The holiday starts at the group hotel in Kathmandu. Transfers from Kathmandu Airport are provided. The rest of the day is free to relax or for independent sightseeing. We have also arranged for dinner in the hotel tonight, which you can take at your own leisure.

The group will meet in the lobby of the hotel. We transfer together back to airport in time to check in for the flight to Paro. The flight from Kathmandu to Bhutan is one of the most spectacular of all mountain flights. From the left side of the plane Everest, Makalu and Kangchenjunga, three of the world's highest mountains, are clearly visible. The total flying time is only 45 minutes and soon we are descending into the Paro Valley. On arrival we will be met by our Tour Leader. There will be time to check in at our hotel, before heading to the dzong, where the festival will be in flow. There are a series of ritual dances on each day of the festival. They are divided into three categories: those that give moral instruction, those that drive away evil spirits and those that celebrate the Buddhist faith in its many guises. We can enjoy mingling with the throngs of Bhutanese families who travel from all around to join the celebrations, all dressed in their finest clothes. At the end of the day after the monks and dancers parade back into the dzong, we head back to our hotel in time for dinner. Overnight Paro.

This morning we will be up early to make the stunning hike up to the Tiger's Nest. The monastery's location is stunning, perched on the ledge of a cliff 900m above the Paro Valley. Not just a cultural experience, this hike up to over 3000m will provide some excellent acclimatisation. Around half way up the trail there is a classic viewpoint, looking across the gorge to the monastic buildings clinging to the cliff wall opposite. There is a small teahouse located here where we can stop for a drink with a truly unforgettable view. The final approach takes us down to a sacred waterfall, surrounded by a thousand fluttering prayer flags, where every crack in the rock is crammed with tsa-tsas (small caskets containing the ashes of the dead), before climbing back up towards the monastery. Leaving our bags and cameras at the gate we should hopefully be allowed to take a look around inside. As we explore amongst the various atmospheric chambers and altar rooms our guide will be on hand to explain all about the Buddhist rituals and iconography. We return to Paro in the afternoon. Where we can choose to revisit the festival ground or return to the hotel to rest.

This morning we will be up early to return to the festival ground to witness the unfurling of the Throngdrel, a giant applique thangka depicting a seated guru Rinpoche; a truly unique spectacle, which only happens once a year. We then head to the dzong, where we can go inside and take a look around. We then drive a little higher up to Ta Dzong, the old watch tower, which now houses the Bhutanese National Museum. We will have a quick tour of the museum, which is home to lots of ceremonial masks and costumes used at festivals, before setting off on trek. We drive further up the track to around 2800m, where our trek crew and horses will be waiting, and begin trekking. It is a steady climb through forest up to the Jili La, a pass at around 3490m, from where we can see Jili Dzong. We camp just below the pass.

We follow the ridge back up to Jili Dzong ,which in ancient times was one of the shelters on the main route between Paro and Thimphu. There only a few monks in residence here nows and hopefully we will be permitted to take a look around inside. Outside the Dzong is a great place for a photo opportunity amongst the fluttering prayer flags. We continue along an undulating trail, crossing several spurs and descending down through thick forest and across open meadows above the tree line and we will stop for a good break and a hot lunch in one of these meadows. We will reach our second camp (3890m), in a meadow along the ridge, in the mid-afternoon. If clear there are some great views down into the valley.

A longer hike today but a delightful day's walking, first through coniferous forests, then rhododendron forest and finally through more open country and fields of wild onions, some of which our cooks will crop for tonight's dinner. We reach the Jangchu la (4190m) from where we have a sensational view of the valleys below and weather permitting, of the distant It is a good hike today and a delightful day's walking, we begin following the path up through coniferous forest and dwarf rhododendrons and finally through more open countryside. We reach the Jangchu la (4190m) from where we have a sensational view of the valleys below and weather permitting, of the distant Himalayan peaks. We can also see today's journey's end below us at Jimilangtso Lake (Sand Ox Lake). There is a trail junction here with a well beaten path leading into the mountains and over passes to the dzong at Lingshi. Our trail however, descends down to the lake at 3860m. Legend has it that this lake is home to a mystical ox and local farmers still bring their cows to the lake in the hope that they can produce the strong and valuable offspring of such a creature. We camp on the shores of the lake.

Today's hike is on good trail with a small pass to cross. This morning a steady climb and traverse takes us up to another small lake called Janeytsho. The trail takes us through more dwarf Rhododendron trees, which are very common at these altitudes. In spring, these dwarf trees will be in full bloom adding colour to the already spectacular landscape. We continue up to the larger Simkotra Lake before we reach a saddle at 4180m, below some rocky peaks. Yak herders camps and encounters with yaks are common. The yak herders move their camps regularly along with the herd, a tradition that has been practiced for generations. We are now at a height where the yak herders collect the parasitic Cordycep fungus, which is widely used in traditional medicine; only the yak herders are permitted to collect and sell these rare fungi. Decending from a small pass we eventually arriving into our camp Labana (4130m). Labana means 'in between two passes' and from camp we can see the Phume La, which we will cross tomorrow; at 4210m this will be the high point of our trek.

Today we must first make the short climb to cross the Phume La (4210m) with its unmistakable stone cairn decorated with colourful prayer flags. In clear weather we are rewarded with a splendid Himalayan panorama including Gangar Puensum, the world's highest unclimbed mountain. We will also soon have a bird's eye view of Thimphu, which is now directly below us. We first descend to the Phajoding monastery (3960m) and from their down through a forest of blue pine to the road where our vehicle will be waiting to take us the last mile or so into Thimphu. The afternoon is free for sightseeing and for shopping in Thimphu. There is a variety of crafts and garments for sale and also highly decorative postage stamps for which Bhutan is quite famous. Thimphu is famous for being the only capital city in the world with no traffic lights. What little traffic there is here is still directed manually by a police officer, known as 'The Dancing Policeman'.

We spend the morning sightseeing in Thimphu before we set off on the exciting 3hr drive to Punakha. There is much to see in Thimphu and we will try to include as much as possible! We will certainly visit the Great Buddha Dordenma, the world's largest seated golden Buddha and also the textile museum where we can see some amazing examples of intricately woven costumes from all over Bhutan and watch some of the weavers in action. As we pass the archery ground we will look to see if there is an archery competition taking place. Archery is Bhutan's national sport and is taken extremely seriously. The rules of archery in Bhutan are unlike those in other countries. Here arrows must be fired an impressive 140m to hit an extremely small target. Each hit, or miss, is accompanied by dance and celebration or by great teasing and derision respectively. Archery is omnipresent in Bhutan and if we are not able to witness a match here, then we should definitely have another opportunity either in Punakha, Paro or when we pass back through Thimphu tomorrow. We have lunch in Thimphu before setting off on the 3hr drive to Punakha, the winter capital of Bhutan. The drive will take us across the Dochu La (3000m), the highest road pass in Bhutan. Arriving in Punakha we can expect warmer temperatures and a change of scenery towards fertile farmland, fruit trees and rice paddies. We check into our hotel and have a little time to relax before dinner.

This morning we head out to explore Punakha. We begin by taking the short walk through the rice paddies to visit Chimi L'hakhang, the Temple of the Divine Mad Monk. This small temple is built beside a Bodhi tree and is surrounded by prayer wheels. The Mad Monk, or Drukpa Kunley, is a highly revered 15th lama. He is known for his controversial approach to teaching, which involved womanising, drinking and singing bawdy rhymes. Afterwards we visit Punakha Dzong, which provides the winter home for over 1000 monks. The Dzong is one of Bhutan's most impressive buildings; it was here that the first king was crowned in 1907 and also where the current, and fifth, King first donned the Raven Crown. Particularly impressive is the pillared hall, which is decorated with art work depicting the most important scenes from the life of the Buddha and presided over by impressive giant gilded statues of Buddha, Guru Rinpoche and Zhabdrung Rinpoche (or Bluebeard). After lunch we make the return drive across the Dochu La and on to Paro. As this evening will be our last in Bhutan and we will celebrate by sampling some excellent Bhutanese cuisine and taking on last look at Paro Dzong which is lit from below to spectacular effect in the evenings.

We have an early transfer to Paro Airport for the morning flight to Kathmandu. The flight takes only 45 minutes and on arrival we transfer to our comfortable hotel. The remainder of the day is free to explore the city or for shopping in the bazaars. An evening meal is included at the hotel, for those that wish to dine together, or you are free to head out into Thamel independently to a restaurant of your choice.

The holiday ends after breakfast. Transfers to Kathmandu airport are provided. If you would like to spend more time exploring Nepal, why not pre-book a full day-tour of the Kathmandu Valley, or a multi-day excursion to a wildlife reserve in Chitwan National Park. Contact the KE Team for more details.