time to reserve the rooms with the best views for me. It’s this attention to detail and personal care that made this trip such a wonderful experience!
If you are looking for an exceptional travel experience in Bhutan, I highly recommend Bhutan Inbound!

Bhutan Inbound Tour Group

My buddy and I used Bhutan Inbound tour group for our trip. Thinley, who runs the group, was awesome, and took care of all the documents, flights, itinerary, hotels, etc., and even bought us sweet wallets! Our guide, Namgay, and driver, Cencho, were awesome! Both very friendly and helpful and patient when I wanted to stop to take millions of pics. They were both very knowledgeable and great to spend time with.

We went to Thimphu, Punakha, and Paro, saw cool temples amd fortresses and interesting villages. Tiger's Nest was mega, and afterwards, Namgay/Cencho took us to a cool eco farm for a hot rock soak w medicinal herbs, some rice wine, lawn darts, and archery!

Unforgettable journey thru Bhutan!!!!

Words cannot express the hospitality we received throughout our tour of Bhutan. Our driver Jigme (I call him Jimmy 😊) and tour guide Dorji were the most wonderful guides I have ever encountered in all my travels! They were so kind, accommodating, generous, helpful, knowledgeable and a lot of FUN to be with!!!
They basically spoiled us and made us feel very SPECIAL. They made sure we were always comfortable and enjoying ourselves. While driving thru Bhutan, we would sing along with the music in the van as well as stop the van to dance on the side of the road. We had so much fun with them!!!

Thinley and Jaya who operate this tour are very warm, friendly and welcoming!!! They did a fantastic job with our itinerary.
They gave us traditional Bhutanese dresses to wear to the huge cultural festival in Punakha. What a unique experience to walk around in these native dresses and witness this beautiful colorful festival. I can’t thank you enough for the most unforgettable adventure in Bhutan.
We love the people, the breathtaking landscapes, the hike to Tiger’s Nest, hot stone bath, charming hotels and so much more!!!
Dorji and Jimmy, a very special thank you to both of you!!! You’re one in a million! You gave us your FIVE-STAR SERVICE by going ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY!! I miss you Both already ... may our paths cross in the future. My sincere gratitude!!!

Never had a greater experience as much as we did with this tour company. Proprietor Thinley was always quick to respond to any changes in our plans or inquiries. ALWAYS accommodating with our needs.

There were 3 of us women travelling and we took a 7 night package. My 2 important things that had to be on our itin were to witness a festival and to climb the Tiger's Nest.....and we got MORE than what we bargained for; add the culture, the teachings of Buddhism, sharing of our personal views on family, politics, religion, culture, traditions and more from our guide Dorji and chauffeur Jigme was an eye opener. They provided us with such insights on Bhutan and its GNH, Gross National Happiness.

We started in Thimpu, then to Gangtey, then witnessed 2 days' worth of the Punakha festival, and finally Paro for THE climb!

But before I go into details, let me first tell you about Dorji and Jigme. They were very courteous, professional, accommodating and assisted in every way. We played our favorite tunes (they were well versed in western music!) and we sang along on every ride! I had to ask Jigme to stop the van once Bruce Sprinsteen's song "Dancing in the Dark" came along so we could all dance...and danced we did right on the shoulder side of the road between Punakha to Paro! What a riot!

As for Thinley and Jaya, they're most gracious in making the time to meet with us over tea/coffee. They gave us souvenirs of Bhutan and lent us costumes to boot, which we wore the first day of the festival.

As for the country and its people, need I say more, except that it's beautiful and so its people! The trip to Gangtey on zigzag road that just kept going higher and higher to see mountain after mountain, visiting temples which each had a character of its own, a Bhutanese meal at a family's farmhouse, a sip of their local wine, a bite of their dried yak cheese, seeing Nomads tending to their yaks, loud barking dogs into the night, the obvious equality between men and women (women as bellhops, lugging our heavy suitcases from the car to our rooms), crossing suspension bridges, hanging a set of prayer flags midway to Tiger's Nest, seeing men, women and children in their festival's best attires, being at the bottom of the biggest sitting Buddha and feeling small, having a candlelight dinner because our lodging had a blackout and it was at the coldest place but warmed in thick blankets, seeing black-neck cranes fly over us, eating mostly vegetable dishes due to their no-meat month, but some lodgings offered chicken dishes, seeing the King and Queen and their son's photos all over the country, spinning prayer wheels small and gigantic, dipping ourselves in a hot stone bath (not massage, but BATH), and being seniors, Dorji and Jigme helped us on our climb to the Tiger's Nest with bottles of water and a helping hand here and there up and down the path.....I can go on and on, but this was Bhutan we learned to love, live with and live in.

7 nights enough? Yes, to get a feel of the country and its people. Can you see more? Yes, indeed. Our trip was concentrated in the western part of Bhutan and from reading the DrukAir magazine articles, there's plenty more to see/do/experience in the country!

The country has zero carbon and seems to be progressive in sustaining its environment to continue to be healthy. Although its people (at least in the bigger towns/cities), one can see the westernization. I hope with that, their GNH will not be compromised.

Kudos to Bhutan Best Inbound for a memory of a lifetime, my sincere thanks and love (yes, you will love them by the end of the tour) to Thinley, Jaya, Dorji and Jigme!! We miss you and hope our paths will cross sometime, somewhere! God bless you!