Journey to Sikkim & Bhutan (17 days / 15 nights)
Itinerary: Delhi-Baddogra-Darjeeling-Pelling-Gangtok-Phodung-Kalimpong-Phuntaholing-Thimphu-Tongsa-Jakar-Paro
Day 1 France -> Delhi
Flight from France to Delhi. Overnight on the plane.
Day 2 Delhi / Bagdogra/Darjeeling
Arrive in Delhi in the morning and fly to Bagdogra. Arrival in Bagdogra and welcome with a flower necklace. Then departure for Darjeeling on a very winding road through a landscape of hills planted with tea bushes. Lunch en route. Arrive in Darjeeling at the end of the day at an altitude of 2,100 metres. Check-in at the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 3 Arjeeling
After breakfast, you will watch the sun rise over the Himalayas from Tiger Hill, dominated by the third highest peak in the world. Then visit the city that was once the summer residence of the vices kings of India, when Calcutta was its capital. Today, the city is famous for its tea plantations: the mall with its stalls, the tea factories and the Tibetan refugee craft centre. Finally, a visit to the Ghoom monastery, where Alexandra David Neel lived. Lunch during the visits. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 4 Darjeeling / Pelling
After breakfast, departure for Sikkim, on the eastern side of the Himalayan range. Lunch en route. Arrive in Pelling at the end of the day and check into the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 5 Pelling / Gangtok
After breakfast, the morning will be devoted to visiting the town of Pelling. You will discover the Pemayangste monastery. This was the refuge of the seventeenth Karmapa and later of the Red Cap sect, before they fled Tibet in 1959. You can also admire the marvellous Kechopari lake. You will then continue on your way, through hills and terraced fields, towards the capital of Sikkim. Arrive in Gangtok and check into your hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 6 Gangtok / Phodung / Gangtok
After breakfast, visit the lamasery and the Phodung monastery, one of the five largest in Sikkim. On the way, stop at Tashi Point View opposite Kanchen Junga (8590 m), where the panorama of the Himalayas is superb. Lunch stop. In the afternoon, a tour of the town, including the Institute of Tibetology, which contains some very interesting old books, sacred objects and superb painted and embroidered tankas. Finally, a stroll through the orchid garden, which boasts more than 250 varieties. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 7 Gangtok / Kalimpong
After breakfast, we drive through the hills where rhododendrons and cardamoms grow to reach the market town of Kalimpong. A pleasant stopover in this pretty landscape. Lunch en route. Arrive in Kalimpong and check into hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 8 Kalimpong / Phuntsholing
After breakfast, you will head back down to the plains before entering Bhutan. Arrive in Phuntsoling, the border town, in the afternoon. Lunch en route. Check-in at your hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 9 Phuntsholing / Thimphu
After breakfast, you will take the road to Thimphu. On the way stop at the Kharbandi monastery, from where there is a beautiful view over the plain and the town of Phuntsholing. Lunch on the way. At the end of the day, arrival in Thimphu at an altitude of 2,500 metres. The capital of Bhutan, Thimphu is nevertheless a quiet little town. Check-in at the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 10 Thimphu
After breakfast, you will discover the city of Thimphu. Start of the city tour with the National Library, the painting school and the traditional medicine hospital. Then visit the Changangkha district and the temple of the same name. Then lunch. In the afternoon, you will discover the Chorten Memorial with its magnificent paintings and sculptures. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 11 Thimphu / Tongsa
After breakfast, departure for Tongsa along a beautiful mountain road that winds its way through forests of giant rhododendrons and conifers. There are numerous views of the country's highest peaks. Arrive in Wandiphodrang for lunch, view of the Dzong and stroll through the town. Arrive in Tongsa in the late afternoon and check into your hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 12 Tongsa / Jakar
After breakfast, departure for Jakar in the heart of the Bumthang region. Arrive in Jakar and check into your hotel. After lunch, walking tour to visit the Dzong, also known as the "White Bird Dzong", then above it the Lame Gompa, the finest example of palace architecture in Bhutan. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 13 Jakar / Tongsa
After breakfast, departure for Tongsa. On the way you will visit the temples of Kure and Jampey. Lunch en route. Arrive in Tongsa at the end of the day and check into your hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 14 Tongsa / Paro
After breakfast, departure for Paro, the country's second-largest city. On the way, visit Punakha, the former capital of Bhutan. Lunch and then back on the road towards Paro. Arrive in Paro in the late afternoon and check into your hotel. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 15 Paro / Tiger Sanctuary / Paro
After breakfast, departure for an excursion into the bucolic Paro valley. There are plenty of places to visit on this day. These include the Taksang monastery, nicknamed the Tiger's Refuge, perched on a cliff at over 3,000 m, one of the most revered places of pilgrimage in the Himalayan world, and the Ta Dzong, a former watchtower that has since been converted into a national museum. Lunch during the visits. Return to Paro at the end of the day. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 16 Paro / Delhi
After breakfast, and depending on your flight time, transfer to Paro airport for a flight to Delhi. Arrival in Delhi, welcome and transfer to the hotel. Lunch at the hotel. The afternoon is then free, perhaps allowing you to buy some souvenirs in the city's markets. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 17 Delhi -> France
After breakfast, and depending on your flight time, transfer to Delhi airport to catch your international flight to France. End of our services. Arrival in France.
