Paro · Thimphu · Punakha · Bumthang · Trashigang · Merak · Sakteng
A Journey Into Bhutan’s Hidden Eastern Highlands
Paro · Thimphu · Punakha · Bumthang · Trashigang · Merak · Sakteng
Mountain roads climb toward Merak and highland trails continue toward Sakteng, passing grazing areas, traditional settlements and landscapes used by generations of Brokpa herders.
Along the way, you’ll encounter families whose culture is expressed not as a performance for visitors, but through the clothes they wear, animals they raise, homes they inhabit and customs that continue to shape everyday life.
This is a journey into a Bhutan reached by relatively few travelers—a place where culture, wilderness and mountain identity remain deeply intertwined.
Festival dates vary each year
Available on request
Ideal journey length
Couples and private travelers
During Paro Tsechu, the courtyards of the historic Rinpung Dzong become the setting for masked cham dances, Buddhist rituals and joyful celebrations. Monks move beneath vibrant costumes. Drums and ceremonial horns echo through the valley. Families arrive dressed in their finest traditional attire, gathering to receive blessings and renew their connection with faith and community.
After landing, receive a traditional welcome from your private Bhutanese host and begin the scenic journey toward Thimphu.
Follow the river through cultivated landscapes, mountain settlements and hillsides marked by prayer flags.
Your introduction to Bhutan’s capital begins at Buddha Dordenma, the immense golden Buddha seated high above the valley. From its elevated position, take in sweeping views across Thimphu and the surrounding mountains.
Continue to the National Memorial Chorten, where residents gather throughout the day to walk in meditation, turn prayer wheels and offer prayers.
As evening settles over the capital, experience a traditional Bhutanese welcome dinner introducing regional flavors, local customs and the hospitality that will accompany your journey east.
Retreat to your carefully selected Thimphu accommodation for the night.
At approximately 3,100 metres, 108 white chortens rise beneath colorful prayer flags. On clear mornings, distant Himalayan peaks appear across the horizon.
Descend into the warmer Punakha Valley, where terraced fields, traditional farmhouses and subtropical forests follow the rivers.
Visit Punakha Dzong, dramatically positioned at the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu.
Walk through its monumental courtyards, sacred chambers and intricately carved galleries while discovering the royal and spiritual events associated with this remarkable fortress.
Later, continue through rice fields and village landscapes toward Chimi Lhakhang.
Dedicated to Drukpa Kunley, the unconventional Buddhist teacher remembered as the Divine Madman, the temple remains an important place of pilgrimage and blessing.
Spend the evening surrounded by the rivers and forested hills of Punakha.
The journey crosses through Trongsa before entering Bumthang, a region regarded as one of the kingdom’s great spiritual heartlands.
From here, the road continues east through some of Bhutan’s least-travelled landscapes toward Trashigang.
The transition is gradual.
Fortresses and monasteries still mark the route, but the distances between major settlements grow longer and the geography becomes increasingly dramatic.
Here, Trongsa Dzong rises dramatically above the Mangde Chhu gorge.
Closely associated with Bhutan’s monarchy and political history, the fortress remains one of the kingdom’s most imposing architectural landmarks.
Explore its courtyards, temples and corridors while looking across the surrounding valley.
Continue toward Bumthang.
As you travel east, the landscape gradually opens into peaceful valleys surrounded by forested hills and mountains.
Often described as Bhutan’s spiritual heartland, Bumthang contains some of the kingdom’s most significant temples and sacred sites.
Settle into your accommodation and spend the evening amid the quieter rhythm of Central Bhutan.
Visit Jambay Lhakhang, traditionally regarded as one of the ancient temples associated with seventh-century Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo.
Continue to Kurjey Lhakhang, a revered complex connected in Bhutanese tradition with Guru Rinpoche, who is believed to have meditated at the site.
Afterward, leave Bumthang and begin the long journey toward Eastern Bhutan.
The road crosses high passes, deep forests and isolated villages as the landscape grows increasingly remote.
Eventually arrive in Trashigang, historically one of Eastern Bhutan’s most important regional centers.
Visit Trashigang Dzong, standing dramatically above the Drangme Chhu and surrounding valley.
Spend the evening in town.
Tomorrow, the journey turns away from Bhutan’s principal valleys and toward the highlands of Merak.
Mountain roads climb toward open grazing lands and settlements whose identities have been shaped by generations of high-altitude pastoral life.
Merak and Sakteng are home to Brokpa communities whose distinctive clothing, language, livestock traditions and cultural practices remain closely connected with the Himalayan environment.
Over these three days, the journey moves from village encounters into the mountain landscapes between the two settlements before returning toward Trashigang.
Yak grazing areas begin to appear across the slopes while prayer flags mark mountain ridges and village approaches.
Eventually, the settlement of Merak emerges amid the highlands.
This is Brokpa country.
Spend time exploring the village with your Bhutanese host and learning about the traditions that distinguish the community.
Traditional clothing, pastoral practices, local architecture and seasonal movement all reveal how life here has evolved in response to the surrounding mountains.
Meet local families and experience the rhythm of a settlement far removed from Bhutan’s larger towns and valleys.
As evening descends, settle into locally appropriate accommodation and experience the extraordinary quiet of the highlands.
The route climbs toward Nyakchung La Pass, the highest point of the journey at approximately 3,500 metres.
As you gain elevation, wide views open across the surrounding ridges and valleys.
Pause along the route to take in the scale of Eastern Bhutan’s landscape and observe signs of pastoral life scattered across the high country.
Continue toward Sakteng, another important Brokpa settlement surrounded by mountains and shaped by a long tradition of highland life.
Arrive in the village and spend time discovering its distinctive cultural atmosphere.
Learn how livestock, folklore, family traditions and the surrounding landscape continue to influence local identity.
Settle into the highlands for the evening.
The road feels far away.
The mountains do not.
Small moments often reveal more about the highlands than any formal performance could.
Later, begin the journey back toward Trashigang.
As the road descends, look back toward the mountain landscapes surrounding Merak and Sakteng.
The highlands gradually disappear behind forested ridges as you return to the valleys of Eastern Bhutan.
Arrive in Trashigang for a final evening reflecting on a journey into one of the kingdom’s least-travelled cultural regions.
Start your bespoke adventure with us
Himalayan wilderness
NATURE & CULTURE
CALTURAL TOUR
CELEBRATION TOUR
BEST SELLER
Himalayan valleys
LET’S DESIGN YOUR JOURNEY
SD Travel Group is a trusted travel company offering customized Bhutan packages with reliable local expertise.
@2026 SD Travels Group Pvt. Ltd.- All Rights Reserved.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-133969846-596da35068e1a200112a3e89.jpg)
